THE ETHOS OF THE RIFLES
The Ethos of The Rifles is steeped in history. It is the spirit that runs through every rifleman - irrespective of his rank or position. It is what binds us together and the factor that makes us different to every other Regiment in the British Army. The modern ethos of The Rifles (and articulated in The Rifles Principles) has changed little since it was first established over 200 years ago.
The Rifles Ethos has its roots in 1803, when Sir John Moore's policy was to produce quick-thinking, intelligent, mobile Light Infantrymen and Riflemen capable of attacking on their own initiative. Old-style drill manuals, which still governed the training of the mass of British Infantry, were set aside; and discipline maintained, at least to some extent, by appeals to pride in self and unit rather than the lash.
Sir John Moore - Founding Father of The Light Division
The British Army was fortunate that it contained within it a number of officers and soldiers who were able to record the events of the War at first hand. Many accounts exist and it comes as no surprise that many books have been written by literate Riflemen and Light Infantrymen (Napier, Kincaid, Costello, Wheeler etc) and about the exploits of Riflemen and the popular television drama 'Sharpe's Rifles' is based on one period of Rifles history. Although Sharpe's Rifles is based on a fictional character, the nature of the War and the ethos of the Sharpe's Riflemen is an accurate reflection of what was reality at that time.
Sharpe's Rifles - (from the Carlton TV series Sharpe's Rifles)
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Colonel Coote Manningham
who established the Experimental Corps of Riflemen at Shorncliffe.
He died as a result of his injuries following the Retreat to Corunna in 1809
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Baron de Rottenberg, of the 60th Regiment, wrote a special paper on the training of rifle units which was the influence on Sir John Moore. In 1800 Colonel Coote Manningham published standing orders for his experimental corps under the title "Regulations for the Rifle Corps formed at Blatchington Barracks under the command of Colonel Manningham". His philosophy, similar to de Rottenberg's, was to dispense with the long standing system of rigid and unthinking obedience to orders, and to replace it with what was for the time a novel form of discipline based on absolute trust between officer, NCO and soldier.
The trust was to operate both ways, upwards and downwards in the chain of command, all ranks respecting each other. Orders were expected to be given in moderation, bad language and blows were specifically forbidden. Companies were carefully selected and instructed to act on the principle that they could operate separately from, and be totally independent of, each other. Junior officers were equally divided between companies and quality spread across the Regiment.
Consequently a feeling of 'family' was engendered, so that small groups of riflemen, divorced from the main body of their battalion or division, could feel a special trust, comradeship, and even friendship with their own officers and NCOs. |
Sir John Moore was killed at the Battle of Corruna in January 1809, but his ideas and influence have been embodied in Light Infantrymen and Riflemen ever since. His death was a significant blow to the Army and its impact was immortalised by Charles Wolfe's poem: "The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna". The 20th Century historian Arthur Bryant wrote of him:
"Moore's contribution to the British Army was not only that matchless Light Infantry who have ever since enshrined his training, but also the belief that the perfect soldier can only be made by evoking all that is finest in man - physical, mental and spiritual"
Coote Manningham was another casualty of the retreat. Although he managed to sail away from Spain, he was to die of his injuries. A famous Rifles song describes his contribution:
Oh! Colonel Coote Manningham, he was the man,
for he invented a capital plan,
he raised a Corps of Riflemen
to fight for England's Glory!
He dressed them all in jackets of green
and placed them where they couldn't be seen
and sent them in front, an invisible screen
to fight for England's Glory!
This Ethos continues today. Anyone who is in close proximity of Riflemen (from the youngest rifleman to the most senior General) will notice that there is something different about them. Anyone joining The Rifles joins a family, which in effect looks after them 'from cradle to grave'. From the moment a recruit enters training at the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, they will realise that they have joined something special. From the moment they join their Battalion, they are a Rifleman - a member of the finest Regiment in The British Army. It is no wonder that we all use the phrase - "Proud to be a Rifleman".
At times of hardship 'esprit de corps' can be beaten out of a strong unit - a sense of belonging and the family spirit that exists between Riflemen, young and old will always be present. To that end as long as a Rifleman remains a Rifleman - he will always have a sense of belonging that will overcome adversity.
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