| Royal Guernsey Light Infantry | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the RGLI | |
| Active | 1916–1919 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 1,300 soldiers (1918) |
| Part of | 29th Division 1917–1918 |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort George, Guernsey |
| Motto(s) | Diex Aïx (God Help Us) |
| Engagements | Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Cambrai 1917 Battle of the Lys 1918 |
| Battle honours | Awarded to the 1st Battalion Royal Guernsey Militia Passchendaele Cambrai 1917 Lys Estaires Hazebrouck France and Flanders 1917-18. |
| Website | https://www.rgli.org/ |
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army that was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916 to serve in World War I. They fought as part of the British 29th Division. Of the 2,280 men, most of whom came from Guernsey, who fought on the Western Front with the RGLI, 327 were killed and 667 were wounded.
Many Guernsey men had already volunteered for regiments in the British Army before the RGLI was formed. The RGLI was created because there was no Guernsey-named regiment to underline the island's devotion to the Crown.
The regimental motto, Diex Aïx, derives from the battle cry used by the Duke of Normandy 1,000 years earlier.[1]
The regiment was disbanded in 1919 but the regimental tradition lives on in the Guernsey Army Cadet Force (Det.) Light Infantry, who, although they do not wear the RGLI cap badge, still keep alive the history of the Regiment within the detachment.[2]
- ^ L'Art de vérifier les dates des faits historiques, des chartes, des chroniques et autres anciens monumens depuis la naissance de Notre-Seigneur, par le moyen d'une table chronologique ... Alexandre Jombert Jeune. 1784. p. 830.
- ^ "Guernsey's Army Cadet Force Has Been Re-Badged". Island FM. 4 June 2015.