In 1824 the Regiment was granted by King George IV the name of "The 60th,Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps" in honour of their Colonel-in-Chief.'
The 60th is the only infantry regiment in the Army designated a "corps," and the Rifle Brigade the only one designated a "brigade"; the reason being that both Regiments had several battalions, and the name "regiment" had always been applied to a single battalion. For the same reason, the two Rifle Regiments alone had a Colonel-inChief of the Regiment and a Colonel Commandant of each battalion, as is the case today.
H.R.H. The Duke of York died in 1827, after being Colonel-inChief for thirty years, and was succeeded by his brother, FieldMarshal H.R.H. Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge.2
In 1830 the title of the Regiment was again changed, to "The 60th The King's Royal Rifle Corps."
A long peace followed the Napoleonic Wars, and until 1848 the Regiment was not engaged on active service.
In this period of peace the Regiment was fortunate in possessing many officers of great experience. It owed much to Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Henry Richard Molyneux, who commanded the 1st Battalion (then in the Mediterranean) from 1836 until his untimely death in 1841. The high efficiency of the Battalion and its strong esprit de corps, when it sailed for India in 1845, under his successor, Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Henry Dundas,' were largely due to Lieutenant-Colonel Molyneux's personality and powers of organization. Dundas commanded the Battalion, from 1845 to 1854. In the Sikh War, both as Colonel and Brigadier-General, he showed high qualities of leadership and courage; throughout the nine years of his command the Battalion held a foremost place in the British Army in India.

Badge of the Regiment

The Maltese Cross was adopted as a badge soon after the formation of the 5th Rifle Battalion in 1797. The reason is unknown. A similar cross was a medal for distinguished service in the Bavarian Army. The pattern used by the Regiment has varied slightly from time to time.

Rate of March and Drill

The 60th was the first regiment to abandon the rigid movements of the Prussian march for a free and natural rhythm, the object being maximum speed with minimum fatigue. "To bring down the feet easily without shaking the upper part of the body" ran de Rottenburg's Regulations for the Exercise of Riflemen, "is the grand principle of marching." This tradition has always been maintained in the Regiment, which has constantly had a high marching reputation. The pace is 140 to the minute (as against the 120 of infantry) and quicker still on ceremonial parades. Drill is often carried out at the double.
In regard to drill the Rifle Regiments have their own methods also, eliminating unnecessary words of command, including the preliminary order "Attention." Nor do they ever slope arms, but carry their rifles at the trail. On ceremonial parades swords are never fixed.
The principle has been to employ on the parade ground, and at all times, the methods most suited for the battlefield. Quick marching and quick, silent drill bring with them quick thought and quick action.

The Regimental March

This was originally "The British Grenadiers March," though different battalions had their own marches at various times. In 1796 "The Duke of York's March" was composed and when the Duke became Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment this was played on inspections. "The Huntsman's Chorus," from Weber's opera "Der Freischutz," was adopted in 1820, and continued to be the Regimental March until 1905, when the present march, "Lutzow's Wild Hunt," which had been used in 1845, was introduced. This march really is an adapted version of Lutzow's with a good deal of von Geirach's "Yagersleben" introduced.

Officer's Mes Kit

Officers' mess kit was introduced in 1842 by the 1st Battalion when in the Ionian Islands. Until then officers in the Army dined in full dress. Owing to the heat the shell jacket was worn open with a braided waistcoat, and this remained the mess kit until 1902.
Mess kit was finally approved for the whole Army in 1876. It was greatly modified in 1902. A peculiarity of the Regiment is that no badges of rank were worn at Mess. Since the Second World War the wearing of mess kit has not been resumed.