| Royal Marines |
Royal Marine Corps Crest |
| Active |
1664 – Present |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
Royal Navy |
| Type |
Marine Commando |
| Role |
Amphibious warfare
Arctic Warfare
Mountain Warfare
Expeditionary Warfare
Rapid Reaction Force
Special Forces support |
| Size |
7,810 personnel
61 vessels |
| Part of |
Naval Service |
| Garrison/HQ |
COMUKAMPHIBFOR (Portsmouth)
40 Commando (Taunton)
42 Commando (Plymouth)
45 Commando (Arbroath)
Fleet Protection Group (HMNB Clyde)
Commando Logistic Regiment (Chivenor)
1 Assault Group (Poole)
Commando Training Centre (Lympstone) |
| Nickname |
Royals
Booties
Bootnecks
The Corps
Cabbage-head [1]
|
| Motto |
Per Mare, Per Terram ("By Sea, By Land") |
| March |
Quick: "A Life on the Ocean Wave"
Slow: "Preobrajensky" |
| Engagements |
Second Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
Williamite War in Ireland
War of the Spanish Succession
War of Jenkins' Ear
Seven Years' War
American Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Napoleonic Wars
Crimean War
First Opium War
Second Opium War
Boxer Rebellion
First World War
Second World War
Korean War
Suez Crisis
Malayan Emergency
Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation
The Troubles
Falklands War
Gulf War
Bosnian War
Kosovo War
Sierra Leone Civil War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan |
| Website |
Royal Marines |
| Commanders |
| Captain-General |
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, OM, GBE, AC, QSO, PC |
| Commandant-General |
Major General Ed Davis, CBE |
| Insignia |
| Commando flash |
 |
| Abbreviation |
RM |
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines (RM), are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service.[2] The Royal Marines are a maritime-focused, light infantry force of commandos who train to operate in all environments and climates, though particular expertise is trained on amphibious warfare, mountain warfare and arctic warfare. In 2010 the Royal Marines numbered 6,840 regular personnel[3] and 970 Royal Marines Reserve, for a combined component strength of 7,810 personnel.
The Royal Marines were formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company "the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot" was first formed, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Spanish and prevent them from reaching the fortress of Gibraltar.[4] The Royal Marines served throughout the Napoleonic Wars in every notable naval battle on-board the Royal Navy's ships and participated in multiple amphibious actions. The marines continued in their on-board function after the war, taking a prominent part in the navy's anti-piracy and anti-slavery actions. In 1855 they were newly designated as the Royal Marines Light Infantry, serving in the Crimean war in numerous amphibious raids on Russian forces. The Corps underwent a notable change after 1945 however, when the Royal Marines took on the main responsibility for the role and training of the British Commandos. The Royal Marines have an illustrious history, and since their creation in 1942 Royal Marines Commandos have engaged on active operations across the globe, every year, except 1968.[5] Notably they were the first ever military unit to perform an air assault insertion by helicopter, during the Suez Crisis in 1956.[6]
The overall head of the Royal Marines is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in her role as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces.
The ceremonial head of the Royal Marines is the Captain General Royal Marines (equivalent to the Colonel-in-Chief of a British Army regiment). The current Captain-General is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Full Command of the Royal Marines is vested in the Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET)[7] with the Commandant-General Royal Marines, a Major-General, embedded within the CINCFLEET staff as Commander UK Amphibious Force (COMUKAMPHIBFOR).
The operational capability of the Corps comprises a number of Battalion-plus sized units, of which three are designated as "Commandos":
- 40 Commando (known as Forty Commando) based at Norton Manor Barracks, Taunton, Somerset, England
- 42 Commando (known as Four Two Commando) based at Bickleigh Barracks, Plymouth, Devon, England
- 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines based at HM Naval Base Clyde, Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute (Previously Comacchio Group).
- 45 Commando (known as Four Five Commando) based at RM Condor, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland
- 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group[8] based at Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth
- Commando Logistic Regiment based at Chivenor, Devon
- Special Boat Service based at Royal Marines Base Poole, Dorset (although Full Command is retained by CINCFLEET, Operational Command of SBS RM is assigned to Director Special Forces).
- 1 Assault Group Royal Marines based at Royal Marines Base Poole, Dorset.
With the exception of the Fleet Protection Group and Commando Logistic Regiment, which are each commanded by a full Colonel, each of these units is commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Marines, who may have sub-specialised in a number of ways throughout his career.[9]
There is also a Mountain Leader Training Cadre based at Lympstone Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, Devon.[citation needed]
Insignia worn by 3 Commando.
Operational Command of the three Commandos and the Commando Logistics Regiment is delegated to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, of which they are a part. Based at Stonehouse Barracks, the brigade exercises control as directed by either CINCFLEET or the Permanent Joint Headquarters. As the main combat formation of the Royal Marines, the brigade has its own organic capability to it in the field, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group, a battalion sized formation providing information operations capabilities, life support and security for the Brigade Headquarters.
43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, responsible for the security of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent and other security-related duties was originally outside the brigade however from April 2012 it moved into it.[10] It also provides specialist boarding parties and snipers for the Royal Navy worldwide, for roles such as embargo enforcement, counter-narcotics, counter-piracy and counter-insurgency activities of the Royal Navy. It is the largest unit unit in the brigade at 790 strong[11] with a different structure from the other Commandos.
The independent elements of the Royal Marines are:[12]
- Commando Training Centre: This is the training unit for the entire corps, and consists of three separate sections:
- Commando Training Wing: This is the initial basic commando training section for new recruits to the Royal Marines, and the All Arms Commando Course.
- Specialist Wing: This provides specialist training in the various trades which Marines may elect to join once qualified and experienced in a Rifle Company.
- Command Wing: This provides command training for both officers and NCOs of the Royal Marines.
Royal Marines on patrol in Afghanistan.
- Special Boat Service (SBS) are naval special forces and under operational command of Director Special Forces. It is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel qualified as a Swimmer Canoeist. SBS Responsibilities include water-borne operations, Maritime Counter-Terrorism and other special forces tasks.
- Royal Marines Band Service provides regular bands for the Royal Navy and provides expertise to train RN Volunteer Bands. Musicians have a secondary role as field hospital orderlies. Personnel may not be commando trained, wearing a blue beret instead of green; the band service is the only branch of the Royal Marines which admits women.
Main article:
Commando 21The three Commando units are each organised into six companies, further organised into platoon-sized troops, as follows:[13]
- Command Company
- Main HQ
- Tactical HQ
- Reconnaissance Troop (includes a sniper section)
- Mortar Troop (9 Barrels of 81 mm)
- Anti-Tank (AT) Troop (Javelin ATGW)
- Medium Machine Gun Troop
- One Logistic Company
- A Echelon 1 (A Ech1)
- A Echelon 2 (A Ech2)
- FRT
- RAP
- B Echelon (B Ech)
- Two Close Combat Companies
- Company Headquarters (Coy HQ)
- Three Close Combat Troops (Troop HQ, 3 Rifle Sections, Manoeuvre Support Section)
- Two Stand Off Companies
- Company Headquarters (Coy HQ)
- Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Troop (0.5" heavy machine guns)
- AT Troop
- Close Combat Troop
In general a rifle company Marine will be a member of a four-man fire team, the building block of commando operations. A Royal Marine works with his team in the field and shares accommodation if living in barracks.
This structure is a recent development, formerly Commandos were structured similarly to British Army light Infantry Battalions.[14] During the restructuring of the United Kingdom's military services the Corps evolved from a Cold War focus on NATO's Northern Flank towards a more expeditionary posture.
Formerly known as the Amphibious Ready Group, the Amphibious Task Group (or ATG) is a mobile, balanced amphibious warfare force, based on a Commando Group and its supporting assets, that can be kept at high readiness to deploy into an area of operations. The ATG is normally based around specialist amphibious ships, most notably HMS Ocean, the largest ship in the British fleet. Ocean was designed and built to accommodate an embarked commando and its associated stores and equipment. The strategy of the ATG is to wait "beyond the horizon" and then deploy swiftly as directed by HM Government. The whole amphibious force is intended to be self-sustaining and capable of operating without host-nation support. The concept was successfully tested in operations in Sierra Leone.[15]
The Commando Helicopter Force forms part of the Fleet Air Arm. The force comprises four helicopter squadrons and is commanded by the Joint Helicopter Command.[16] It consists of both Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Marines personnel. RN personnel need not be commando trained. The Commando Helicopter Force is neither under the permanent control of 3 Commando Brigade nor that of the Commandant General Royal Marines but rather is allocated to support Royal Marines units as required. It uses both Sea King transport and Lynx Light lift helicopters to provide aviation support for the Royal Marines.
Royal Marines are required to undergo one of the longest and most physically demanding specialist infantry training regimes in the world. Recruit training lasts for 32 weeks for Marines and 64 weeks for officers. Potential recruits must first undertake a series of interviews, medical tests, an eye/sight test, psychometric tests and a PJFT (Pre-joining fitness test).[17] Once a potential recruit passes these, enlisted recruits undertake a 3-day selection course called PRMC (Potential Royal Marine Course) and potential officers undertake POC (Potential Officer Course) - both take place at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) in Lympstone, Devon. Officers must also take the Admiralty Interview Board (AIB).[18] Upon passing the 3-day course, recruits then start basic recruit training (RT) at CTCRM.[19] Unlike many countries, enlisted Marines and officer Marines often train together for the first 32 weeks. A large proportion of training is carried out on Dartmoor's inhospitable terrain and Woodbury Common woodland. The culmination of their training ends with their infamous commando courses which they initially pre-train for. The commando courses are a series of physical and mental endurance tests that highlight their military professionalism.[20][not in citation given]
Throughout the recruit training, Royal Marines learn and develop many military skills such as weapons handling, marksmanship and proficiency with different firearms, personal administration, marching and parade ground skills, map reading and navigation, physical fitness and mental toughness development, fieldcraft skills such as camouflage and stalking, basic survival techniques, patrolling and sentry duty development, unarmed and armed close quarters combat (CQC), first aid, underwater escape, chemical biological radiological nuclear (CBRN) training, military communications and signals, teamwork skills, amphibious landings training, and leadership skills for officers to name a few.[21][not in citation given]
On average, 1,200 recruits and 2,000 potential recruits, and 400 potential officers attend training courses and acquaint courses at CTCRM every year. In addition the Training Wings run upwards of 320 courses a year for a further 2,000 students.[22]
Throughout their career, a Marine can specialise in a number of different roles upon completion of their respective courses after spending 1–2 years as a general duties (GD) Marine. Examples of some specialisations and different courses includes the mountain leader (ML), physical training instructor (PTI), military police (MP), sniper course, medical assistant, pilot, reconnaissance operator (RO), drill instructor, driver, clerk, chef, signaller, combat intelligence, armourer, and heavy weapons training. Royal Marines can also apply for swimmer canoeist/Special Boat Service selection (SBS) or any other branch of the UKSF.[23]
All Royal Marines will also conduct training exercises on differing military skills on a regular basis including development in mountain, arctic, jungle, amphibious and desert warfare. They can also be involved in exchange training programs with other countries forces – particularly the United States Marine Corps[24] and the Netherlands Marine Corps/Korps Mariniers.[25]
The Royal Marines have a proud history and unique traditions. Their colours (flags) do not carry individual battle honours in the manner of the regiments of the British Army but rather the "globe itself" as the symbol of the Corps.
The badge of the Royal Marines is designed to commemorate the history of the Corps. The Lion and Crown denotes a Royal regiment. King George III conferred this honour in 1802 "in consideration of the very meritorious services of the Marines in the late war."
The "Great Globe itself" surrounded by laurels was chosen by King George IV as a symbol of the Marines' successes in every quarter of the world. The laurels are believed to honour the gallantry they displayed during the investment and capture of Belle Isle, off Lorient, in April–June 1761.
The word Gibraltar refers to the Siege of Gibraltar in 1704. It was awarded in 1827 by George IV as a special distinction for the services of four of the old Army Marine regiments (Queen's Own Marines, 1st Marines, 2nd Marines, 3rd Marines). All other honours gained by the Royal Marines are represented by the "Great Globe". As a consequence, there are no battle honours displayed on the colours of the four battalion-sized units in the corps.
When referring to individual Commandos: 45 Commando is referred to as "four-five" rather than "forty-five commando" as is 42 Commando, 40 Commando is "forty".
The only units which carry colours are 40 Commando, 42 Commando, 45 Commando, and the Fleet Protection Group (which is the custodian of the colours of 43 Commando).
The fouled anchor, incorporated into the emblem in 1747, is the badge of the Lord High Admiral and shows that the Corps is part of the Naval Service.
Per Mare Per Terram ("By Sea By Land"), the motto of the Marines, is believed to have been used for the first time in 1775.
The regimental quick march of the Corps is "A Life on the Ocean Wave", while the slow march is the march of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, awarded to the Corps by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma on the occasion of the Corps's tercentenary in 1964. Lord Mountbatten was Life Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marines until his murder by the IRA in 1979.
Dress headgear is a white Wolseley pattern pith helmet surmounted by a ball, a distinction once standard for artillerymen. This derives from the part of the Corps that was once the Royal Marine Artillery.
The Royal Marines are one of six regiments[citation needed] allowed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London to march through the City as a regiment in full array. This dates to the charter of Charles II that allowed recruiting parties of the Admiral's Regiment of 1664 to enter the City with drums beating and colours flying.
Their nickname "Bootneck" derives its origins from the leather 'stock' worn round the neck inside the collar by soldiers (cf. Leatherneck).
Royal Marines in parade dress, 1972
For historical information regarding Marine uniforms, see History of the Royal Marines.
The modern Royal Marines retain a number of distinctive uniform items. These include the green "Lovat" service dress worn with the green beret, the dark blue parade dress worn with either the white Wolseley Pattern Helmet (commonly referred to as "Pith Helmet") or white and red peaked cap, the scarlet and blue mess dress for officers and senior non-commissioned officers and the white hot-weather uniform of the Band Service.
As the descendant of the old Marine Regiments of the British Army, the Royal Marines used to have a position in the order of precedence of the Infantry; this was after the 49th Regiment of Foot, the final lineal descendant of which was the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. Therefore, the Royal Marines would have paraded after the RGBW. This is because the 49th Foot was the last Regiment raised prior to the formation of the Corps of Marines as part of the Royal Navy in 1755. In 2007, the RGBW was amalgamated into a large Regiment—this new Regiment is placed last in the order of precedence, as it is a regiment of rifles. However as a result of the new Army amalgamations the Royal Marines have now been removed from the Infantry order of precedence and will now always take post, as a constituent part of the Naval Service, at the head of the parade alongside the Navy, or alone if the Navy are not represented. Thus, if only the infantry is represented, the Royal Marines would parade before the Grenadier Guards, the senior infantry regiment in the Army.
A Royal Marines Landing Craft Utility (LCU) lands Medical personnel
A Royal Marines' Rigid Raider
BvS 10 Viking, Armoured Vehicle
The Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm provide transport and attack helicopters in support of the Royal Marines.
The landing craft of the Royal Marines consist of a varied fleet of transport vessels maintained by the Royal Navy and designed to transport the Royal Marines from ship to shore as well as conduct river or estuary patrols.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Early connections date from Balaclava in the Crimean War and Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, but the main association stems from World War II. In July 1940, after the fall of Dunkirk, the 5th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders served with the Royal Marine Brigade for over a year. When HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk in December 1941, the Royal Marines survivors joined up with the remnants of the 2nd Battalion, in the defence of Singapore. They formed what became known as 'The Plymouth Argylls', after the association football team, since both ships were Plymouth manned. Most of the Highlanders and Marines who survived the bitter fighting were taken prisoner by the Japanese. The Royal Marines inter-unit rugby football trophy is the 'Argyll Bowl', presented to the Corps by the Regiment in 1941. A message of greetings is sent to the Regiment each year on their Regimental Day, 25 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
- ^ Partridge, Eric. "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English". Routledge, 2002, p. 171.
- ^ United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2005 Glossary, Ministry of Defence, archived from the original on 29 June 2009, http://web.archive.org/web/20090628180623/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/ukds/2005/glossary.html
- ^ IISS 2010, pp. 168
- ^ Origins of Royal Marines
- ^ History of RM deployments
- ^ Royal Marines Museum - Suez deployment (PDF)
- ^ "Senior Naval Staff". Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090314064054/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3641. "As the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, a position he took up in November 2007, Mark Stanhope has full command of all deployable Fleet units, including the Royal Marines."
- ^ "30 Commando Information Exploitation Group". Royal Navy. http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/royalmarines/units-and-deployments/3-commando-brigade/30-commando-information-exploitation-group/. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ Bridge Card - 11 February 11
- ^ "43 Commando resurrected as historic Royal Marines unit returns". http://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/4251.
- ^ "43 Commando resurrected as historic Royal Marines unit returns". http://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/4251.
- ^ Other Units of the Royal marines on Royal Navy website
- ^ Extract from The Globe & Laurel, November/December 2000, archived from the original on 2010-11-05, http://web.archive.org/web/20101105235102/http://www.onceamarinealwaysamarine.co.uk/cdo21.htm
- ^ Commando Units To Be Reshaped, Navy News article
- ^ comukamphibfor
- ^ Commando Helicopter Force webpage
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9]
- ^ IISS 2010, pp. 168
- ^ Joint Committees On Transportation Holds Public Hearing Re: Trans 123 www.wisconsin-pinzgauers.org
- A Brief Chronology of Marines History 1664-2003, Royal Marines Museum
- Historical Records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment, 3rd Foot, Formerly Designated the Holland Regiment, by H. R. Knight, 1905.
- The Whitefoord Papers; Being the Correspondence and Other Manuscripts of Colonel Charles Whitefoord and Caleb Whitefoord, from 1739 to 1810, by Charles Whitefoord, Clarendon press, 1898. Searchable full text available on-line at Google Books. Charles Whitefoord served in Wynyard's (4th Marines), Gooch's, and the 5th Marines in the 1740s.
- Historical record of the Royal marine forces, by Paul Harris Nicolas, Thomas and Boone, London, 1845. Searchable full text available on-line at Google Books.
- Per Mare, Per Terram: Reminiscences of Thirty-two Years' Military, Naval, and Constabulary Service by William Henry Poyntz, Economic Print. & Publ. Co. (1892). Searchable full text available on-line at Google Books.
- Britain's sea soldiers : a history of the Royal Marines and their predecessors and of their services in action, ashore and afloat, and upon sundry other occasions of moment, by Cyril Field, Liverpool:The Lyceum Press, 1924, (2 vol.) Covers British Marines until around 1900.
- Britain's Sea Soldiers: A Record of the Royal Marines during the War 1914-1919, by General Sir H.E. Blumberg, Devonport, 1927. Very detailed with excellent maps. The USMC used the maps from this book for their studies of Gallipoli in the 1920s and 30s that led to the formation of US amphibious doctrine in 1935.
- By Sea and Land by Robin Neillands, 1987, Cassell Military Paperbacks, ISBN 0-304-35683-2. Traces the history of the Corps until the end of the Falkands Campaign in 1982.
- Uniforms of the Royal Marines by Charles Stadden, 1997, ISBN 0-9519342-2-8
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