The story of the British Army's Household Division from 1969 to 2023.
It is the biography of a family of three generations of soldiers who
have served Crown and Country during a period of significant social and
geostrategic change.
The Guards established an ascendancy in the Peninsular War and at the
Battle of Waterloo, and in the words of the military historian, Allan
Mallinson, 'They have never truly faltered since.' They have done so by
changing when change was needed. His Majesty's Household Division is a
national institution, admired by the public through its mastery of
ceremonial and pageantry, and the magnificent hour that is Trooping the
Colour. It is respected throughout the army for its fighting ability.
Unlike many other parts of the army, the Household Division has escaped
cuts and its value to the army and to the nation remains undiminished.
This is not a traditional regimental history. It is the story of a
family of seven regiments (The Life Guards, Blues and Royals, Grenadier,
Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards) which symbolise the Union of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Published with the full support of the Major General Commanding The
Household Division and its Trustees, it relates the story of the Guards
from the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland through the Falklands
War, first and second Gulf Wars, most poignantly, Afghanistan all told
with full access to regimental diaries, archives, and personal stories
of those who were there.
