British Armed Forces

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Military of the United Kingdom
)
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British Armed Forces
Badge of the Ministry of Defence
Flag of the Ministry of Defence
Founded1546 (Royal Navy)
1660 (British Army)
1918 (Royal Air Force)
Service branches
HeadquartersMinistry of Defence, London
Leadership
Head of the Armed Forces King Charles III
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
Vice-Chief of the Defence StaffGeneral Gwyn Jenkins
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff CommitteeWarrant Officer Class 1 Richard Angove
Personnel
Military age16–17 (with parental consent)
18 (without and to serve in combat)
ConscriptionNo[a][1]
Active personnel
  • 138,100 regular forces personnel (January 2024)[2]
  • 4,060 Gurkhas (January 2024)[2]
Reserve personnel32,580
ranked 6th)
Percent of GDP1.9% (2021/22)[3]
Industry
Domestic suppliers
Foreign suppliers 
Conflicts involving the United Kingdom
Battles involving the United Kingdom
Ranks

The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.[5]

Since the formation of the

Second World War. Britain's victories in most of these wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers.[7] The British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 70 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves
.

UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. Only a "standing army" requires reapproval by Parliament; the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines and any other forces are not included in the requirement. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council
.

The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, a permanent member on the United Nations Security Council, a founding and leading member of NATO and party to the AUKUS security pact and the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Overseas garrisons and training facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Bahrain, Belize, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Montserrat, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore and the United States.[12]

History

Main articles:
History of the Royal Navy, History of the British Army, and History of the Royal Air Force
Defence spending in the UK

Organisational history

With the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain.[6]

There were originally several naval and several military regular and reserve forces, although most of these were consolidated into the Royal Navy or the British Army during the 19th and 20th Centuries (the

Second World War
).

Naval forces included the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
(created in 1903).

The British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces)

military forces, of which the British Army (also referred to historically as the 'Regular Army' and the 'Regular Force') was only one.[14][15] The oldest of these organisations was the Militia Force (also referred to as the Constitutional Force),[16][17][18][19] which (in the Kingdom of England) was originally the main military defensive force (there otherwise were originally only Royal bodyguards, including the Yeomen Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard
, with armies raised only temporarily for expeditions overseas), made up of civilians embodied for annual training or emergencies, and had used various schemes of compulsory service during different periods of its long existence.

The Militia was originally an all infantry force, organised at the city or county level, and members were not required to serve outside of their recruitment area, although the area within which militia units in Britain could be posted was increased to anywhere in the Britain during the Eighteenth Century, and

Mutiny Act
did not apply to members of the Reserve Forces.

The other regular military force that existed alongside the British Army was the

Canadian confederation, Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Malta).[39][40][41] Today, the British Army is the only Home British military force (unless the Army Cadet Force and the Combined Cadet Force are considered), including both the regular army and the forces it absorbed, though British military units organised on Territorial lines remain in British Overseas Territories that are still not considered formally part of the British Army, with only the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Royal Bermuda Regiment
(an amalgam of the old Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps) appearing on the British Army order of precedence and in the Army List.

Confusingly, and similarly to the dual meaning of the word Corps in the British Army (by example, the 1st Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps was in 1914 part of the 6th Brigade that was part of the 2nd Infantry Division, which was itself part of 1st Army Corps), the British Army sometimes also used the term expeditionary force or field force to describe a body made up of British Army units, most notably the British Expeditionary Force, or of a mixture of British Army, Indian Army, or Imperial auxiliary units, such as the Malakand Field Force (this is similarly to the naval use of the term task force). In this usage, force is used to describe a self-reliant body able to act without external support, at least within the parameters of the task or objective for which it is employed.

Empire and World Wars

A modern reproduction of an 1805 poster commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar

During the later half of the seventeenth century, and in particular, throughout the eighteenth century, British foreign policy sought to contain the expansion of rival European powers through military, diplomatic and commercial means, especially of its chief competitors Spain, the Netherlands, and France. This saw Britain engage in a number of intense conflicts over colonial possessions and world trade, including a long string of Anglo-Spanish and Anglo-Dutch wars, as well as a series of "world wars" with France, such as; the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). During the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Navy victory at Trafalgar (1805) under the command of Horatio Nelson (aboard HMS Victory) marked the culmination of British maritime supremacy, and left the Navy in a position of uncontested hegemony at sea.[42] By 1815 and the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had risen to become the world's dominant great power and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, known as Pax Britannica.[7][43]

With Britain's old rivals no-longer a threat, the nineteenth century saw the emergence of a new rival, the

The Great Game for supremacy in Central Asia.[44] Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India.[44] In response, Britain undertook a number of pre-emptive actions against perceived Russian ambitions, including the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880)[45] and the British expedition to Tibet (1903–1904). During this period, Britain also sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe, particularly against Russian expansionism,[46] who at the expense of the waning Ottoman Empire had ambitions to "carve up the European part of Turkey".[47] This ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War (1854–1856) against the Russian Empire.[47]

Royal Irish Rifles in the Battle of the Somme
's trenches 1916

The beginning of the twentieth century served to

First World War (1914–1918), in what is recognised today, as the most devastating war in British military history, with nearly 800,000 men killed and over 2 million wounded.[49] Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles and the establishment of the League of Nations
.

British commandos during the Second World War

Although Germany had been defeated during the First World War, by 1933

Second World War began (1939–1945).[50] The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East and the Far East. Approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops died.[51] Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations
(replacing the League of nations).

The Cold War

Main article: Outline of the British Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War
Vulcan Bomber was the mainstay of Britain's airborne nuclear capability for much of the Cold War
.

Post–Second World War economic and political decline, as well as changing attitudes in British society and government, were reflected by the armed forces' contracting global role,

RAF Germany consequently represented the largest and most important overseas commitments that the armed forces had during this period,[62] while the Royal Navy developed an anti-submarine warfare specialisation, with a particular focus on countering Soviet submarines in the Eastern Atlantic and North Sea.[60]

While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, including a spate of insurgencies against colonial occupation.

Dhofar Rebellion (1962–1976) and The Troubles (1969–1998) emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces.[63] Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War (1982).[64]

Since

Islamic State was expanded following a parliamentary vote to launch a bombing campaign over Syria; an extension of the bombing campaign requested by the Iraqi government against the same group. In addition to the aerial campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground and the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment
(British special forces) has carried out various missions on the ground in both Syria and Iraq.

The armed forces have also been called upon to assist with national emergencies through the provisions of the military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism. This has seen the armed forces assist government departments and civil authorities responding to flooding, food shortages, wildfires, terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic;[67] the armed forces' support to the latter falls under Operation Rescript, described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence.[68]

Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in

medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War.[69]

Today

Command organisation

Burmese at the 1986 Trooping the Colour
ceremony
See also: UK parliamentary approval for military action
The Ministry of Defence building at Whitehall, Westminster, London

Head of the Armed Forces,[8][9] with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to him. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has de facto vested military authority and associated royal prerogative powers in the prime minister and the secretary of state for defence, with the former (acting with the support of the Cabinet) making the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The sovereign retains the power to prevent the unconstitutional use of the armed forces, including that of its nuclear arsenal.[70]

The

Admiralty Board, Army Board and Air Force Board
) are chaired by the secretary of state for defence.

The

First Sea Lord for the Royal Navy, the chief of the general staff for the Army and the chief of the air staff for the Royal Air Force
.

Personnel

Welsh Guards Trooping the Colour

As of 1 July 2023 the British Armed Forces are a professional force with a total strength of 185,980 personnel, consisting of 140,300 UK Regulars and 4,140 Gurkhas, 33,210 Volunteer Reserves and 8,330 "Other Personnel".[c][73] As a percentage breakdown of UK Service Personnel, 77.1% are UK Regulars and Gurkhas, 18.8% are Volunteer Reserves and 4.1% are composed of Other Personnel.[73] In addition, all ex-Regular personnel retain a "statutory liability for service" and are liable to be recalled (under Section 52 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 1996) for duty during wartime, which is known as the Regular Reserve. MoD publications since April 2013 no longer report the entire strength of the Regular Reserve, instead they only give a figure for Regular Reserves who serve under a fixed-term reserve contract. These contracts are similar in nature to those of the Volunteer Reserve.[74]

The distribution of personnel between the services and categories of service on 1 July 2023 was as follows:[73]

Service Regular Volunteer
Reserve		 Other
personnel		 Total
Navy 32,360 3,370 2,480 38,220
Army and Gurkhas 80,360 26,760, 4,530 111,650
Air Force 31,710 3,080 1,320 36,110
Total 144,330 33,210 8,330 185,980

As of 1 October 2017, there were a total of 9,330 Regular service personnel stationed outside of the United Kingdom, 3,820 of those were located in Germany. 138,040 Regular service personnel were stationed in the United Kingdom, the majority located in the South East and South West of England with 37,520 and 36,790 Regular service personnel, respectively.[75]

Defence expenditure

See also: List of countries in Europe by military expenditures
Top ten military expenditures in billion US$ in 2014

According to the

fourth-largest defence budget in the world.[76] For comparison's sake, this sees Britain spending more in absolute terms than France, Germany, India or Japan, a similar amount to that of Russia, but less than China, Saudi Arabia or the United States.[76] In September 2011, according to Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute, current "planned levels of defence spending should be enough for the United Kingdom to maintain its position as one of the world's top military powers, as well as being one of NATO-Europe's top military powers. Its edge – not least its qualitative edge – in relation to rising Asian powers seems set to erode, but will remain significant well into the 2020s, and possibly beyond."[77] The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence and announced a £178 billion investment over ten years in new equipment and capabilities.[78][79] On 8 March 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a further £5bn in defence spending with a long-term goal of an increased spending to 2.5% of GDP.[80]

Nuclear weapons

A Trident II SLBM being launched from a Vanguard-class submarine
Main article: Nuclear weapons of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear weapon states under the

Polaris (Tridents predecessor) in the 1960s, from April 1969 "the Royal Navy's ballistic missile boats have not missed a single day on patrol",[81] giving what the Defence Council described in 1980 as a deterrent "effectively invulnerable to pre-emptive attack".[82] As of 2015, it has been British Government policy for the Vanguard-class strategic submarines to carry no more than 40 nuclear warheads, delivered by eight UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles.[83] In contrast with the other recognised nuclear weapon states, the United Kingdom operates only a submarine-based delivery system, having decommissioned its tactical WE.177
free-fall bombs in 1998.

The House of Commons voted on 18 July 2016 in favour of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines with a new generation of Dreadnought-class submarines.[84] The programme will also contribute to extending the life of the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles and modernise the infrastructure associated with the CASD.[85]

Former weapons of mass destruction possessed by the United Kingdom include both biological and chemical weapons. These were renounced in 1956 and subsequently destroyed.

Overseas military installations

Main article: Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom
Telic (Iraq); Ellamy (Libya); and Shader
(Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).

The British Armed Forces historically relied on four

Confederation of Canada, and naval control transferred in 1905 to what was to become the Royal Canadian Navy) rapidly faded. The Bermuda-based North America and West Indies Station was abolished in 1956, and the last regular army units removed from the Bermuda Command in 1957 (leaving only two part-time reserve units), with the naval dockyard in Bermuda reduced to a base,[99] without repair or refit capabilities, in 1951 and finally closed in 1995, following the Cold War (United States and Canadian bases in Bermuda closed in the same period), leaving only the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps there today.[100] Malta became independent in 1964, and the last British armed forces personnel were removed from the former colony in 1979. Gibraltar continues to be used by the regular British Armed Forces, though the naval and military establishment in the colony (now termed a British Overseas Territory) has been reduced to several Royal Naval patrol craft, the locally raised Royal Gibraltar Regiment
, and a Royal Air Force Station without aircraft based on it.

The British Armed Forces today maintain a number of overseas garrisons and military facilities which enable the country to conduct operations worldwide. The majority of Britain's permanent military installations are located on British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom, and located in areas of strategic importance.[12] The most significant of these are the "Permanent Joint Operating Bases" (PJOBs), located on the four overseas territories of Cyprus (British Forces Cyprus), Gibraltar (British Forces Gibraltar), the Falkland Islands (British Forces South Atlantic Islands) and Diego Garcia (British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories).[101] While not a PJOB, Ascension Island (another BOT) is home to the airbase RAF Ascension Island, notable for use as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War, the territory is also the site of a joint UK-US signals intelligence facility.[12]

Qatar is home to

Naval Support Facility (NSF) is located in Bahrain, established in 2016 it marks the British return East of Suez.[103] In support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the United Kingdom retains a naval repair and logistics support facility at Sembawang wharf, Singapore.[12][104] Other overseas military installations include; British Forces Brunei,[105] British Forces Germany,[106] the British Army Training Unit Kenya,[107] British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada,[108] British Army Training and Support Unit Belize, and British Gurkhas Nepal.[109]

Some British Overseas Territories also maintain locally raised units and regiments;

Crown dependency hosts a multi-capability recruiting and training unit of the British Army Reserve.[114]

Since 1969 Britain has had a military satellite communications system, Skynet, initially in large part to support East of Suez bases and deployments. Since 2015 Skynet has offered near global coverage.[115]

Expeditionary forces

The British Armed Forces place significant importance in the ability to conduct

16 Air Assault Brigade (British Army). Frequently, these forces will act as part of a larger tri-service effort, under the direction of Permanent Joint Headquarters, or along with like-minded allies under the Joint Expeditionary Force. Similarly, under the auspices of NATO, such expeditionary forces are designed to meet Britain's obligations to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
and other NATO operations.

In 2010, the governments of the United Kingdom and

Lancaster House Treaties which committed both governments to the creation of a Franco-British Combined Joint Expeditionary Force.[116] It is envisaged as a deployable joint force, for use in a wide range of crisis scenarios, up to and including high intensity combat operations. As a joint force it involves all three armed Services: a land component composed of formations at national brigade level, maritime and air components with their associated Headquarters, together with logistics and support functions.[117]

The Armed Forces

Royal Navy

supercarrier
on sea trials in June 2017
Main article: Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force,

Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral.[120]

The Surface Fleet consists of

Eastern and Western fleets in 1971.[121] The recently built Type 45 destroyers are stealthy and technologically advanced air-defence destroyers. The Royal Navy has commissioned two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, embarking an air-group including the advanced fifth-generation multi-role fighter, the F-35B.[122]

A submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The

United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. Seven Astute-class
nuclear-powered attack submarines have been ordered, with five completed and two under construction. The Astute class are the most advanced and largest fleet submarines ever built for the Royal Navy and will maintain Britain's nuclear-powered submarine fleet capabilities for decades to come.

Royal Marines

Main article: Royal Marines

The Royal Marines are the Royal Navy's amphibious troops. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (

24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers.[124] The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy.[125]

British Army

Main article: British Army

The British Army is the land force of the British Armed Forces, and is made up of the Regular Army and the part-time

four-star general within Army Headquarters, based at Andover.[126]

Sky Sabre (with Land Ceptor missiles) ground-based air defence system as operated by 7th Air Defence Group
.

Deployable combat formations are;[127][128]

remote weapon station
(RWS).

The Infantry of the British Army has a strength of 48 battalions (32 regular and 16 reserve), structured under 17 unique regiments.[130] These battalions are trained and equipped for specific roles within their respective Brigade Combat Teams (BCT); Light Infantry, such as the famous 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, within the 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, fight on foot without armoured vehicles; Light Mechanised Infantry, such as the 1st Battalion Royal Yorkshire Regiment, within the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team, operate the Foxhound protected mobility vehicle; Armoured Infantry (to become Heavy Mechanised Infantry under Future Soldier), such as the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, within the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade Combat Team, operate the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), but will be equipped with the new Boxer mechanised infantry vehicle from 2024.[131][128][132]

Javelin anti-tank guided missile, GPMG, and GMG from a RWMIK
.

The four battalions of the Parachute Regiment, forming 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and part of Special Forces Support Group, are the British Army's elite airborne infanteers, held at high readiness and specialising in rapid deployment by parachute and helicopter, widely regarded as the "fittest, most aggressive, resilient and disciplined regiment in the British Army."[133][134][135][136]

The Royal Armoured Corps provides the armoured capability of the British Army. The Royal Tank Regiment, Queen's Royal Hussars and Royal Wessex Yeomanry (of the Army Reserve) operate Challenger 2 main battle tanks, which are being upgraded to Challenger 3, and are part of 3rd (UK) Division's Armoured Brigade Combat Teams. Armoured Cavalry regiments, such as the Royal Dragoon Guards, currently operate the Warrior IFV on an interim basis, until Ajax reaches full operating capability. There are six Light Cavalry regiments (three Regular + three Reserve) equipped with the Jackal 2 and Coyote TSV, tasked with providing reconnaissance and fire support. The Household Cavalry, made up of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, operate in a dual role of Armoured Cavalry and Mounted Ceremonial on Horse Guards in London, and for state occasions.[137][138][139][128][140]

Royal Air Force

The Eurofighter Typhoon multirole combat aircraft
Main article: Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of both

Wings and squadrons—the basic unit of the Air Force.[143][144] Independent flights are deployed to facilities in Brunei, the Falkland Islands, Iraq, and the United States.[145]

The Royal Air Force operates multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft.[146]

Ground units are also maintained by the Royal Air Force, most prominently the

Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regt). The Royal Air Force Regiment essentially functions as the ground defence force of the RAF, optimised for the specialist role of fighting on and around forward airfields, which are densely packed with operationally vital aircraft, equipment, infrastructure and personnel.[147] The Regiment contains nine regular squadrons, supported by five squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment. In addition, it provides Forward Air Controllers to defence as well as a contribution to the Special Forces Support Group.[148][149]

Ministry of Defence

RFA Argus (left), the fleet's aviation training and hospital ship
Main article: Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence maintains a number of civilian agencies in support of the British Armed Forces. Although they are civilian, they play a vital role in supporting Armed Forces operations, and in certain circumstances are under military discipline:

  • The
    landing ship dock
    vessels. It is manned by 1,850 civilian personnel and is funded and run by the Ministry of Defence.
  • The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) has an established strength of 2,700 police officers which provide armed security, counter terrorism, uniformed policing and investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom.
  • The
    Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
    .
  • The
    navigational and other hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements. The UKHO is located in Taunton, Somerset
    , on Admiralty Way and has a workforce of approximately 1,000 staff.

Recruitment

Further information: Recruitment in the British Army
Royal Marine of 122 Troop Kings Squad is pictured during a passing out parade
in 2011, having undergone the recruitment process and selection and training

All three services of the British Armed Forces recruit primarily from within the United Kingdom, although citizens from the Commonwealth of Nations and the Republic of Ireland are equally eligible to join.[150] The minimum recruitment age is 16 years (although personnel may not serve on armed operations below 18 years, and if under 18 must also have parental consent to join); the maximum recruitment age depends whether the application is for a regular or reserve role; there are further variations in age limit for different corps/regiments. The normal term of engagement is 22 years; however, the minimum service required before resignation is 4 years, plus, in the case of the Army, any service person below the age of 18.[151] At present, the yearly intake into the armed forces is 11,880 (per the 12 months to 31 March 2014).[152]

Excluding the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Irish Regiment, as of 1 April 2014 there are approximately 11,200 Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) persons serving as Regulars across the three service branches; of those, 6,610 were recruited from outside the United Kingdom. In total, Black and Minority Ethnic persons represent 7.1% of all service personnel, an increase from 6.6% in 2010.[152]

Since the year 2000,

Gay Pride events.[153][154] The forces keep no formal figures concerning the number of gay and lesbian serving soldiers, saying that the sexual orientation of personnel is considered irrelevant and not monitored.[155]

Role of women

Further information: Women in the military by country § United Kingdom
Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, April 1945

Squadron Leader Nikki Thomas recently[when?] were the first Tornado GR4 crew.[157] While enforcing the Libyan No-Fly Zone, Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour was identified as the first female Eurofighter Typhoon pilot.[158]

In August 2011, it was announced that a female lieutenant commander, Sarah West, was to command the

three-star Lieutenant General Dame Sharon Nesmith
.

March

Main article: List of marches of the British Armed Forces

See also

Notes

  1. ^ National Service ended in 1960, though periods of deferred service still had to be completed. The last national servicemen were discharged in 1963.
  2. Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry
  3. ^ Other Personnel includes personnel of the Military Provost Guard Service, Regular Reserves called up for duty and the Sponsored Reserves.[73]

References

  1. ^ "National Service". UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 January 2024". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. UK Parliament
    . 20 April 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports data for United Kingdom, 2010-2021". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ The Mission of the Armed Forces Archived 2 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, armedforces.co.uk
  6. ^ a b Acts of Union 1707 Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine parliament.uk, accessed 31 December 2010; Uniting the kingdom? Archived 8 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine nationalarchives.gov.uk, accessed 31 December 2010; Making the Act of Union 1707 Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine scottish.parliament.uk, accessed 31 December 2010
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-9047423935
    ., pp. 508–10.
  8. ^ a b Forces Queen and Armed Forces Archived 22 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, royal.uk.
  9. ^ a b [1], May 2023. Retrieved on 24 November 2023.
  10. ^ Governance of Britain, July 2007. Retrieved on 12 May 2013.
  11. ^ Review of the Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report, Ministry of Justice, October 2009. Retrieved on 12 May 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d "The Status and Location of the Military Installations of the Member States of the European Union" (PDF). Policy Department External Policies: 13–14. February 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  13. ^ "NAVAL AND MILITARY PENSIONS AND GRANTS", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), vol. 90, cc248-51, 12 February 1917, archived from the original on 21 May 2022, retrieved 8 June 2021
  14. ^ A LIST OF THE OFFICERS of the ARMY, (WITH AN ALPHABETICAL INDEX;) OF THE OFFICERS of the ROYAL ARTILLERY, THE ENGINEERS, the MARINE FORCES, AND OF THE OFFICERS on HALF-PAY; AND A SUCCESSION of COLONELS. THE THIRTY-SECOND EDITION. War-Office. 31 March 1784
  15. ^ Major H. G. Hart, 49TH REGT (1854), THE NEW ANNUAL ARMY LIST, MILITIA LIST, London: John Murray{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "MILITIA BILL. House of Commons Debate 23 April 1852. Volume 120 cc1035-109. British Parliament website". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 23 April 1852. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  17. ^ "THE MILITIA. House of Commons Debate 4 May 1855. Volume 138 cc116-32. British Parliament website". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 4 May 1855. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  18. ^ "THE MILITIA—QUESTION. House of Lords Debate 11 July 1856. Volume 143 cc625-32. British Parliament website". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 July 1856. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  19. ^ "ARMY—AUXILIARY FORCES—THE MILITIA.—OBSERVATIONS. House of Commons Debate 13 June 1878. Volume 240 cc1418-33. British Parliament website". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 13 June 1878. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b The Militia Artillery 1852-1909, by Norman EH Litchfield. The Sherwood Press (Nottingham) Ltd. 1987
  21. ^ "AN IMPERIAL YEOMANRY RESERVE. House of Lords Debate 26 May 1903. Vol 122 cc1767-71. British Parliament website". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 26 May 1903. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  22. ISBN 0-921560-11-7
  23. ISBN 978-0-921560-00-5
  24. ^ "1988 Military Uniforms of Bermuda, By Neil Rigby on November 10, 1988 in First Day Covers, Queen Elizabeth II. Bermuda Stamps website". Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ^ Jamaica Defence Force: Third Battalion Duties. Jamaica Defence Force website
  26. ^ "Jamaica in 1914: War effort The National Archives, Kew". Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Unit History: Department of the Master-General of the Ordnance. Forces War Records". Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  28. ^ Board of Ordnance. Naval History Archive[permanent dead link]
  29. JSTOR 44220102
    .
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