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Fusiliers Association Rochdale Branch.

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The Regiment

The Royal Regiment Fusiliers, celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2008 and may justly claim to be one of the most renowned regiments in the world.  We are the only regiment to have retained the name we were given when raised by royal warrant in June 1685

The current regiment was formed on the 23th April 1968 from four former infantry regiments of the line.  These were; the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (5th Foot), the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (6th Foot), the Royal Fusiliers City of London Regiment (7th Foot), and the Lancashire Fusiliers (XX Foot).

The Regiment has 2 regular Battalions.  The 1st Battalion is based in Mooltan Barracks Tidworth and the 2nd Battalion is based in London and will move to Celle, Germany in 2010 and to Cyprus in 2013.

We also have Territorial Army Fusiliers in Newcastle and Ashington in Northumberland as part of our 5th Battalion, and Fusilier companies in Birmingham, in London and in Bury, Lancashire.

The Association

The Fusilier Association exists to foster links between members of the Regiment both those serving and those who have left the Army.

The Rochdale Branch, part of the Regimental Association has over 50 members and is just one of many that form  the Association. We exist to enable serving and ex serving fusiliers to keep in contact and to foster the name and traditions of the Regiment among all Fusiliers, past and present and to maintain the comradeship formed during army service

The Branch has many ex Lancashire Fusiliers and Royal Regiment Fusiliers.  We also have many associate members who have served in other services as well as having some members who are still serving. The youngest member of the Rochdale Branch is 25 and the oldest 85.

Our members have seen active service in, Burma, Italy, France, North Africa, Korea, Kenya, Northern Ireland, Fist Gulf War, Bosnia, Iraq & Afghanistan.

The Hackle

The distinctive red and white Hackle, worn by all ranks in the Regiment, was handed down from the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The Hackle was awarded in recognition for the defeat of the French at the Battle of St Lucia in 1778. The white hackles were removed from the French dead by the Fusiliers. In 1829 King William IV ordered the white plume to be worn by all line infantry regiments, and in order not to take away from the Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot's battle honour, their plume was distinguished with a red tip making the plume red over white.