List of nicknames of British Army regiments

British Army lists

Commands and Army groups

Field armies in World War I

Field armies in World War II

Corps in World War I

Corps in World War II

Divisions in World War I

Divisions in World War II

Brigades in World War I

Brigades in World War II

Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II

Royal Artillery Batteries

Regiments of Foot

Regiments in 1881

Territorial Force Units in 1908

Yeomanry Regiments converted to Royal Artillery

Regiments in 1962

Regiments in 1994

Regiments in 2008

Territorial Army units in 2012

Present-day Regiments

Nicknames of regiments

This is a list of nicknames of regiments of the British Army. Many nicknames were used by successor regiments (following renaming or amalgamation).

1

• 1st Invalids - 41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot later The Welsh Regiment^[1] (first raised as the Regiment of Invalids, in 1688)

A

• Agile and Bolton Wanderers - Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders^[2]
• Ally Sloper's Cavalry – Army Service Corps (humorous back-acronym; Ally Sloper was a popular pre-WWI cartoon character drawn by W.F. Thomas in a weekly comic strip; in contemporary slang an 'Alley Sloper' was a rent-dodger, who 'sloped off down the alley' when the rent-collector called)^[3]
• The Angle-irons - Royal Anglian Regiment^[4](humorous malapropism)
• The Armoured Chavalry - Royal Tank Regiment
• The Armoured Farmers - 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (raised in the West Country^[5])
• The Albert Lesters - Prince Albert's Own Leicestershire Yeomanry, also known as "God's Own" in the 3rd Cavalry Division during the Great War (reference to the lack of KIA until 13 May 1915 - having landed in France since early November 1914).

B

• The Back Numbers (also The Back Badgers) - Gloucestershire Regiment^[1] (allowed to wear a regimental badge on the back of the hat, after the rear rank faced about to drive off French cavalry at the Battle of Alexandria (1801))
• The Back Flash - Royal Welch Fusiliers^[6](the last regiment to give up the queue or pigtail, retained the ribbons on the back of the collar)
• Bakers Light Bobs - 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)^[1][7]
• The Bays - 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)^[8]
• The Beavers - 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1] (refers to the regiment's origin in Canada, and its first regimental badge)
• The Bendovers - 96th Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment^[1]
• The Bengal Tigers - Leicestershire Regiment^[1](In 1825 the regiment was granted the badge of a "royal tiger" to recall their long service in India)
• The Bill Browns - 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards^[1]
• The Biscuit Boys - 49th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment^[1]
• The Bird Catchers - 1st (Royal) Dragoons and Royal Scots Greys^[7] – both regiments captured French eagle standards at the Battle of Waterloo
• The Red Devils - The Parachute Regiment
• The Black Cuffs - Northamptonshire Regiment^[1]
• The Black Horse - 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards^[9]
• The Black Knots - North Staffordshire Regiment^[1] (the regimental badge was a Stafford knot)
• The Black Mafia - Royal Green Jackets^[10](from the dark uniforms of the original Rifle regiments and the number of former Greenjacket officers promoted to high rank)
• Blayney's Bloodhounds – 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot (from their 'unerring certainty and untiring perseverance in hunting down the Irish rebels in 1798, when the corps was commanded by Lord Blayney')^[11]
• The Bleeders - Somerset Light Infantry^[1][7]
• The Blind Half Hundred - 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot later Royal West Kent Regiment (suffered badly from ophthalmia during the Egyptian Campaign of 1801.)^[1][11]
• The Bloodsuckers - 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment(Supposedly derived from a regimental emblem worn by officers, the Fleur de Lis, 'which resembled that insect' - (Most commonly said to be a mosquito, associated with the Regiment's frequent service in the Caribbean and America).) ^[12]
• The Bloody Eleventh - 11th (The North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot, later The Devonshire Regiment (from the heavy casualties suffered at the Battle of Salamanca)^[1][7][13]
• The Blue Caps - The Royal Dublin Fusiliers^[1] (Originally the 1st Madras Fusiliers, part of the British East India Company's Madras Presidency Army, who wore light blue covers to their forage caps on campaign during the Indian Mutiny and were known as 'Neill's Blue Caps,' after their commanding officer).
• The Blues - Royal Horse Guards^[1] (only British heavy cavalry regiment to wear blue rather than red uniforms)
• Bob's Own - Irish Guards^[1][7] (refers to Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the first Colonel of the regiment)
• The Botherers - King's Own Scottish Borderers^[1] (humorous malapropism)
• The Brickdusts - 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Shropshire Light Infantry^[1]
• The Budgies - the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers^[14](from the hackle worn in the beret)
• The Buttermilks - 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards^[1][7]

C

• The Cast Iron Sixth – 6th Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles)^[15]
• The Cattle Reivers - Border Regiment^[1]
• Calvert's Entire - West Yorkshire Regiment^[1]
• The Cameronians - 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)^[1]
• The Carbs - Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)^[1]
• Castor Oil Dragoons – Royal Army Medical Corps^[16]
• The Cat and Cabbage - The Royal Hampshire Regiment^[1] (from the regimental badge, which was a royal lion atop a stylised Tudor Rose)
• The Celestials - 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment^[1]
• The Chainy 10th - 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)^[1]
• Cheeses - 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards^[1]
• The Cheesemongers - Household Cavalry
• The Cauliflowers 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment^[1] (from the regimental badge, which was a stylised Red Rose of Lancaster)
• The Centipedes - 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• The Cherry Pickers - 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own)^[1][7] (from an incident during the Peninsular War, in which the 11th Light Dragoons (as the regiment was then named) were attacked while raiding an orchard at San Martin de Trebejo in Spain)
• The Cherubims - 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own)^[1] (originally the "Cherrybums", from the crimson overall trousers adopted when Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the Honorary Colonel in Chief)
• The Cloudpunchers - Air Defence regiments of the Royal Artillery^[17]
• The Coal Heavers - Grenadier Guards^[1][7]
• The Cockney Jocks – London Scottish
• The Coldstreamers - Coldstream Guards^[1]
• The Colonials - 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• The Comical Chemical Corporals – Special Brigade, Royal Engineers (responsible for poison gas and flame attacks; men with knowledge of chemistry were immediately promoted to corporal)^[18]
• The Crusaders - 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]

D

• The Death or Glory Boys - 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) later The 17th/21st Lancers (Death Or Glory Boys) Then The

Queen's Royal Lancers^[1] (from the regimental badge, which was a death's head (skull), with a scroll bearing the motto "or Glory")

• The Delhi Spearman - 9th Lancers^[1][7]
• The Devil's Own - 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) later 1st Battalion The Connaught Rangers^[1][7]
• The Devils Royals - 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment^[1]
• The Diehards - 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment^[1] (from the Battle of Albuera during the Peninsular War, when Colonel William Inglis is said to have urged the decimated regiment to "die hard")^[7]
• The Dirty Half Hundred - 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment^[1]
• The Dirty Shirts - 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers) later 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers ( During the Indian Mutiny the regiment wore shirts stained an early form of khaki as campaign dress)^[1][3][7]
• The Doc's - Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry^[1][7] – from their initials DOCLI
• The Donkey Whallopers Cavalry
• The Double X - Lancashire Fusiliers^[19] (from the regimental badge which, as the 20th Regiment of Foot, carried "XX", twenty in Roman numerals)
• The Drogheda Light Horse - 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)^[20]
• The Drop-short Rifles - Royal Regiment of Artillery
• The Duke of Boots - The Duke of Wellingtons Regiment
• The Dumpies - 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own)^[1] (originally raised for the army of the British East India Company, from undersized riders who would not overload the lighter, locally-procured horses.^[21])

E

• Earl of Mar's Grey Breeks - Royal Scots Fusiliers (from their first colonel, Charles Erskine, 21st Earl of Mar, and the grey breeches of their uniform)^[1][22]
• The Elegant Extracts - 7th Regiment of Foot later Royal Fusiliers and 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) later 2nd Battalion Shropshire Light Infantry^[1][7] (in 1811, many of the regiment's officers were court-martialled and replaced by officers drawn from other regiments.^[23])
• Eliott's Light Horse - 15th The King's Hussars^[1]
• The Emperor's Chambermaids - 14th King's Hussars^[24] (from an incident during the Battle of Vitoria during the Peninsular War, when the regiment captured a silver chamberpot belonging to Joseph Bonaparte, brother of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte)
• England's Northern Cavalry - The Light Dragoons^[25]
• The Ever-Sworded - 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot later Worcestershire Regiment^[1]
• The Excellers - 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot later South Lancashire Regiment^[1](from the regimental badge; 40 in Roman numerals is "XL")
• The Evergreens - 13th Hussars^[1]

F

• The Faithful Durhams - Durham Light Infantry (from their motto, 'Faithful')^[1][26]
• Faugh-a-Ballagh Boys, or The Faughs - 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (from their Gaelic war cry 'Faugh a Ballagh' ('Clear the Way') during the Peninsular War.^[1][3]
• The Fighting Fifth - 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot later Royal Northumberland Fusiliers^[1]
• The Fighting Fortieth - 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot later South Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• The Fighting Ninth - 9th Regiment of Foot later The Norfolk Regiment^[1][7]
• The Fighting Fifteenth - 15th The King's Hussars^[1]
• The First and the Last - 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards^[27]
• First of Track 1st Royal Tank Regiment (humorous from the infantry's history being named xth of Foot)
• Fitch's Grenadiers - The Royal Irish Rifles^[1]
• The Flamers - 2nd Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment^[1]
• The Foreign Legion - Welsh Guards
• The Forty Twas - 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot later Black Watch^[1][7]
• The Forty-Tens - 2nd Battalion Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (from an incident in India where the men were 'numbering', or calling out their position in the ranks: after they reached 'forty-nine' the next man called out 'forty-ten'.)^[3]

G

• The Garvies - Connaught Rangers^[1]
• The Gay Gordons - Gordon Highlanders^[1](from the name of a popular dance)
• The Geraniums - 13th Hussars^[1]
• The Glasgow Greys - 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion East Surrey Regiment^[1]
• The Glesca Keelies - 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Highland Light Infantry^[1](Regiment was mostly recruited in Glasgow ("Glesca"), allegedly from local ruffians ("Keelies").
• The Glorious Glosters - The Gloucestershire Regiment^[28]
• The Grasshoppers - 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot (reference to rifle green colour of uniforms)
• The Green Dragoons - 13th Hussars^[29]
• The Green Howards - 19th (1st North Riding of Yorkshire) Regiment of Foot later Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment)^[1] (So named in 1744, to distinguish them from Howard's Buffs by facing colour of uniform; both regiments had colonels named Howard at the time)
• The Green Horse - 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards^[1]
• The Green Jackets - 60th (Royal American) Regiment later Kings Royal Rifle Corps and The Rifle Brigade^[1] (in the Napoleonic Wars, both were specialised corps of skirmishers, armed with rifles and wearing rifle green uniforms rather than the standard red coat)
• The Green Linnets - 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot later The Dorsetshire Regiment^[1]
• The Grey Lancers - 21st Lancers (Empress of India's)^[1](from French-grey colour of regimental facings)
• Guise's Geese - Royal Warwickshire Regiment^[1][7]
• The Gurkhas - Royal Gurkha Rifles^[30]

H

• The Halls and Balls Light Infantry – 6th Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles)^[31]
• The Hanoverian White Horse - Royal Fusiliers^[1][7]
• The Havercakes, or The Havercake Lads - 33rd Regiment of Foot later Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)^[1][7] – because their recruiting officers walked along with an oatcake on their sword-point
• Havelock's Temperance Battalion – 48th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps recruited by the noted Temperance campaigner George Cruikshank^[32][33][34]
• Hell's Last Issue - the Highland Light Infantry^[35](humorous back-acronym)
• The Herts Guards (or Hertfordshire Guards) – Hertfordshire Regiment (1/1st Bn served in 4th (Guards) Brigade in 1914–15)^[36][37]
• The Hindoostan Regiment - 76th Foot^[1]
• The Holy Boys - 9th Regiment of Foot later The Norfolk Regiment^[1]
• The Horse Marines - 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own)^[1]
• Howard's Greens - South Wales Borderers^[1]
• The Hull Commercials – 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment^[38]
• The Hull Tradesmen – 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment^[38]
• The Hull Sportsmen – 12th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment^[38]
• The T'Others – 13th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment^[38]

I

• The Isle of Wight Gurkhas - Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight rifles, 8th Battalion Hampshire Regiment (due to the reputed small stature of its members and similarities in drill and uniform to Gurkha regiments.)
• The Isle of Wight Rifles - 9 (Princess Beatrice's) Platoon, C (Duke of Connaught's) Company, 6th/7th Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (disbanded 1998) (due to the platoon's continued lineage from Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight rifles, 8th Hampshire Regiment and their location on the Isle of Wight.)
• The Iron Regiment - The Royal Sussex Regiment
• Irish Giants - The Royal Irish Rifles^[1]
• The Irish Lancer - 5th Royal Irish Lancers^[39]

J

• Jacks – Military Police during WWI^[3]
• The Jaeger - 60th (Royal American) Regiment later Kings Royal Rifle Corps^[1] (when first formed, included large numbers of German and German-speaking Swiss Jägers (light infantry))
• The Jocks - Scots Guards^[1][7] (mildly derogatory name for Scotsmen)
• The Judaeans – 38th–42nd Battalions Royal Fusiliers (the battalions formed the Jewish Brigade)^[3]

K

• The Kaiser's Own - 60th (Royal American) Regiment later Kings Royal Rifle Corps^[1]
• King's Men - 78th Highlanders later 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders^[1][7]
• Kingsley's Stand - Lancashire Fusiliers^[19]
• Kirke's Lambs - The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)^[1]
• Kokky-Olly Birds - The King's Own Scottish Borderers^[1]
• The Koylis - The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry^[1]
• The Kids - (Scots Guards)- name given to the Third Regiment of Foot Guards when reaching King William's Guards camp in 1686

L

• The Lacedemonians - Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry^[1]
• The Lancashire Lads - 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• Lancashire Cavalry - B (Duke of Lancashire's Own Yeomanry) Sqn Queens Own Yeomanry
• The Leather Hats - 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot later The King's (Liverpool Regiment)^[1]
• Lord Cardigan's Bloodhounds - 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own)^[1] (commanded for several years in the early nineteenth century by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan)
• Lord Wellingtons Bodyguard - Northumberland Fusiliers^[1]
• Loyal Lincoln Volunteers - 81st Regiment of Foot (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) later 2nd Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• The Light Bobs - Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry later The Light Infantry^[1]
• Lightning Conductors - Cheshire Regiment^[1]( a detachment of the 2nd Battalion was struck by lightning in 1899)
• The Lillywhites - Leicestershire Regiment and East Lancashire Regiment and 109th Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• The Lillywhite Seventh - 7th Queen's Own Hussars^[7][40]
• The Lilywhites - 13th/18th Royal Hussars (QMO)
• The Lions - The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)^[1](from their cap badge)
• Linseed Lancers – Royal Army Medical Corps^[3]
• The Liverpool Militia - Irish Guards (due historically to large numbers of Liverpudlian Irish in their ranks)
• The 9th London and Lancs – 9th Battalion Devonshire Regiment^[38] (West Country Kitchener's Army battalion made up to strength with recruits from London and Lancashire)
• The Lumps - 2nd Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers^[1]

M

• The Macraes - 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders^[1]
• The Micks – Irish Guards (the term is not regarded as derogatory by the regiment)^[41]
• The Moonrakers - The Wiltshire Regiment^[1][7] (from an old story about Wiltshiremen trying to rescue the reflection of the moon, thinking it had fallen in the village pond)
• The Mounted Micks - 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards^[1] (mildly derogatory name for Irishmen)
• The Minden Boys - 20th Regiment of Foot later Lancashire Fusiliers^[19]
• Murray's Bucks - 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot^[1]
• The Mutton Lancers – Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment (from their Paschal Lamb and Flag badge)^[42]

N

• The Namurs - Royal Irish Regiment (from their battle honour of 'Namur' gained in 1695, the first such honour granted to a regiment of the British Army)^[1][3][43]
• The Nanny Goats - The Royal Welsh Fusiliers^[1]
• The Night-Jars – 10th Battalion Manchester Regiment (after the nocturnal bird, for its success in night attacks during 1918)^[44]
• The Norfolk Howards - The Norfolk Regiment^[1]
• Nobody's Own - 20th Hussars^[45] (for a time, were almost the only British cavalry regiment not to have a prestigious honorary colonel with his or her title in the regimental name)
• The Nulli Secundus Club – 2nd Foot Guards (Coldstream Guards)^[7] from their motto: Nullis Secundus (Second to None)

O

• The Old Agamemnons - 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot later The Welsh Regiment^[1]
• The Old and Bold - Northumberland Fusiliers and West Yorkshire Regiment and Worcestershire Regiment^[1]
• The Old Buffs - The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)^[1]
• The Old Bucks - Bedfordshire Regiment^[1] (from 1782 to 1809, were the senior regiment raised in Buckinghamshire)
• The Old Canaries - 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own)^[1]
• The Old Dozen - 12th (The East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot later The Suffolk Regiment^[1][7]
• Old Eyes - Grenadier Guards^[1]
• The Old Farmers - 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards later 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards^[1]
• The Old Fogs - 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers^[1]
• Old Five and Threepences - 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Shropshire Light Infantry^[1]
• The Old Hundredth - 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• The Old Iniskillings - Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)^[1]
• The Old Immortals - 76th Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment^[1]
• The Old Namurers – see The Namurs
• The Old Sixteen - Bedfordshire Regiment^[1]
• The Old Stubborns - 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion The Sherwood Foresters^[1]
• The Old Seven and Sixpennies - 76th Regiment of Foot^[1]
• The Old Toughs - The Royal Dublin Fusiliers^[1]
• The Orange Lilies - 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment^[1]
• The Oxford Blues - Household Cavalry

P

• The Paras - The Parachute Regiment^[46]
• Paddy's Blackguards - Royal Irish Regiment^[1]
• The Peacemakers - Bedfordshire Regiment^[1] (The regiment had no battle honours until 1882, when it was belatedly given those for the War of the Spanish Succession 170 years earlier; the regimental motto was misquoted as 'Thou Shalt not Kill')^[43][47]
• The People's Cav Royal Tank Regiment
• Perthshire Grey Breeks - 2nd Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)^[1]
• The Piccadilly Allsorts – London Scottish
• The Plymouth Argylls – composite battalion of Royal Marines and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders formed in Malayan Campaign (Plymouth is one of the Marines' home bases, with Plymouth Argyle FC as its local football team)^[48]
• The Poachers - 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment^[49] and The Lincolnshire Regiment^[1] (from the regimental quick march, "The Lincolnshire Poacher")
• The Pompadours - 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment later 3rd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment^[1]
• The Poona Guards - East Yorkshire Regiment^[1]
• The Poona Pets - 109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry) later 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard - 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot, later The Royal Scots (they were the oldest regiment in the British Army and humorously claimed to date back to the time of Christ; in fact they were founded in 1633)^[3][50]
• The Pot Hooks - 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment^[1]
• The Potters – 5th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment recruited from The Potteries area around Stoke-on-Trent^[51]
• The Printers – 2nd City of London Rifle Volunteers The unit was recruited in Fleet Street from the printing works of Eyre & Spottiswoode and Associated Newspapers^[52][53]
• The Pull-Throughs – 42nd (East Lancashire) Division (from their divisional number and generally small stature, like the 'Four-by-Two' inches of the flannel pull-through used to clean a rifle).^[54]
• The Pump and Tortoise - 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment^[1] (from the regimental badge, a stylised fighting castle atop an equally stylised elephant)

Q

• Queen's Last Resort - Queen's Lancashire Regiment (humorous back-acronym)
• Quick Let's Run - Queen's Lancashire Regiment (humorous back-acronym)
• Queer Objects On Horseback - Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars^[55] (humorous back-acronym)
• Queers On Horseback - Queen's Own Hussars (humorous back-acronym)

R

• The Ragged Brigade - 13th Hussars^[1]
• The Ramnuggar Boys - 14th King's Hussars^[1] (from the Battle of Ramnagar in 1849)'
• Rats After Mouldy Cheese – Royal Army Medical Corps (humorous back-acronym) ^[3]
• Really Large Corps - Royal Logistic Corps
• The Redbreasts - 5th Royal Irish Lancers^[39]
• The Redcaps – Royal Military Police (from their distinctive headgear)
• The Red Devils - The Parachute Regiment^[46] (Refers to either the use of Tunisian Red mud as camouflage or the red berets worn)
• The Red Feathers - 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry^[1]
• Red Knights - 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot later Cheshire Regiment^[1]
• The Regiment - Special Air Service (Refers to their successes in the field, a sarcastic belief that saying their name will summon them.)
• Rob All My Comrades – Royal Army Medical Corps (derogatory back-acronym from the belief that medical personnel took advantage of their position to steal from casualties) ^[3]
• Rob All Our Comrades - Royal Army Ordnance Corps
• The Rollickers - 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers^[1]
• The Romulans - Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry (RMLY)
• The Rorys - The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders^[1]
• Rough Engineering Made Easy -Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
• The Royal Goats - The Royal Welsh Fusiliers^[1]
• The Royal Tigers - York and Lancaster Regiment^[1]
• Run Away, Someone's Coming – Royal Army Service Corps (humorous back-acronym)^[3]
• Rusty Buckles - 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)^[1][7]

S

• The Sandbags - Grenadier Guards^[1]
• The Scarlet Lancers - 16th The Queen's Lancers later 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers^[56] (the only British lancer regiment to wear red rather than blue uniforms from 1830 to World War I)
• The Saucy Greens - Worcestershire Regiment^[1](from the duck green facing colour of their uniform)
• Saucy Sixth - 6th Regiment of Foot later Royal Warwickshire Regiment^[1]
• Saucy Seventh - 7th Queen's Own Hussars^[40]
• The Shiners - Northumberland Fusiliers^[1][7] – from their high standard of spit and polish
• The Shiny Seventh – 7th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment – being the only red-coated and brass-buttoned battalion in a brigade otherwise uniformed in rifle green with black buttons^[57]
• The Shiny Tenth - 10th Royal Hussars^[58]
• The Shropshire Gunners – 181st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery – on conversion from a battalion of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, there was a shortage of RA insignia, so the men were ordered to cut the 'KING'S' and 'L.I.' from their shoulder titles, leaving the word 'Shropshire' ^[59]
• The Skilljngers - Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)^[1]
• The Skins

– 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons

– Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ^[3]

• The Snappers - East Yorkshire Regiment^[1]
• The Splashers - The Wiltshire Regiment^[1]
• The Springers^[1]

– 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot

– The Wiltshire Regiment

– The Lincolnshire Regiment

• The Staffordshire Knot - 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) later 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment^[1]
• The Star of the Line - Worcestershire Regiment^[1](from the elongated star forming part of the regimental badge)
• The Steelbacks

- 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment^[1]

– The Northamptonshire Regiment^[1]

• The Steel Heads - 109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry) later 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment^[1]
• The Stickies - The Royal Ulster Rifles (83rd & 86th)
• Stink – Special Brigade, Royal Engineers (responsible for poison gas and flame attacks)^[3][18]
• The Supple Twelfth - 12th Royal Lancers^[60]
• The Surprisers - 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot^[1]
• The Sweeps - 95th Rifles later The Rifle Brigade^[1][7] – from their black facings

T

• The Tabs - 15th The King's Hussars later 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars^[61]
• The Tankies - Royal Tank Regiment specifically, rather than cavalry units equipped with tanks - this differentiates from "tankers" as the US army term for all tank soldiers
• The Tartan Tankies 4th Royal Tank Regiment
• The Thin Red Line - 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot later The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders^[1]
• The Tigers - 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot who amalgamated with 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Hampshire Regiment in 1881 and now Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment ^[1] (so named after the Royal Tiger badge awarded to the 67th in honour of 21 years continuous service in India)
• The Tin Bellies - 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards^[1]
• Titchburns Own - Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)^[1]
• The T'Others – 13th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment^[38]
• The Trades Union - 1st King's Dragoon Guards^[1]
• The Triple Xs - 30th Regiment of Foot later East Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• The Two Fours - 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Essex Regiment^[1]
• The Two Fives - 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Border Regiment^[1]
• The Two Tens - 20th Regiment of Foot later Lancashire Fusiliers^[19]
• The Two Twos - 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot^[1]
• The Three Tens - 30th Regiment of Foot later East Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• The Twin Roses - York and Lancaster Regiment^[1]
• THEM - Special Air Service (Relates to the hush-hush nature of most of their work, where it wouldn't be prudent to mention their name), coined by Auld Sapper.

U

• The Ups and Downs - 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot later The Welsh Regiment^[1][7] – because the number 69 reads the same either way up

V

• The Vein Openers - 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot later Worcestershire Regiment^[1](refers to involvement of the 29th in the Boston Massacre)
• The Vikings - 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment^[49]
• The Vulgar Fractions 16/5th Lancers

W

• Wardour's Horse - The Welsh Regiment^[1]
• The Warwickshire Lads - Royal Warwickshire Regiment^[1][7]
• Wolfe's Own - 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment^[1]
• The Wonkey Donkeys - Berkshire Yeomanry
• The Woofers - Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment^[6](pronunciation of WFR)
• Wright's Irregulars – 582nd Moonlight Battery, Royal Artillery (after the unit's commanding officer)^[62]

X

• The XV - 20th Hussars^[1]

Y

• The Young Buffs - 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment^[1]
• Young and Livelies - York and Lancaster Regiment^[1]

See also

• Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
• Nicknames of U.S. Army divisions
• Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

Notes

References

• Maj R. Money Barnes, Military Uniforms of Britain and the Empire, London: Seeley Service, 1960/Sphere 1972.
• Maj R. Money Barnes, The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments, London: Seeley Service, 1956/Sphere 1972.
• Ian F.W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0-85936-271-X.
• Beevor, Antony (1991). Inside the British Army. Corgi Books. ISBN 0-552-13818-5. 
• Rev E. Cobham Brewer, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1870 (and many subsequent editions).
• Kate Caffrey, Farewell Leicester Square: The Old Contemptibles, 12 August–20 November 1914, London: Andre Deutsch, 1980.
• Chant, Christopher (1988). The Handbook of British Regiments. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00241-9. 
• Field-Marshal His Majesty the King (George V of the United Kingdom) (1916). Regimental Nicknames and Traditions of the British Army. Gale & Polden Ltd. London. 
• Frederick E. Gibbon, The 42nd East Lancashire Division 1914–1918, London: Country LIfe, 1920/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-84342-642-0.
• Capt E.G. Godfrey, The "Cast Iron Sixth": A History of the Sixth Battalion London Regiment (The City of London Rifles), London: Old Comrades' Association, 1935//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN 1-84342-170-4.
• Paul Hinckley, Battlefield Colloquialisms of the Great War (WW1), http://www.ict.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm.
• N.B. Leslie, The Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914, London: Leo Cooper, 1970.
• Martin Middlebrook, The First Day on the Somme, London: Allen Lane 1971/Fontana 1975.
• Don Neal, Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946, Studley: Brewin, 2001, ISBN 1-85858-192-3.
• Andrew Rawson, Battleground Europe: Loos –1915: Hohenzollern Redoubt, Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2003, ISBN 0-85052-903-4.
• Donald Richter, Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I, Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1992, ISBN 0-7006-0544-4.
• Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.