Dates: 1881 - 1919

The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (known as The Bedfordshire Regiment until 1919) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army from 1881 to 1958. It was formed under the Childers reforms by a merger of the 16th Regiment of Foot (first raised in 1688) with the militia regiments and rifle volunteer corps of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The regiment was merged with The Essex Regiment to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment in 1958. The regiment’s lineage is continued by The Royal Anglian Regiment

Although the regular battalion was merged into the 3rd East Anglian Regiment in 1958, the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment name continued in the Territorial Army for a further fourteen years. On formation of the 3rd East Anglians the territorial battalion was redesignated as the 5th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment (TA). A reduction in the size of the Territorial Army in May 1961 saw the 5th Bedfords merge with the 1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment to form The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA). This regiment was disbanded in 1967, with its successor units in the new Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve being the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment and The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (Territorials). The latter unit was a home defence unit, reduced to an eight-man cadre in 1969 and eventually forming part of the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment in 1971.

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