The Band and Bugles of The Rifles
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles are based at Sir John Moore Barracks in Winchester, Hampshire, and are one of 22 bands in the British Army that form the Corps of Army Music. We maintain traditions dating back over 200 years, including the use of the silver bugle and the distinctly fast speed in which we march - 140 paces per minute!
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles were formed on 1st February 2007 from the Band and Bugles of the Light Division. This reflected the amalgamation of the Light Infantry, the Royal Green Jackets, the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, into a new Regiment named The Rifles.
The Band is established for 35 musicians, all of whom join the Corps of Army Music on enlistment. On completion of their initial military training, musicians receive tuition at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, before being assigned to the Band.
In addition, the Bugle Platoon comprises 20 infantry soldiers from the five regular Battalions that form The Rifles. Riflemen can be posted to the Band and Bugles on completion of an 18-week Bugle Course at the Army School of Ceremonial in Catterick.
As far back as the Napoleonic Wars, the earliest Riflemen used bugles rather than drums to communicate orders on the battlefield. They were also able to react rapidly to orders by marching at a quickened pace or even marching at the double. These strong traditions and the regimental motto 'Swift and Bold' are upheld by the Band and Bugles of The Rifles to this day, marching at 140 paces per minute.
The Band and Bugles of The Rifles appear by kind permission of General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE ADC Gen, Colonel Commandant The Rifles and Commander-in-Chief Land Forces.