Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2020 January 29

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January 29

Boudica's Boys

In Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, the British 3rd Battalion is known as "Boudica's Boys". The game is generally historically accurate (not exclusively, however). Was there such a group? Was 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment known as Boudica's Boys? Was/is there other (non-parachute) 3rd Battalion regiments? My searching only finds references to the game. 107.15.157.44 (talk) 17:44, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

I can find zero references to the phrase that are not about the specific video game in question. It appears to be unique to that game. --Jayron32 17:53, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Me neither, nor is Boudica mentioned in our list of nicknames of British Army regiments, though there are nine examples of other regiments nicknamed "______ Boys" there. ---Sluzzelin talk 18:17, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for that list. "Bodica's Boys" exclusion from the list pretty much answers the question (assuming the accuracy of Wikipedia, which one is advised not to do). 107.15.157.44 (talk) 18:26, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Our article on 3 Para which you linked above lists their nicknames as "Three Pongo" and "Gungy Third". Note that Boudica would have most likely been taught in school as "Boadicea" in those days and still was in the 1960s when I was a lad.

To answer the last part of your question, since the Napoleonic Wars, almost every British infantry regiment has had two battalions, one of which was on active service while the other was at home training up new recruits. By the end of the 19th century, there was usually a third battalion too, rotating between the home depot and service around the empire. Often a fourth battalion would be formed by part-time Territorial Army soldiers. In the First World War, the need for numerous other battalions quickly arose; the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) for example, had 42 battalions by 1918. In the post-war era, old regiments have often been amalgamated into larger "family" regiments, with individual battalions retaining their traditions of their parent unit; for instance, the Black Watch is now the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. Alansplodge (talk) 14:57, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the interesting background info. 107.15.157.44 (talk) 15:48, 1 February 2020 (UTC)