British Colonial Auxiliary Forces

1939 Army List, Dominion and Colonial Regiments index

1945 Army List, Order of Precedence of the British Army, with most colonial units omitted

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.

Some of the reserve colonial units, especially in the strategically-placed Imperial Fortress colonies (particularly Gibraltar, Bermuda and Malta), were funded by the War Department out of Army Funds and considered part of the British Army (by example, the Bermuda Militia Artillery was grouped with the Royal Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers with the Royal Engineers in the official Army Lists, which also listed the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps and Bermuda Militia Infantry officers, whereas most colonial units did not appear at all), whereas others that did not receive Army Funds were considered auxiliaries (British military units, but not part of the British Army). This had originally been true of various other military forces in the United Kingdom before the mid-Nineteenth Century, following which the Board of Ordnance was abolished and its military corps (the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and Royal Sappers and Miners) and previously-civilian Commissariat, stores and transport departments were all absorbed by the British Army and the Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Forces were more closely integrated with the British Army through a succession of military reforms.

Many colonial units started out as auxiliaries and later became regular units and forerunners to the current militaries of those colonies which have become politically independent.

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 Royal Bermuda Regiment; the Royal Gibraltar Regiment; the Falkland Islands Defence Force; and the Royal Montserrat Defence Force. The British Government is currently (2020) working with the local governments of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands to raise reserve military units in those territories, also, with recruitment for the new Cayman Islands Regiment starting in January, 2020.^[1]^[2]^[3]

List of Colonial Auxiliary Forces[]

Aden[]

Aden Protectorate Levies

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[]

Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars
Corps of Colonial Marines
American Legion (1780-1783)
American Volunteers (1779-1780)
(1781-1783)
Black Company of Pioneers (also, known as the Black Pioneers, later merged into the Guides and Pioneers in 1778), (pioneers, another name for military construction engineers) (1777-1778)
British Legion (placed on in 1781 as 5th American Regiment) (1777-1778)
Bucks County Dragoons (absorbed by British Legion in 1780) (1778-1780)
Butler's Rangers (1777-1784)
Caledonian Volunteers (formed part of the British Legion in 1778) (1777-1778)
() (1781)
(1777-1783)
^[4]^[5] (1775-1783)
(1777)
De Lancey's Brigade (1776-1783)
(claimed descent from Roger's Rangers, later became 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery Regiment, Michigan National Guard) (1778-1783)
(also, known as Diemar's Hussars and Black Hussars, hussars, (light cavalry) (1779-1781)
Duke of Cumberland's Regiment (1781-1783)
(1776-1777)
(chasseurs / light cavalry) (1777-1779)
() (1781)
(1780-1781)
(there was also, a Local Volunteer Corps unit, of the same name) (1779-1781)
(1779-1782)
(1777-1781)
(absorbed the Black Company of Pioneers in 1778) (1778-1783)
(1780-1783)
King's American Dragoons
King's American Regiment (placed on , in 1781, as 4th American Regiment, part of the regular, British Army) (1776-1783)
King's Rangers
King's Orange Rangers
King's Royal Regiment of New York
(formed part of the British Legion in 1778)
Loyal American Rangers (1780-1783)
Loyal American Regiment
Loyal Rangers
Maryland Loyalists Battalion
McAlpin's Corps (also, known as McAlpin's Corps of Royalists, absorbed the American Volunteers, , , and Adams' Rangers)
Newfoundland Regiment (placed on British establishment in 1782)
New Jersey Volunteers (Skinner's Greens)
Newport Artillery Company (Rhode Island) 1741
New York Volunteers (placed on , as 3rd American Regiment in 1779)
(formed part of the British Legion in 1778)
Queen's Rangers (placed on , in 1779, as 1st American Regiment, descended from Roger's Rangers)
(1777-1778)
Royal Fencible Americans
(placed on British establishment in 178
Royal Highland Emigrants (placed on British establishment in 1779 as 84th Foot)
Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment
() (1781)
Volunteers of Ireland (absorbed the and New Jersey Volunteers and placed on , in 1779, as 2nd American Regiment, part of the regular, British Army) (1778-1782)