Nationality & the British Regimental System

[Raellus]

A preliminary Google search hasn't turned up a definitive answer, so I thought I'd ask the question here.

Does one have to be a particular nationality to join one of the non-English regiments in the British Army? In other words, does one have to be Welsh to serve in the Welsh Guards, Scottish to join the Scots Guards, etc.? Conversely, can a non-member of a particular British nationality join its national regiment? If I'm using incorrect terminology, please feel free to correct me.

Wikipedia indicates that the Scots Guards recruit Scots, but can non-Scots join as well? Wikipedia also claims that the two Irish regiments in the Irish Army recruit in Northern Ireland (and also accept Irish nationals). Neither article holds that the respective regiments do not accept Brits of other nationalities.

Do all or most members of a particular British nationality (e.g. Welsh) who wish to serve in the British Army join their national regiment, or do they join/are assigned to whichever regiment the army wishes them to? In other words, do they have a choice, or is the choice made for them? Last question, how common is it for army personnel to transfer from one regiment to another?

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[TGirl Kelley]

Form the Welsh Guards website (https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/infantry/welsh-guards/):

"We are incredibly proud of our Welsh heritage, and most of our soldiers are from Wales or have Welsh roots, but we also welcome recruits from across the UK and Commonwealth. Wherever you are from, you will be welcomed into our family Regiment."

From that I would assume that other Regiments are similar.

[Raellus]

Interesting. Thanks, TGirl Kelley, and welcome to the forum.

A follow-up question for anyone out there: When one enlists in the British Army, does one get to choose which regiment to serve in?

If that is indeed the case, it seems like it would make staffing a bit of a headache as some regiments would undoubtedly be more desirable/popular than others. If I understand correctly, in the US Army enlistees have some say in what branch they will ultimately serve in (e.g. artillery, armor, etc.), but they don't really get to pick what division. The only exceptions that I'm aware of are the "elite" formations like the Airborne, Rangers, and other Special Forces. Those however, are rather selective, so there's no guarantee an enlistee will end up there.

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[Rainbow Six]

TGirl Kelley is 100% correct.

Historically the British Army Regimental system was much more of a thing. These days, with recruitment being what it is, new recruits can express a preference for a particular Regiment but can in theory end up anywhere that they are needed (back in the day when the Army was bigger probably more likely that you would end up in your 'local' Regiment).

So to answer your follow up question, you can't choose per se, just express a preference. And yes, it is my understanding that some Regiments are more popular than others so essentially it's a sort of interview process (having links to the Regiment (e.g. father / grandfather served in it) will help, as will being in the upper echelon of your recruit class.

I don't have any sources for this but from memory the Welsh Guards historically haven't had much problems filling their ranks with Welshmen whereas the Scots Guards did have a problem attracting Scots. I don't know about the Irish Guards.

But if you want to (for example) have an Englishman in the Welsh Guards there's no reason why you can't.

[Rainbow Six]

Last question, how common is it for army personnel to transfer from one regiment to another?

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Sorry, I missed this earlier.

As far as I know that is uncommon. The Regiment is your military family. Once you join it it is uncommon to move to a different family (you can, of course, move between Battalions in the same Regiment relatively easily).

(At the risk of going off on tangents, again, this is one of these areas where the T2K Universe differs from the current Army Structure. Due to mergers there are now far fewer Regiments in the British Army than there would have been in the T2K world. For example, the Royal Regiment of Scotland was formed in 2006 by merging five or six Regiments, each of which only had one Battalion into one large Regiment with multiple Battalions. One of the reasons this was done was to (allegedly) make moving between Battalions, for example for career progression, easier.)

[dragoon500ly]

As far as the U.S. Army goes, once you are in the evil clutches of the recruiter, you can request any MOS that you wish. But as the recruiter will tell you, the needs of the service will determine what MOS you will be "selected" for.

When I enlisted in the green machine, I was trying for an Intelligence MOS, but Infantry was in dire need for warm bodies and I was advised that an 11B I would be, unless I choose an MOS with a higher priority, hence my career as a 19D/19E/19K.

In a wartime scenario, the needs of the service will decide where you go, Airdales, Cannon Cockers; Bush Beaters, Belly Robbers etc. will have first call.

[madhon]

Sorry, I missed this earlier.

As far as I know that is uncommon. The Regiment is your military family. Once you join it it is uncommon to move to a different family (you can, of course, move between Battalions in the same Regiment relatively easily).


Not that uncommon, my Welsh neighbour joined an English infantry regiment despite been warned against, he wanted to get away from the bad upbringing he had. Later on he transferred over to the intelligence corps.

And also for me i initially joined an English infantry regiment, then later transferred over to the royal artillery.