The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment of Foot. It saw service in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1968 it was amalgamated with the other regiments in the North Irish Brigade, the Royal Ulster Rifles, and the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) into the Royal Irish Rangers. History 1881 – 1914 On 1 July 1881 the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment of Foot were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, respectively. In 1903 the Regiment was granted a grey hackle for their fusilier raccoon-skin hats to commemorate the original grey uniforms of the Inniskilling Regiment. The regimental district comprised the City of Londonderry and the counties of Donegal, Londonderry, Tyrone and Fermanagh in Ireland, with its garrison depot located at St Lucia Barracks in Omagh. The local militia regiments also became part of the new regiment, becoming the 3rd to 5th (Militia) Battalions. Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London. Under the Childers system, one regular battalion of each regiment was to be at a "home" station, while the other was abroad. Every few years, there was to be an exchange of battalions. In the period from the regiment's formation to the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the two regular battalions were stationed as follows: Second Boer War In October 1899 war broke out between the United Kingdom and the Boer Republics in what is now South Africa. The 1st Battalion landed at Durban, where they became part of the 5th (Irish) Brigade. The battalion was involved in a series of military reverses at the hands of the Boers, which became known as the "Black Week", culminating in defeat at the Battle of Colenso. The unit subsequently took part in the Tugela Campaign before helping relieve Ladysmith in early 1900. The regiment lent its name to "Inniskilling Hill", which was taken by the 5th brigade on 24/25 February 1900. The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa from India only in the late stages of the