The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968.

[5] The local militia regiments also became part of the new regiment:[5][2] Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London.

[7] The battalion was involved in a series of military reverses at the hands of the Boers, which became known as the "Black Week", culminating in defeat at the Battle of Colenso.

[9] The unit subsequently took part in the Tugela Campaign before helping relieve Ladysmith in early 1900.

[10] The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in June 1902, and the 1st Battalion stayed in South Africa until January 1903, when 434 officers and men left Cape Town for home.

[11] The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa from India only in the late stages of the war and saw little action.

[9][12] Following the war in South Africa, the system of rotating battalions between home and foreign stations resumed as follows: In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve.

It was landed at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of the 87th Brigade in the 29th Division in April 1915.

It was evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt in January 1916 and then landed at Marseille in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.

Both were stationed in Northern Ireland until April 1918 when they moved to Oswestry in the Welsh Borders and were amalgamated, at the same time absorbing the 12th (Reserve) Bn (originally formed from the depot companies of the 9th, 10th and 11th Bns).

After rigorous training it dropped the 'Garrison' designation in July, and then served as a frontline battalion in 40th Division during the final advance to victory.

[2][5] The 1st Battalion was a Regular Army unit stationed in British India on the outbreak of war.

They deployed for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, followed by that of Italy, now serving with the British Eighth Army in both.

[24] The battalion would see service in the battles around the Gothic Line in August–September 1944, and later in the final offensive in Italy in April 1945.

The 6th Battalion fought in Sicily and Italy, most notably at Centuripe in Sicily, where its unexpected assault on the hilltop town took the Germans by surprise and earned the 78th Division great praise in their first battle with the British Eighth Army.

[33] In the latter country, it received the Freedom of Nairobi in perpetuity, the first and so far only time that a British regiment has been so honoured by a colonial city.

For a short time, from April 1952, the 2nd Battalion was reformed and saw service in Egypt and Cyprus, where it was in action against EOKA insurgents.

[34] In April 1968 the 1st Battalion had its final operational deployment, when Tactical Headquarters and B Company were ordered at short notice to Bermuda, with trouble brewing on the island due to a tense political situation.

[35] Following a peaceful election, the detachment returned to Worcester in preparation, with the remainder of the battalion, for the final regimental chapter.

The date of 1 July was chosen as it marked the fifty-second anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, in which battalions of all three merging regiments fought.