Scope and Disclaimers...

       Use of this website implies acceptance of the terms and conditions described below and on the copyright notice page and citing and linking pages. This website includes the following:

Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth
Other Web Projects as described on T.F. Mills Home Page.

      The focus of this site is the history of the regiments of all territories and successor states that were at any time part of the British Empire or Commonwealth. These histories are presented as encapsulated summaries and lists of data (including bibliographies), complemented by extensive cataloguing of related external sites. The emphasis is generally on manifestations of the British regimental system throughout the world (e.g. Canada), and to a lesser extent on the land forces that have not continued those traditions (e.g. Iraq). Context for the regiments pages is provided by general histories of the nations and their wars.

      Every page is static in the sense that you can expect to find the same outline and the same sort of information in each section anywhere on this site. Some sections are designed only for cataloguing remote sites (e.g. regimental museums, regimental associations). If none have been found, they include a note to that effect. Through regular link checking we try to keep "link rot" to less than 5%, and new links are added almost every day. Other sections are designed for lists of facts or brief synopses (e.g. causes of wars, regimental battle honours). If the section is not yet developed, it will include a construction sign: . The two-fold function (content and external links) is enhanced by a very high degree of internal linkage that makes this work more easily navigable than any printed encyclopedia (as of 2004, well over 340,000 internal links). See also: schedule of site development, and what's new.

     Topics you will generally not find on in this site are:

• Naval and air forces, with the exception of their more notable land force elements (e.g. Royal Marines, RAF Regiment), and a link or two to main Ministry sites by way of explaining how land forces fit into the overall armed forces structure of each country.
• Enemy forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth members, unless those forces also happen to belong to sovereign nations that were at any time part of the empire and commonwealth. Forces that fought for independence from Britain are included only to the extent that they subsequently became national armies. Emphasis, however, remains on those forces which perpetuate British style and tradition.
• United States of America (after 1783), due to its massive size, complexity and commensurate presence on the internet, and lack of proportionate British military heritage. However, modern regiments which trace their lineage before 1783 are represented on this site.
• Mozambique (although a member of the Commonwealth since 1995), since it has no historical links with the British empire and its military institutions, and achieved independence from Portugal in 1975.
• Defence policy and politics, with the exception of brief synopses on the causes and results of wars. Grand strategy, defence appropriations, and such, are generally beyond the scope of this site.
• Weapons technology, including ballistics, nuclear deterrence, -- with the exception of a handful of links to major weapons history. Links to tactics are limited to drill in the "Music, Drill and Ceremonial" section of each national page.
• Biographical material, with the exception of (a) the military careers of royalty, (b) lists of colonels of regiments, and lists of commanders of large formations, (c) external biographical links by way of illustrating the history of regiments and wars. If you are researching ancestors or lost comrades, please read the frequently asked questions.

     This site began in 1995 as an organised catalogue of external links -- originally just one page, but as of 2004 well over 15,000 links scattered throughout the site). In 2000 the emphasis began to shift towards providing substantial content in a uniform style not found elsewhere on the internet, and for some aspects rarely found in print. As of 2004, there are over 3000 pages on this site (which, if printed on paper, would amount to over tenfold that number, so don't try it!), and new material and new pages are constantly being added. See also: schedule of site development, and what's new.

      The site was reorganised into nation pages in late 1995, taking their present form in April 1999. Except for minor redesign and regular link-checking, these pages change little, and are a fairly good representation of the scope of related world-wide links on the web. In 2002 these pages began to include an expanded constitutional history to put all the military history links in context. Examples of well-developed pages are Canada and Malta.

      The regimental pages were the second section to be developed. This began in January 1996 with lists and indexes of regiments serving as a catalogue of external sites. More lists continue to be added. Examples of well-developed pages are British Regiments 1945, and Alphabetical Index of British Regiments. Starting in May 2000, a new feature was added: a dedicated page for "every" regiment and corps of the Commonwealth. The registers of regiments consequently became internal rather than external indexes. During the year 2000, this website grew tenfold with the addition of regiment pages. As of July 2004, there were 2,076 regiment pages complemented by 430 separate battalion service histories. An example of a well-developed page is The York and Lancaster Regiment.

      The war pages were added in September 2000. The first stage of development involved listing battles and battle honours in each war so that the regiment pages could link to them. Synopses of the causes, casualties, results, etc. are gradually being added. As of July 2004, there were 218 war pages in various stages of development. An example of a well-developed page is the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

      As complementary pages for these main sections continued to grow, the whole site was reorganised in July 2004 to to simplify access and editorial control, and to provide new top-level entry points on the navigation tabs for Formations, Tradition, and Biography.

The authors and editors of this webite are solely responsible for its content.
 This website is maintained independently of any government, military, academic or private institution, and has no explicit or implied relationship with any single regiment or its associations.
 This website is characterised by certain uniform elements of design such as the background. When you no longer see these elements, you have left this site, and the authors and editors are not responsible for content on other sites.
The hosting organisation is not responsible in any way for the content of this website.

• Bibliographic citations: In bibliographies we use AACR2/ISBD form, slightly edited for brevity. In linking to remote sites, personal statements of responsibility (when they can be determined) follow the pattern of AACR2 in the omission of military ranks.
• Date styles: In all instances, dates are expressed in hierarchical order. American readers should be aware that dates are never expressed on this site as month-day-year. In textual form, dates are expressed as day-month-year (e.g. 1 Apr. 1999). In tabular form, dates are expressed in modified ISO 8601 form, i.e. YYYY.MM.DD (e.g. 1999.04.01).
• Successive entry: pages for regiments generally contain information relevant only to that chronological incarnation of the regiment, and not its lineal predecessors and successors, e.g. while the Princess of Wales's Royal Regt (formed in 1992) claims the honours, awards, history and traditions of all its predecessors, only those specifically and explicitly pertaining to the PWRR are shown on that page; others are displayed on the appropriate predecessor pages.

      While every attempt is made to assure the accuracy of information presented on this website, the webmaster and authors disclaim any legal responsibility or liability for errors or incomplete information.  This website should be considered a living document since information is constantly being expanded and corrected.  Corrections and additions are made without notice other than the update notice on every page.   Major additions and updates are noted on the What's New page. (See also "External linking" below.)

External or remote linking is a major service provided by this site, collating related information into coherent catalogues. As of 2004, there are well over 15,000 external links.
The inclusion of external links on these pages constitutes an information service, and not an endorsement of the business, service, philosophy, or accuracy of those remote sites.
The inclusion of external links on these pages in no way implies those sites' endorsement of the philosophy and presentation of this website.

      While internet law has decided very little about hyperlinking, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, has written "There is no reason to have to ask before making a link to another site" because hyperlinking is intrinsic to the life of the web. Linking is protected as free speech, but carries the same responsibilities as free speech (e.g. restrictions against libel, copyright infringement, and disruption of commerce). The placement of material on the web implies the author's/publisher's willingness to be linked by directories, search engines and other web sites. See Links and Law, by Tim Berners-Lee.

      In making links to remote sites, we tend not to make editorial judgments about their quality, accuracy, or historical bias. We will occasionally reject links to sites which egregiously misrepresent history or themselves (e.g. Holocaust denial, fantasy games that could be mistaken for reality, heavily plagiarised sites, etc.). If we do choose to link to such sites, we often include a cautionary note. We are not in a position to adjudicate disputes over intellectual property or authenticity between third parties, and we will normally provide links to both parties. In such instances, it is the responsibility of the aggrieved to seek appropriate redress from the other party in question (e.g. voluntary or legally enforced removal of the disputed material). When offending sites have been removed, we will remove the offending links. If we have relied on erroneous sites for the construction of our own historical material, we will gladly make appropriate corrections if we can ascertain that the information is indeed authentic. However, since we maintain pages about thousands of units and we receive contributions from hundreds of readers, we cannot always guarantee that erroneous information will not be reintroduced. (See also "Accuracy" above.)

      This website:

promotes historical knowledge as a tool for peace and understanding between peoples and nations.
does not seek to glorify the British Empire or any form of imperialism.
does not seek to glorify war, or advocate war as a solution to disputes.
uses crown icons and other royal/imperial symbols as an historical device, and not a political statement.

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

-- Wilfred Owen (Artists' Rifles)