List of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment
This is a list of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958. Original composition When the 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot became the Devonshire Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, seven pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Devonshire were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. Reorganisation The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. Also in 1908, the 3rd (Militia) Battalion was one of the 23 infantry militia battalions to disband, and so the 4th was renumbered at the 3rd. First World War The Devons fielded 28 battalions and lost over 6,000 officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an