A brief history

The Regiment, as the Royal Regiment of Foot Guards, was formed in 1656 by King Charles II who was then in exile in Bruges, Flanders.

It was known as the First Guards later becoming the First Regiment of Foot Guards and now bears the title The First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards in honour or the defeat of the Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

It is the only Regiment in the British Army that has directly gained it's title from the part it played in action.

The life of the Regiment began in Flanders. At many times in the last 300 years the towns and villages of the Low Countries have been familiar to men of the 1st Guards.

They fought in 1658 and again in 1940, against great odds, on the road between Furnes and Dunkirk.

Under the great Duke of Marlborough they bore their part in the victories of Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet.

At Waterloo in 1815 they won their name, a name to which great honour was added a century later in the mud and suffering of the Western Front.

In 1944 they entered Brussels at the head of a victorious British Army. They have returned gloriously many times to Flanders.

A detailed history of the regiment can be downloaded from the documents panel in the right hand column.