The Regiment was founded in 1958 from the amalgamation of the former Devonshire and former Dorset Regiments. The Regiment traces its history back to the forming of the 11th Regiment of Foot, later the Devonshire Regiment, in 1685, and the 39th and 54th Regiments of Foot, later to become the Dorset Regiment.
From its first Battle Honour of Dettingen in 1743 the Regiment has seen action in all the main campaigns, and many smaller ones, fought by the British Army over the past 300 years. A selection of its 141 Battle Honours give an idea of these campaigns all over the world - Plassey, Salamanca, Pyrenees, Sebastopol, Afghanistan, South Africa, Mons, Ypres, Loos, Somme, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Normandy, Arnhem, Rhine, Sicily, Italy, Mandalay, Burma. In World War I the Regiment raised 35 battalions and 20 in World War II who fought in all the major areas of conflict.
Today its 1st Battalion, a regular army unit, is stationed in Paderborn in Germany, and its 4th Battalion, a territorial army unit, is based in barracks in the Regiment’s two counties. Since 1945 the regular battalions have seen active service in Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, Guiana, Belize, Northern Ireland and in 1995 served with United Nations forces in Bosnia. The present regular battalion is an armoured infantry one equipped with Warrior armoured personnel carriers in the 1st (UK) Armoured Division part of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Force.
The Regiment has strong links with its home counties of Devon and Dorset which is its main area of recruitment. the majority of soldiers in the Regiment come from the two counties and, besides having the Freedom of 12 cities and towns, the Regiment maintains close affiliations with many organisations in the counties, and with the Cadet Forces and also has a flourishing association to keep all who have served in the Regiment in touch with each other.
Devonshire and Dorset soldiers in Bosnia with Warriors.
Regimental march - "Widdecome Fair".
