The 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army.

It was formed on 2 June 1958 by the amalgamation of the 1st Battalion, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion, The Essex Regiment, forming the 1st Battalion, 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot).

The two predecessor regiments had been based in West Germany and the new Regiment remained in Dortmund -- home of the Essex Regiment -- as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). In 1959 the Regiment arrived in Malaya to take part in the Malayan Emergency, which had been raging since 1948, joining 28 Commonwealth Brigade . The Emergency was declared over on 31 July 1960. The Regiment, however, remained in Malaya until 1962 when it was posted to Northern Ireland, at that time a peaceful place, completely different to what it was to experience during 'The Troubles', especially in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Regiment's brief existence came to an end when it amalgamated with the three other battalions of the East Anglian Brigade on 1 September 1964 to form one of the new large regiments, the Royal Anglian Regiment; the 3rd East Anglian Regiment became the 3rd Battalion (16th/44th Foot). The Battalion was disbanded in 1992.

Other Information

• Colonel-in-Chief: HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
• Alliances:
  • 11th/44th Infantry Battalion (The City of Perth Regiment) -- Australia (1958-1964)
  • The Essex and Kent Scottish -- Canada (1958-1964)
  • The First City Regiment -- South Africa (1958-1961)