§ Introduction:
§ 1.The White Paper on the Defence Estimates 1967 (Cmnd. 3203) stated that a wide-ranging examination of the long-term structure of the Army was being carried out, and that it was hoped to announce further plans for the long-term size and shape of the Services later this year. Decisions have already been reached on the future organisation of the Infantry. As these are of very close concern to the Army the earliest opportunity is being taken to announce them.
§ Present Organisation:
§ 2.The Infantry is at present organised into Brigades or Large Regiments. The Brigade of Guards contains eight battalions. The Infantry of the Line is made up of ten Brigades, three Large Regiments and the Parachute Regiment, each containing three or four battalions. A Large Regiment is a more closely integrated group than a Brigade of Infantry of the Line. This organisation is set out in the Annex.
§ Divisions of Infantry:
§ 3.It has become clear that, for the reasons given below the present groupings of battalions within Brigades and Large Regiments are too small.
§ 4.The Infantry structure of the future must allow for contraction, which could be considerable, or for expansion in the number and size of infantry units with the least possible difficulty. The present structure is a well established organisation but it is now necessary to develop it further into larger groupings to meet such changes.
§ 5.Recruiting is largely on a territorial basis. There arc inescapable fluctuations in the recruitment to individual Brigades and Large Regiments. The formation of larger groups for personnel management purposes will make it easier to eliminate any inequalities in strength and in specialists.
§ 6.With larger groupings, it will be possible to concentrate recruit training into fewer Depots; this will make for training efficiency and for economy.
§ 7.The Army Board have rejected the possibility of a Corps of Infantry devoid of subordinate groupings of Regiments. A single Corps would he unwieldy and impersonal to a degree inimical to effective personnel and general management. What is needed is a reduction in the number of groupings, not their abolition. They have accordingly decided that the Infantry should be reorganised into larger groupings to be known as "Divisions".
§ 8.The Infantry of the Line, less the Parachute Regiment, will be organised into the new 1614 Divisions by grouping together existing Brigades and Large Regiments as follows:
| Division | Existing Brigades and Large Regiments |
| The Queen's Division | The Queen's Regiment |
| The Fusilier Brigade | |
| The Royal Anglian Regiment | |
| The King's Division | The Lancastrian Brigade |
| The Yorkshire Brigade | |
| The North Irish Brigade | |
| The Prince of Wales's | The Wessex Brigade Division |
| The Mercian Brigade | |
| The Welsh Brigade | |
| The Scottish Division | The Lowland Brigade |
| The Highland Brigade | |
| The Light Division | The Light Infantry Brigade |
| The Royal Green Jackets |
§ 9.The Scottish and Light Division are smaller than the others but each has distinguishing characteristics justifying a separate identity. In general the new groupings reflect geographical contiguity of home recruiting areas. In each Division a Headquarters will be formed, superseding existing Headquarters of Brigades and Large Regiments. Officers will be gazetted, and soldiers enlisted, into the Division. Whenever possible, officers and soldiers will be posted to the Regiment of their choice. Basic training will be carried out in Divisional Depots. Regiments will preserve their identities, territorial affiliations and titles. To facilitate posting between battalions, there will in due course be some rationalisation of dress and eventually a Divisional cap badge will be introduced.
§ 10.The Brigade of Guards, which is already roughly of the size proposed for a Division, will continue as a separate organisation. In conformity with the new nomenclature its title will be changed to The Guards Division.
§ 11.The Parachute Regiment, because of its special characteristics, will not be included in any Division of Infantry and will remain in its present form.
§ 12.The new Divisional organisation, which will be introduced by planned stages, will be complete by the middle of 1969.
§ The Future:
§ 13.The new system of Divisions of Infantry will meet the needs of the future while preserving the best features of the regimental system inherited from the past. It will be flexible enough to meet all the demands that may be made upon it and will thus provide a stable enduring structure for the Infantry.