This is a list of battalions of the South Wales Borderers from its formation in 1881 until its final amalgamation in 1969.
Origin of the regiment
First formed in 1689 and originally known by the names of its colonels, the 24th Foot received its number in 1751 and its subtitle '(2nd Warwickshire)' in 1782. The 2nd Battalion existed from 1804 to 1814 and was reformed in 1858. Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced in 1872 by the Cardwell Reforms, each regiment of the line established a permanent depot in a county or region, to which the local militia and volunteer battalions were affiliated. The 24th Foot's links to Warwickshire were tenuous, and it was assigned to Sub-District No 25 (Counties of Cardigan, Radnor and Monmouth) in South Wales. The depot was at Brecon, already the headquarters of the Royal South Wales Borderers Militia (Royal Brecon and Radnor Rifles). Under the Childers Reforms of 1881 the line regiments lost their numbers and received an appropriate local title, forming a single regiment with the militia and volunteers, which became numbered battalions. Unusually, the 24th Foot adopted the title of one of its militia battalions and became the South Wales Borderers in Regimental District No 24.
1881–1908
After its formation in 1881 the battalions were as follows:<ref name = RegtsSWB/
Regular
1st Battalion
2nd Battalion
Militia
3rd (Royal South Wales Borderers Militia) Battalion - formerly the Royal South Wales Borderers Militia (Royal Radnor and Brecknock Rifles) 4th (Royal Montgomeryshire Militia) Battalion - formerly the Royal Montgomeryshire Rifles; disbanded in 1908
Volunteer
1st Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers – renamed 1st (Brecknockshire) Volunteer Battalion in 1885 1st Monmouthshire Rifle Volunteers – renamed 2nd (Monmouthshire) Volunteer Battalion in 1885 2nd Monmouthshire Rifle Volunteers – renamed 3rd (Monmouthshire) Volunteer Battalion in 1885 3rd Monmouthshire Rifle Volunteers – renamed 4th (Monmouthshire) Volunteer Battalion in 1885 5th (Montgomeryshire) Volunteer Battalion – raised in 1897
1908
Under the Haldane Reforms of 1908 the militia was converted into the Special Reserve (SR), tasked with providing reinforcement drafts to the regular battalions in time of war. At the same time the volunteers became part of the Territorial Force (TF),. In the case of the South Wales Borderers, the 4th Battalion was disbanded, and some of the volunteer battalions were withdrawn. The Monmouthshire battalions formed a new all-TF regiment, the Monmouthshire Regiment, which nevertheless remained part of the 'corps' of the South Wales Borderers. The 5th (Montgomeryshire) Volunteer Battalion ceased to be part of the South Wales Borderers, and was transferred to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers to form the bulk of the 7th (Merionethshire & Montgomeryshire) Battalion of that regiment. Unusually, the remaining TF battalion of the SWB, the Brecknockshire Battalion, was named rather than numbered.
South Wales Borderers
1st Battalion (Reg) 2nd Battalion (Reg) 3rd (Reserve) Battalion (SR) The Brecknockshire Battalion (TF) - formerly the 1st Volunteer Battalion
Monmouthshire Regiment
1st (Rifle) Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (TF) – formerly the 2nd Volunteer Battalion 2nd Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (TF) - formerly the 3rd Volunteer Battalion 3rd Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (TF) - formerly the 4th Volunteer Battalion