The Guards Division was an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing two battalions for public duties to London District (plus three incremental companies); although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry. In 2022, the Guards Division was renamed as the Guards and Parachute Division.

Current units

As of 2020, units comprised the Guards Division Headquarters, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster: Guards battalions: Guards incremental companies:

Past units

Past units include (dates when they were part of the division): Note: The three 2nd battalions have technically not been disbanded; instead they are in "suspended animation" and, in theory, can be re-raised if needed. The colours and traditions of each battalion are kept and maintained by the incremental companies.

Telling the regiments apart

The five regiments of foot guards are most often seen in full dress uniform, comprising navy trousers, scarlet tunic and bearskin cap. From a distance they appear identical, but there are ways to distinguish between the regiments:

[The rank insignia for officers are also differentiated by what specific stars are used.

Left to right: Rank slides used by Grenadier, Coldstream, and Welsh Guards. Rank slides used by Scots Guards. Rank slides used by Irish Guards. Standard rank slides used by other army officers. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/British///Army///Guards///officers///stars.jpg]

Guards Parachute Platoon

6 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment is manned by volunteers from the Guards Division and Household Cavalry

UK Special Forces

Although no longer directly associated with the Guards, G Squadron 22 SAS was formed in 1966 following the performance of the Guards Independent Parachute Company under Major LGS Head in support of SAS Operations in Borneo.

Sources