TROOPS in an Oxfordshire Army regiment have been looking back through the history books for inspiration in looking forward.

They have been focusing on the bravery of their predecessors 200 years ago in the Battle of Waterloo, and a century ago in the First World War.

Two hundred years ago, in 1815, the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot fought in the Battle of Waterloo.

The regiment later became the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

The Ox & Bucks was renamed The Royal Green Jackets in 1966, and in 2007 The Rifles was formed from a number of regiments, including the Ox & Bucks.

Army Reserve soldiers in 7 Rifles at Edward Brooks Barracks in Abingdon are not allowed to forget the bravery of their forebears.

That name relates to Edward Brooks, who was a Company Sergeant Major in the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who won the Victoria Cross for capturing a German machine gun at Fayet, France, on April 28, 1917.

City councillors are being asked to grant the Freedom of the City to The Rifles, first bestowed on the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1945 and later exercised by the Royal Green Jackets.

Council officers are recommending that the honour is granted as a “mark of the city’s respect and appreciation of The Rifles’ continued service to their country”.

Terry Roper, chairman of the Oxford branch of the Royal Green Jackets Association, said: “The Rifles are getting a lot of attention at the moment and it’s only fitting that they should be given the Freedom of the City.

“The regiment has such a glorious history and that could inspire people to join, including those who want to serve as reservists. Reservists are invaluable and have a very important part to play.

“With all the attention The Rifles are getting at the moment it will make people think about the future and about the past.”

Following bravery in the Battle of Waterloo, troops were also praised for extraordinary exploits a century later in the First World War, near Ypres in Belgium in 1914.

The 2nd Battalion of the Ox & Bucks played a key part on November 11 at the Battle of Nonne Bosschen wood.

On that day about abut 400 troops from the 2nd Battalion took part in the battle, and five soldiers died, but the Germans suffered far heavier losses – about 700.

Major Erik Broderstad, 54, is with A Company, 7 Rifles, which is next door to Dalton Barracks in Abingdon.

He joined The Rifles in 2007, and before that was with the Light Infantry in Yorkshire.

He became a reservist at the age of 18, and said: “We are fundamentally linked with our history.

Oxford Mail:
Territorials: Oxford TA unit at a fighting exercise in a built-up area in Salisbury in 1986. Major Bryan Howell-Pryce explains the operation

“The traditions of our past, like the Battle of Nonne Bosschen in the First World War, and the Battle of Waterloo, are a fundamental part of our present and future.

“Two hundred years ago we carried a short sword as opposed to a bayonet.

“If Edward Brooks was alive today he would recognise the language we use and the way we dress.

“There will be a freedom parade in Oxford on May 24 and people will be to see our band and a battalion of marching soldiers.

“We actually march at a much quicker pace than the rest of the Army and that is a result of our heritage as Riflemen.”

Reservist Lance Corporal Marc Share, based in Abingdon, last year returned from Afghanistan where he was deployed with D Company, 5th Battalion The Rifles as part of the Warthog Group.

The Warthog was an all-terrain protected mobility tracked vehicle which was used to transport troops around the battlefield.

During the tour his job was to disrupt insurgent movements and find 107mm rockets that were being used to fire on Camp Bastion.

Formerly a regular for three years in the Coldstream Guards, Lance Corporal Share, 35, said: “A high point of my tour was being able to do the job I had been trained for years to do.

“The lowest point was learning that five US Marines had been killed in an IED strike.”

The Rifles gained plenty of attention last month when a military marching band appeared without warning to take over Broad Street.

Oxford Mail:
Flash mob: The Army Reserve Band the Waterloo Band and Bugles of The Rifles perform in Oxford last month

Army Reserve Band the Waterloo Band and Bugles of The Rifles performed a flash mob to the delight of startled shoppers.

Buglers positioned on top of Balliol College began playing while other band members emerged from the college and shops on the other side of the street to entertain passers-by with traditional tunes.

The band of the 7th Battalion The Rifles then treated shoppers to a 10-minute performance.

On Sunday, May 24, people in Oxford will get another chance to see troops from the infantry battalion, which supports the regular Army, when they parade through the city centre.

For details about the Army Reserve contact 07887 804202 or email 7RIFLESACoy-Recr2@mod.uk

Company Sergeant Major Edward Brooks

EDWARD Brooks was a Headington resident who served in the 2/4th Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery during a raid at Fayet, near St Quentin, France, on April 28, 1917.

Company Sergeant Major Brooks earned the regiment’s first Victoria Cross of the war and he is remembered to this day in Oxfordshire. The Army’s Edward Brooks Barracks, in Abingdon, is named in his honour.

Oxford Mail:
Hero: Company Sergeant Major Edward Brooks VC

News that the Victoria Cross had been awarded to Edward Brooks was greeted with great excitement in Oxford and in Oakley, near Thame, his birthplace.

He captured a German machine gun after rushing forward during a trench raid, shooting one of its crew with his revolver and bayonetting another before turning the weapon on fleeing Germans and taking it back to his lines.

Brooks received the award from King George V and returned to a hero’s welcome in Oxford.

After the war he worked at the Morris Motors factory. He died in 1944 aged 61.

The Rifles

THE Rifles and the soldiers who went before them created the notion of the modern Infantryman.

The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was renamed The Royal Green Jackets in 1966, and in 2007 The Rifles was formed.

The first Riflemen were created at the beginning of the 19th century when the British Army needed to produce quick-thinking, tough sharpshooters capable of fighting on their own initiative.

As a rifle regiment, battalions of The Rifles do not carry Colours.

Instead, battle honours are entrusted to every Rifleman, who wears a representative selection on his belt badge.

A blank scroll is kept in the bottom right of the belt badge to demonstrate the forward-looking nature of the regiment.

The Rifles holds more than 900 battle honours and a world record of 117 Victoria Crosses.

After the regiment was formed, Riflemen have played a key part in campaigns including those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For further information visit army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/35351.aspx