The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry

Origins

The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s) and The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry into a new single-battalion regiment. 

Both parent units had joined the Light Infantry Brigade in 1948. The new regiment remained under this administrative umbrella.

Deployments

At the time of the merger, both predecessor units had been in Germany with the British Army of the Rhine. The new regiment stayed there until 1961, when it moved to Gibraltar for two years. It then deployed to West Berlin in 1963, again for two years of garrison service.

Between April and October 1966, it was deployed to the Aden Emergency (1963-67), where it sustained several casualties engaging local insurgents. In January 1968, the regiment was sent to Northern Ireland. 

Legacy

In July 1968, it was merged with the other three regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade - The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and The Durham Light Infantry - to form a single large regiment, known as The Light Infantry.