Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)

Royal East Kent Regiment ("The Buffs"); 3rd Regiment of Foot
Badge of The Buffs
Active1572–1961
Country Kingdom of England (1572–1707)
 Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)
 United Kingdom (1801–1961)
Branch British Army
TypeLine Infantry
RoleInfantry
Garrison/HQHowe Barracks, Canterbury
Nickname(s)Howard's Buffs
The Old Buffs
The Resurrectionists[1]
Motto(s)Veteri Frondescit Honore
Latin: "Its Ancient Honour Flourishes"; "Its Ancient Honour is Ever-Green"
ColoursBuff Facings
MarchQuick: The Buffs
Slow: The Men of Kent
AnniversariesAlbuhera Day (16 May).
EngagementsCorunna (17 January 1809)
Albuhera (16 May 1811)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Colonel Charles Churchill (1689–1707)
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll (1707–1713)
Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar (1713–1715)
Lieutenant-General Thomas Howard (1737–1749)
Colonel Sir George Howard (1749–1763).
Modern stained-glass window in the Buffs' Chapel (Warriors' Chapel) of Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, showing the coats of arms of Queen Elizabeth I and various subsequent Colonels-in-Chief and Colonels, up to the 20th century

The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army, being third in order of precedence (ranked as the 3rd Regiment of the line). The regiment provided distinguished service over a period of almost four hundred years accumulating one hundred and sixteen battle honours. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, it was known as the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and later, on 3 June 1935, was renamed the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).

In 1961, it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment to form the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, which was later merged, on 31 December 1966, with the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the Queen's Regiment. This regiment was, in turn, amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment, in September 1992, to create the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

  1. ^ Burnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010). The British Army against Napoleon. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-84832-562-3.