BRITISH ARMY IN BERLIN.

Bruce Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 73, 17 September 1917, Page 5

BRITISH ARMY IN BERLIN.

A MEMOEY OF 1629. It was somewhere about the middle of July, IG2D, that a British unuy arrived iu Berlin. The account of its doings may not be found in any history book, for the secret papers are safely stored in the State archives of the Prussian capital. At that time Berlin was a small riverside town, but under the able rule of the 'Great Elector' it quickly became a place of considerable importance. The object of the British invasion, however, was not one of conquest. It was the result of a promise which James I. had made to his son-in-law, Frederick V. The Elector Palatine Frederick had placed himself j nt the head of the Protestant Union of Germany. He accepted the Crown of Bohemia in 1019 ,and it was in order to help the newly-elected King against the followers of the Lusatiuns that the British troops were sent to Berlin. The force, -which was composed of many penniless but adventure-loving nobl.es, recruited from all parts of England and Scotland, was commanded by Sir Andrew Grey. A letter written by James L, which is to be seen preserved iu the State Paper Office, states that 'the force was some 5000 strong, and constituted one of the finest armies ever seen on the battlefield.' It goes on to say that the men were clad in red and white Hanoverian uniforms, and were well armed and efficient soldiers. The contingent lauded on the Prussian coast early in the spring of 1(320, and after a perilous march through the neighbouring swamps arrived at Tempelhoff, on the outskirts of Berlin. There it was that the trouble arose. The Bcrliners hastily barricaded the streets, and prepared to defend the city against the British. But the British had no sinister designs on the city,' and after resting lifted their camp and marched into Bohemia, where they joined the army of Fredcrick V. One, and only one action was fought—that of Wcisserburg, near Prague—which ended so disastrously that Frederick V., the 'Winter King,' was forced -to abdicate, and the campaign of the British, which had been the cause of so much distrust in Prussia, came to an end.