The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army (TA) infantry regiment of the British Army between 1971 and 1995. It had 2 battalions: The 1st Bn (Rifle Volunteers) with headquarters at Le Marchant Barracks Devizes and the 2nd Bn (Volunteers) with headquarters at Brock Barracks in Reading.
1st Battalion The Wessex Regiment (Rifle Volunteers)
The Battalion comprised
HQ Company Devizes
A Company - Coy Hq and 1Pln Gloucester, 2 and 3 Platoons Bristol B Company (Winchester) - Coy HQ and 5 Pln Winchester, 6 Platoon Southamption and 7 Platoon IOW
This Company was transferred to 2 Wessex (in 1985?) and 1 Wessex then formed B Company (Swindon) [formed based of the MG Platoon] C Company (Dorchester) with a remote (11) platoon in Poole later swapped with D Company (Bournemouth) for the remote platoon in Weymouth. D Company (Reading)was co-located with Bn HQ 2 Wessex and was later swapped with 2 Wessex for D Company (Coy HQ, 13 and 14 platoons Bournemouth and 15 Platoon Poole)this company later moved out of Bournemouth to Poole and formed a new remote platoon at Fordingbridge. E Company (Coy HQ 17 and 18 Platoons in Exeter with 19 Platoon in Barnstaple
C Company(Dorchester) D Company (Poole) and E Company (Exeter) were later removed from 1 Wessex and formed the base for 4th Battalion the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment D&D
1 Wessex then formed a new C Company in Newbury based on a remote Platoon transferred from 2 Wessex
1 Wessex was a NATO roled Battalion, the TA infantry component of 1 Brigade which formed with logistic elements the UK Mobile Force with deployment options in the Baltic Approachs (Danemark and Schleiswig Holstein) and in Northern Italy
In addition to five Rifle Company’s 1 Wessex had the following support Platoons
Recce Platoon Cheltenham -equipped with Fox Anti Tank Platoon - Cirencester equipped with Wombat later replaced with Milan. Mortar Platoon - Andover Machine Gun Platoon - Swindon Assault Pioneer Platoon - Cinderford (just right for a traditional mining area)
There was in addition from 1983 an HSF (Home Service Force) company
The Battalion also had the distinction of being able to parade with 2 Bands, 1 based in Exeter, 1 in Devizes, as well as a Corps of Drums found by HQ Coy Devizes.
