The regiment was formed following Duncan Sandys' 1957 Defence White Paper when the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry became the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) on 7 November 1958.
Brigadier, later General Sir Antony Read[10] had a key role in the planning stages for the new regiment and in its move to the Green Jackets Brigade.
[18] On 9 December 1962, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) led by Lieutenant Colonel Tod Sweeney was deployed to Brunei on the island of Borneo after an Indonesian-backed uprising occurred.
Following the 640-mile Journey[25] 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) were then told by the Military Police to drive straight to the docks where they boarded the cruiser HMS Tiger[18] and received orders for the regiment's deployment.
1st Green Jackets were also deployed to capture Niah, in Sarawak, approximately 40 miles south-west of Miri and towards the South China sea coast.
[30] Following the capture of Bekenu and Niah, HMS Albion's helicopters were used to transport troops into positions to prevent rebels using escape routes along rivers into the hinterland.
[32] On 24 June 1963, at Cathay cinema, Penang, members of the regiment were invited to a free showing of the film The Longest Day (1962): which included the coup de main operation by D Company, 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd), to capture Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge in the opening minutes of D-Day, 6 June 1944, before the main Normandy landings began.
[33][16] The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) second operational tour in the Far East was from August 1963 to mid-December 1963 and troops having sailed on HMS Albion were deployed via Labuan to Brunei and Sarawak.
[16] In January 1964, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) became the spearhead battalion to support the Borneo Territories and Lieutenant Colonel David House took over command of the regiment.
[37] The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was the only British Army unit to complete three operational tours in the area and was deployed throughout the North Borneo and Sarawak territories.
[39] On 27 May 1965, during the first visit made by a British Monarch to Germany since 1913[40] Queen Elizabeth II inspected the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd), as part of the Berlin Infantry Brigade.
[41] In West Berlin, the regiment's tasks included taking its turn in guard duties at Spandau Prison; where leading Nazi war criminals were imprisoned following the Nuremberg Trials.
[42][43] In September 1965, Lieutenant Colonel, later Brigadier Oliver Pratt, who had been commissioned into the Rifle Brigade at the end of the Second World War took over command of the regiment.