THE COLOURS OF THE QUEEN'S ROYAL SURREY REGIMENTS OF 1959 - 1967

1st Battalion The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment

Figure 64

Presentation of New Colours, 1st Bn The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment. Queen’s Colour Lt T L Trotman, Regimental Colour, Lt A F Ridger, Major J B Ray and Major I D Beattie

After the amalgamation of 1st Queen’s and 1st Surreys, new Colours were presented to the amalgamated 1st Battalion by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh at Bury St Edmunds on 22nd April 1960. These Colours, although similar in size and form to the last stand of The Queen’s differed in detail so that both Regiments might be equally represented.

The Queen’s Colour was once again the Great Union. In the centre was the red roundel bearing the title surmounted by a Queen’s Crown but now the Roman I for the 1st Battalion was moved to the centre. On the horizontal arms of St George’s Cross were placed thirty-eight Battle Honours won during the two World Wars, a full list of which may be found in the History of the Regiment by JP Riley.

Figure 65

The Regimental Colour is again a blue sheet with the battalion numeral in the first canton; the four corner badges now became the cipher of Queen Catherine within the Garter, the badge of The East Surrey Regiment, the Naval Crown superscribed “1 June 1794”, the Sphinx superscribed “Egypt”. In the centre was placed the new Regimental badge, the lamb and star, within a red roundel, bearing the Regimental title, surmounted by a Queen’s crown. Once again around this was the Union wreath with the motto Pristinae Virtutis Memor across its base. Around this was placed the golden laurel wreath bearing the Battle Honours won outside the two World Wars which again are listed in the Regimental History. These Colours are shown below.

After the reorganisation of the Home Counties Brigade on a regimental basis, these Colours remained with 1st Battalion The Queen’s Regiment. They were trooped for the last time at the presentation of new Colours to The Queen’s Regiment on 4th May 1974 at Armoury House, London, and were laid up on 15th June 1975 at Guildford Cathedral.