The British Regiments.

Franklin Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 139, 3 December 1934, Page 8 (Supplement)

The British Regiments.

STORIES OF THEIR ORIGINS. AN OFFICER WHO FORGOT. Even if sailors don’t care, soldiers do. They care about all sorts of little things. They are true conservatives. RegimentsT'for instance, are proud of their nicknames, some of which have x most amusing origins. Take the 2nd Battalion' of the Essex Regiment, the old 56th Foot. They first appeared, we are told by Cor-poral-Major R. J. T. Hills, of the Life Guards, in 1756. They had a mind, it was said, to facings of royal blue, which were refused. Determined to be royal at all costs, the gallant corps adopted as its facings the puce livery colour of the King of France’s mistress. The “Pompadours” they are to this day. But it is rare for a nickname to be accepted officially. The Buffs and the Green' Howards are the only examples. In 1741 the 3rd and 19tn Regiments were brigaded together in Germany. The 3rd were commanded by Colonel Thomas Howard, the 19th by Colonel the Hon. Charles Howard — to the great confusion of men in camp. So, from their coloured lapels they became the Buff and Green 'Howards respectively. The Buffs have held their title officially for a very long time, but it is.only since the war that officialdom has climbed down from an untenable Height and ordained that the 19th of Foot shall be the “Green Howards” (Alexandra Princess of Wales’ Own Yorkshire Regiment!. To add a slight touch of confusion the South Wales Borderers used to be known as “Howard’s Green.”

From Lincoln To Wales.

Cardwell’s reorganisation system was responsible for some queer regimental changes. The new West Yorks had been the 14th Buckinghamshire and before that the Bedfordshire. Huntington and poor little Rutland lost their regiments altogether, and, says Corporal-Major H.slli er, and, says Corporal-Major Hills, “the 69th South Lincolns became, doubtless with much surprise, the 2nd Royal Welch.” Thanks to Cardwell, too. the two regular battalions of the same regiment rarely meet —one or the other is always overseas. The Ist and 2nd Battalions of the Duke of Cornwall’s Infantry, for instance, have met only three times !• Until recently the Red Coat —the old “Red Rag”—was the mark of the British soldier all over the world. But not every regiment has worn red. The Horse Guards have always been the “Blues,” and the Rifle Brigade has been green-jacketed from its birth. It adopted its distinctive colour from Hornpesche’s Jagers. one of the regiments of foreigners which were common at the end of the eighteenth century. Some of our proudest regiments have decidedly shady origins : The 60th. still with us as the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, had been raised in 1775 for colonial service. Its ranks were, to a large extent, filled by foreigners and deserters. The former were purchased in batches from their German princelings. Recruits From Gaol. Vagabonds, we are told, were delivered over by obliging magistrates to the Recruiting sergeants. Half-drun-ken yokels were, hustled away from their farms: — One battalion required for Abercrombie’s Egyptian Expedition of 1801. was filled by opening the gates of Gloucester Gaol. The 41st. now the Ist Battalion of the Welsh Regiment, was formerly one of the Invalid Corps, “whch often formed the only sorry reserve for the defence of Britain.”

No wonder Wellington called the men who won his battles “the scum of the earth.“ Their officers must have been a curious bunch, too, thanks to the scandalous system, ot buying promotion. Wellington himself gazetted ensign at eighteen, hopped from regiment to regiment, horse or foot, it mattered not, so long as he “dodged the column’ ’and was free to dance attendance at Vice? Regal Lodge. His brother-in-law, Packenham, was a major at seventeen; his cavalry leader in the Peninsula, Stapleton Cotton, had a regiment at twenty-one. Wolfe was a lieutenant of Marines at fourteen, and, as acting-adjutant, “virtually commanded Duroura’s 12th Foot at the Battle of Dettnigen, when sixteen years of age only. Some officers hardly ever saw their men. This is illustrated by the story of the geniaPhanger-on at Court who, being asked what regiment he belonged to at the moment, answered affably: “Pon my soul I don’t know: but they wear green facings and you get to ’em from Waterloo Station. ’ Half-rations For Women. Women were another complication. A little over a hundred years ago soldiers’ wives accompanied them on campaigns and were regarded officially as part of the regiment establishment, and figured in the Parade States, carefully grouped to the right, together with muleteers and animals. Each woman received a half-ration and each child a third.

Five hundred an.l sevent-nine women accompanied Wolfe’s expedition to Quebec. It is comforting to recall, says Corporal-Major Hill, that not one of the Quebec women was a casualty. A return rendered during the winter of 1759-60 records their survival en masse, “in good health ,eating their rations, and fit for their duties both by day and by night.’’

The good old Duke fo York in his 1794 campaign had some trouble with the womenfolk. A number of them followed the Guards Brigade into action at Tourcoing:—

The day went against us .and some of the ladies, intent upon plunder, fell into enemy hands. Gallic courtesy, even under the Republic, proved itself. A few days later a regimental band headed the missing women back to the British lines.

Mufti for private soldiers off duty is of comparatively recent date. The first regiment, so far as Corporal-Ma-jor Hills can trace, to introduce such a revolutionary measure was the Ist Life Guards: —

With due respect to its own prestige, even the troopers fared forth in dignified top hat. frock coat, ami “varnished” boots

But the Household Cavalry had a hard life. In Queen Victoria’s reign no Royal engagement could be performed without an escort: — Within recent memory the Life Guards have clattered through gas-lit streets to the opera or theatre, and waited patiently for the curtain to fall, so that they might complete their duty.