|
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a regiment in the British Army.
It was formed as a fusilier regiment in 1685 by Lord Dartmouth, George Legge, from two companies of the Tower of London guard, and originally called the Ordnance Regiment. Most regiments were equipped with matchlock muskets at the time, but the Ordnance Regiment were armed with flintlocks, then called fusils. This was because their task was to be an escort for the artillery, for which matchlocks would have carried the risk of igniting the barrels of gunpowder.
It became the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) in 1751. It was reorganised as the infantry regiment that recruited from within the City of London area on 1 July, 1881 as part of the Cardwell reforms. It therefore took on the role of the "county" regiment for the City of London and was renamed The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
On 23 April, 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other three English Fusilier regiments to form The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
|
