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Our hobby is the representation of the soldier known as a Riflemen.
We do this to honour their memory, to seek to educate and remind the public of this aspect
of our miltary heritage.
We perform acts of rememberance, and offer displays of weapons, equipment,
or demonstrations of training techneques used.
During the winter months we
hold Training Days to allow a new recruit to hone his skills in drill, the wearing of his uniform, and to gain the confidence
needed to get the full enjoyment the hobby can offer.
(At this moment we are looking for a new venue so training during the winter of
2010 have been temporarily suspended).
However you will find our members are friendly
and a fount of knowledge on which you can draw and they will be only too happy to help.
| AT THE HOME OF THE RIFLES |
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| PENNISULAR BARRACKS WINCHESTER |
The
soldiers of the Great War are now all gone, but scarcely a family was left untouched by the tragedy that was WW1. We
seek to remind people of those times so such great sacrifice will not be forgotten, and perhaps put back into the thoughts
of their decendants the memory of their member of the "lost generation"
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The RIFLES were
formed when a small group based on the Isle of Wight grew to include members from the mainland. Originally
it portrayed just one territorial Battalion, but now it offers portrayals of all those Regiments & Battalions who
followed the traditions of the Rifle Brigade.
The original group was formed on November 11th 1998, it became a national Society in 2002,
and joined the Great War Society as an independent, but constituent group. In 2004 its members took part in the GWS's
90th Anniversary Mons march,and has also attended 90th Anniversary commemorations for the Battles of the Somme, and Passchendaele
in France and Flanders. We have now moved on from our friends in the GWS and are part of the 20th Century Warfare organisation
enabeling us to tell the story of Rifleman over a much broader period.
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| SWORD FENCING TRAINING, POINT TO EYE COORDINATION |
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| DID YOU KNOW BAYONETS ARE CALLED SWORDS IN RIFLE REGIMENTS? |
THE RIFLES have also had displays at The Royal Green Jackets Museum, and Sir John Moore Barracks,
Bovington Tank Museum, Fort Nelson, RAF Museum Hendon, Bateman's, Old Sarum, Sandhurst Millitary Collage, The Royal Engineers
Depot Chatham, and other smaller venues around the South of England and the Home Counties
We know you would want to join the "Chosen Men", and represent the "Thinking Soldier". Although
our core impression is based in the Great War period, other periods can be represented, and we already we have members who
portray The Boer War, The Crimean War, World War 2, The heroic defence of Calais in 1940, and the Victorian Rifle Volunteers,
what era would you choose?
Members of the RIFLES at the site of the Chritmas
Truce of December 1914 memorial. It was near here that Rilfemen of the 5th London's The London Rifle Brigade, climbed
out of their trenches to chat to the "Gentlemen of the opposition".
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