List of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment

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.

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.[1]

The Devons fielded 28 battalions and lost over 6,000 officers and other ranks during the course of the war.[6] The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Devons were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively, with the third line battalions, being redesignated reserve battalions in 1916. Four battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army.

By 1920, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft.

The regiment's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion, and in addition to this, a number of batteries, along 25 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment.[10]

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.

Under the 1957 Defence White Paper, it was announced that the Devonshire Regiment would amalgamate with the Dorset Regiment, to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, in May 1958.