[1] With the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) being founded in 1898, the Colonial Office made the decision to raise a company in The Gambia, initially to be part of the Sierra Leone Battalion.

Lieutenant Hoskyns of the Lincolnshire Regiment and Sergeant Noble of the Coldstream Guards, along with Graham, recruited a group of 75 Mendes from Sierra Leone to form part of the company.

On 16 April, a detachment of the company under Graham, escorted the Governor to punish some native Gambians in Bita Village, a Jola settlement in (Foni Bintang Karanai) District.

The detachment from the company formed part of Haywood's column in April 1915, to serve as a preliminary to the Allied advance on Yaoundé.

[12] Company Sergeant Major Ebrima Jalu won the African Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his actions during the battle.

During fighting around the village of Ngog later in the campaign, The Gambia Company's Lieutenant A. E. Coombs was wounded and later Mentioned in Dispatches (MiD).

Prior to the Battle of Mahiwa from 15 to 17 October 1917, the company had been dispatched 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south-east to Nyangao, to intercept a possible German retreat.

[14] The Gambian column, which included a detachment from the Nigerian Battery, came under heavy opposition, but set up perimeter defences to block the route.

[15] Realising that the brigade had become surrounded, Roberts, the commander of the Gambian column, took control of the forces of 1 Battalion, Nigerian Regiment, which were in disarray.

[16] The greatest intensity of the German attacks was on the force's right flank, with the half of the Gambia Company protecting the guns heavily outnumbered.

[18] The Army Council issued an instruction in 1920 calling for more officers for the Royal West African Frontier Force, including for the Gambia Company.

[22] In 1937, the company won the Africa Cup of the Army Rifle Association, the first time it had been one by a RWAFF unit that was not from the Nigeria Regiment.

On 6 February, the Gambia Regiment, slowly advancing on Kaladan Village, found that the Japanese were strongly entrenched in a commanding position.

By this time discouraged, no further progress was made by the battalion until 15 February, when patrols found the Japanese had vacated its positions, having left in boats overnight.

[30] The Gambia Regiment was then put in reserve as the 6th Brigade advanced, but on 1–2 March evidence emerged of a Japanese counter-offensive, as the Scout Battalion was pushed back to Pagoda Hill.

On 17 April, the Japanese attacked the Punjabis at Naiwa, causing them to fall back through Paletwa, held by the Gambia Regiment, to Dokhan, 12 miles (19 km) to its north.

With enemy pressure increasing, the Gambia Regiment fell back on 23 April through Dokhan to a position covering Daletme.

It was decided not to hold the Satpaung-Daletme area, and so the Gambia Regiment took up a position on a ridge 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Labawa on 1 May.

During this, 1st Tripura Rifles - a lightly armed state unit who had been watching the Pi Chaun, the route the Japanese were advancing down - withdrew towards Labawa followed closely by the enemy.

The XV Corps ordered the rest of 6th Brigade, besides 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment, from Taung to Chiringa with the objective of taking control of the Mowdok area.

On 11 June, the Japanese attacked and captured Mowdok, though the Tripura Rifles set fire to the stores before falling back to Kumai.

The movement of 6th Brigade was halted at once and the Gambia Regiment was sent to establish a position at the junction of the Sangu River and the Remanki Chaung, 7 miles (11 km) north of Singpa, which the Tripura Rifles were sent to patrol.

[35] Following the end of the Second World War, in 1945 the two battalions of the Gambia Regiment were demobilised and selected elements were combined to form a single company again.

[37] In January 1957, the colony received Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and, despite their limited resources, "carried out the necessary ceremonial and hospitality with commendable skill.

The British government agreed in March 1957, but pointed out that due to the economic situation in the Gambia, the country could not be asked to increase its contributions to the maintenance of the regiment.

Changes in the defence policy of Her Majesty's Government mean that it is no longer necessary to maintain the Regiment in being, and the needs of the Gambia itself will be met by an expansion of the Police Force.

[2] The parade uniform of the regiment consisted of khaki drill shorts with red fezzes, along with scarlet zouave-style jackets.

In the field, the regiment originally wore a variation of the Kilmarnock cap, but just prior to World War II this changed to the slouch hat.

Similarly, British officers attached to the regiment initially wore pith helmets, but they also later changed to the slouch hat.

The most senior of these was a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) to Lieutenant Colonel Antony Read for his "outstanding leadership" of 1st Battalion, Gambia Regiment during 1944 and 1945.