The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five Regular and two Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division (with the exception of the 1st Battalion, which is an amalgamation of two individual regiments). Since formation the regiment has been involved in combat operations, first in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.
The Rifles was created as a result of the Future Army Structure. Under the original announcement, the Light Division would have remained essentially unchanged, with the exception of the Light Infantry gaining a new battalion through the amalgamation of two other regiments, and both gaining a reserve battalion from within the Territorial Army (TA) as it was then called. However, on 24 November 2005, the Ministry of Defence announced that the four regiments would amalgamate into a single five-battalion regiment. The Rifles was formed on 1 February 2007 by the amalgamation of the four Light Infantry and Rifle Regiments of the Light Division:
The Rifles are an English indie rock band from Chingford, London.
Their debut album No Love Lost was released on 17 July 2006 and reached No. 68 in the UK charts. Their follow up album, Great Escape, was released on 26 January 2009 and came in at No. 27 in the UK charts. Their third album Freedom Run was released on 19 September 2011 reaching No. 37 in the UK.
The band currently consists of Joel Stoker (vocals, guitar), Lucas Crowther (guitar, vocals), Rob Pyne (bass guitar), Grant Marsh (drums).
Joel Stoker and Lucas Crowther met at Redbridge College in 2003 (which is where they also met Rob Lloyd from Chingford punk outfit Betamax). They were both inspired by an Oasis concert the two attended in Knebworth, England. Guitarist Crowther revealed "From that moment on we knew we had to start a band." After adding bassist Rob Pyne, who Joel knew from school, and drummer Grant Marsh, who Luke met in the Candy Box club, The Rifles performed their first gig at The Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town, London in 2004.
The Rifles is a 1994 novel by American writer William T. Vollmann. It is intended to be the sixth book in a planned seven-book cycle entitled Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes. As of 2015, however, only five of the seven have been published, The Rifles being the third to reach print.
Unlike the other books in this series so far, The Rifles is not wholly an historical novel, as it primarily takes place in the early 1990s, although the storyline depicting the trials and challenges of modern Inuit life is tied to the ill-fated exploration of the Arctic region by Sir John Franklin in the mid-19th century. The novel also discusses the 1955 forced migration of Inuit from Inukjuak, Quebec to Resolute, Nunavut.
Walk out of the door and make my way up the street
Cold wind in my eyes runs a tear down my cheek
Not a soul to be heard so no point to complain
At least the sound of the birds compensates for the
rain
Hit the queue for the bus and then join the line
Same faces for the last ten years of my life
See them more than my friends I couldn't tell you their
names
Shattered glass on the floor the kids have run out of
games
And I don't see that's ever gonna change
One hour passes till I'm back on my feet
A stone's throw I will be walking till I'm off the
street
Hang my coat to dry, settle down with the herd
Some I really don't mind, some just get on my nerves
Turn my back to the clock cause it slows the time
Take out a cigarette and hear the match strike
Turn the radio on to drown the sound of the rain
Same bands same songs play again and again
And I don't see that's ever gonna change
Tell me I'm not right say what you like I'm miles away
And expect nothing changing except for the name of the
day.
From my place of work I move away in haste
Time there moves slow but rushes when I'm away
Pass a girl from my school the conversation's brief
Gotta catch that train, get myself some relief
I meet up with friends and they knock off at six
I pull at five and walk about for a bit
Watch the world go by through an empty glass
And I know that won't be the last 'so'
Tell me I'm not right say what you like I'm miles away
And expect nothing changing except for the name of the
day.
Creep back into bed and I pull up the sheet
High over my head and undercover my feet
Till the room goes dark and i'm miles away