The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was an infantry regiment of the
British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by
The Rifles.
The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the
Childers Reforms, by the merger of the
32nd Regiment of Foot and the
46th Regiment of Foot. The DCLI also incorporated the
militia and
rifle volunteers of
Cornwall.
In 1959 the regiment merged with the
Somerset Light Infantry to form the
Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry.
History
1881–1899
Under the Childers system, one regular battalion of each regiment was to be at a "home" station, while the other was abroad. Every few years, there was to be an exchange of battalions. In the period from the regiment's formation to the outbreak of the
Second Boer War the two regular battalions were stationed as follows:
1899–1914
In October 1899 war broke out between the United Kingdom and the
Boer Republics. The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa in the following month, where it took part in minor actions on the western border of the Cape Colony. In February 1900 it became part of the
19th Brigade. It saw action against the Boers at
Paardeburg, and in March 1900 entered
Bloemfontein. It continued to take part in a series of skirmishes until the end of the war....
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