This is a list of auxiliary regiments or units formed by the British in individual colonies of the British Empire. In some colonies, the units were led by officers seconded from the British Army. Especially in the case of units that recruited non-whites, even in colonies where the officers were primarily colonials commissions were generally restricted to whites until after the Second World War. Non-white colonials, as well as non-whites from Britain itself (who were for a time assigned to British West Indian Regiments of the British Army as a matter of policy, even if enlisting in Britain) served primarily in the other ranks. Although militias operating on the same principle as the militia in England and Wales were established in many colonies during the 17th and 18th Centuries, from the 19th Century onwards colonial units were mostly voluntary, and supplied a reserve force either to be called up in war time to reinforce regular British Army garrisons for home defence, or in some cases were entirely responsible for home defence. Many units, however, took part in active campaigns outside of the role of home defence in various conflicts the British Empire was involved in, including the two world wars. Many of these units started out as auxiliary units and later became regular units and forerunners to those countries modern military.
While most of the units listed here were army units, colonial marines were raised at various times, as were colonial naval and air force reserve units.
Today, only four British Overseas Territories regiments remain (not including cadet corps): the Bermuda Regiment; the Royal Gibraltar Regiment; the Falkland Islands Defence Force; and the Royal Montserrat Defence Force.
List of Colonial Auxiliary Forces[]
Africa[]
- King's African Rifles garrisoned the East African colonies of Nyasaland, Kenya, Uganda and British Somaliland.
- Royal West African Frontier Force garrisoned the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.
America[]
Antigua[]
Australia[]
Barbados[]
Bermuda[]
- Bermuda Militias 1612-1815
- Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (1894–1965)
- Bermuda Militia Artillery (1895–1965)
- Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (1930-1946)
- Bermuda Militia Infantry (1939-1946)
- Bermuda Home Guard
- Bermuda Regiment (1965–Present)
- Bermuda Cadet Corps (19th Century-2013)
- Air Training Corps
- Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps (1968–Present)
British Guiana[]
British Honduras[]
Burma[]
- Burma Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve[1]
Canada[]
Ceylon[]
- Ceylon Volunteers (1881–1910)
- Ceylon Defence Force (1910–1948)
- Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Dominica[]
- Dominica Defence Force
Falkland Islands[]
- Falkland Islands Defence Force (1892–Present)
Fiji[]
- Fiji Defence Force
Gibraltar[]
Gold Coast[]
Grenada[]
- Grenada Defence Force
Guernsey[]
Hong Kong[]
- Royal Hong Kong Regiment (1854–1997)
India[]
- Cavalry
- The Allahabad Light Horse
- The Assam Valley Light Horse
- The Bihar Light Horse
- The Bombay Light Horse
- The Calcutta Light Horse
- The Cawnpore Light Horse
- The Ghazipur Light Horse
- The Gorakhpur Light Horse
- The Northern Bengal Mounted Rifles
- The Oudh Light Horse
- The Punjab Light Horse
- The Surma Valley Light Horse
- Infantry
- The Agra Volunteer Rifle Corps
- The Allahabad Rifles
- The Assam Bengal Railway Battalion
- The Baluchistan Volunteer Rifle Corps
- The Bangalore Contingent
- The Bengal and North West Railway Battalion
- The Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion
- The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Regiment
- The Bombay Volunteer Rifles Corps
- The Calcutta and Presidency Battalion
- The Calcutta Presidency Battalion
- The Cawnpore Rifles
- The Chota Nagpur Regiment
- The Coorg and Mysore Company
- The Coorg and Mysore Rifles
- The Dehra Dun Mounted Rifles
- The East Coast Battalion
- The East Indian Railway Regiment
- The Eastern Bengal Company
- The Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion
- The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Regiment
- The Hyderabad Rifles
- The Kolar Goldfields Battalion
- The Lucknow Volunteer Rifle Corps
- The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifles
- The Madras Guards
- The Malabar Volunteer Rifles
- The Malwah Bheel Corps
- Meywa Bheel Corps
- The Midlands Volunteer Rifle Corps
- The Moulmein Volunteer Rifle Corps
- The Mussourie Battalion
- The Nagpur Rifles
- The Naini Tal Volunteer Rifles
- The Nilgiri Malabar Battalion
- The Northern Bengal Mounted Rifles
- The North West Railway Battalion
- The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Battalion
- The Poona Rifles
- The Shillong Volunteer Rifles
- The Simla Rifles
- The South Andaman Volunteer Rifles Corps
- The South Indian Railway Battalion
- The Yercaud Volunteer Rifle Corps
Ireland[]
- Irish Guards
- Royal Irish Regiment
- Royal Irish Constabulary
- Royal Ulster Constabulary
- Police Service of Northern Ireland
Jamaica[]
- Jamaica Militia Artillery
- Jamaica Engineer Corps
- Kingston (later Jamaica) Infantry Volunteers
- Jamaica Home Guard
- consolidated postwar to form:
- Jamaica Defence Force
Jersey[]
Kenya[]
Leeward Island[]
- Leewards Islands Battalion (1943-1945)
- Leewards Home Guard
Malaya[]
- Malay States Volunteer Rifles (1915–1936)
- Malayan Naval Volunteer Reserve
Malta[]
Mauritius[]
Montserrat[]
- Montsarrat Defence Force
New Zealand[]
Nigeria[]
Rhodesia/Nyasaland[]
St Christopher Nevis[]
Singapore[]
- Singapore Volunteer Corps
- Singapore Naval Volunteer Force
St Lucia[]
- St. Lucia Volunteer Corps
St Vincent[]
S. Rhodesia[]
Sudan[]
Trinidad/Tobago[]
- Trinidad Volunteers (expanded during WWII to form:)
- Trinidad Regiment
- Trinidad Volunteer Artillery
- Trinidad Home Guard
West Indies[]
Medals[]
- Efficiency Decoration
- Efficiency Medal
- Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration
- Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal
References& External links[]
The original article can be found at British Colonial Auxiliary Forces and the edit history here.