FAMOUS FORCES

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19451, 15 December 1934, Page 14 (Supplement)

FAMOUS FORCES

Grenadier Guards and the Royal Marines Episodes in their - History.

The Grenadier Guards have always been prefixed by " ii. M’s.,” meaning his or her Majesty’s Guards, and they are Unique ill being the first regiment on Hie roll of the British Infantry.

press gang, with the result that it did not got the best of the country’s manhood and the ships were always .simmering* with mutiny. A reliable body of trained men was necessary in tlie fillips, and sucli a body was found in the Marines. They were quartered on board between officers and crew that they might protect the “ afterguard ” if the crew mutinied. . To tlris day it lias been the practice to berth the Marine detachment on board in their old position in the ship, for tradition dies hard in the NaVy. But although the original purpose in placing Marines on board ship has long since lost its meaning, the modern'rtulies arc far ;heavier than formerly. Tlie . Marines supply all guards and sentries at sea and in harbour. They man a turret iii-all big ships, and it was a Major of Marines who gained a V.G. In the Great War when an enemy shell fifed tlie magazine, 'which he at once flooded, at the cost of his life. Naturally, there is the keenest competition between the Marine crew of a turret and those manned by seamen. Whenever an armed body Is landed, the Royal Marines always form Hie first party, and in addition to their sea training, they are drilled and trained as soldiers, so that when a fleet is in harbour and all the Marine detachments are landed, a i considerable brigade of highly disciplined men is available.

Away bade in 1060, when Charles II came to a throne which was not wholly secure, be' commissioned Colonel John Jluisell (an ancestor of the present Duke of Bedford) to raise a regiment of Royal Guards of 12 companies of 100 men each.! The King had another regiment of Royal Guards —the remnants of the Royalist soldiers who had survived the execution of King Charles and the exile of his son. They were united with Russell’s regiment, and thus became the two senior battalions of the future First Regiment of Foot Guards. ■ Some years later a .company was added, trained and skilled in the use of the hand grenade, but the present regimental badge; 1.e., a grenade, and the name “ Grenadiers ” did not come into use until a century later, long after the use of'the grenade had become obsolete with the class of troops named after it. •In those early days the Royal Regiment of the Guards \Vore a curious tall, mitre-shaped head dress, but in 1768 ” tall fur caps ’’ were Introduced Inlet the Grenadier companies! and the grenade badge made Us appearance for the first time. It was worn at the back of the Rif caps, which had a brjiss plate in front, and which subsequently developed into the oolossal headgear now known as ■the “ bearskin.” t Fighting On Many Fronts. During the first 70 years of its existence, the Ist Regiment of Foot Guards was fighting on many fronts. Those were tile days when England was gradually coming to the fore, and the Ist Regiment won fame on many fields, including batlles against the Moors at Tangier and against Redskins in Virginia. For many years somo part or another of the regiment Was always serving on hoard the ships of the Fleet, and was engaged -at the famous sea fight off Solebay in a yardarm to yard-arm conflict with the Dutch, which the Dutch Admiral, Do lluyter, swore was the hardest fought of his 32 sea lights! They were in Hie Retreat to Corunna with Sir John Moore. At Quati’c Bras and Waterloo they performed so brilliantly that the title “ Grenadier Guards ” was given 'to Hie Ist Regiment for having routed the French Grenadiers, Napoleon’s highly prized veterans. Alina, Inkerrnan land Sebastopol arc on their battle colours as well as ■Egypt, llie Nile -and KhaiToum (with Kitchener) and in the great war the successors of the former generations of veterans played an heroic part. Tor reasons largely connected with the famous bearskins, the scarlet tunics, hUt chiefly because of the famous band, the Grenadier Guards have achieved a popularity among the British public, both at home and overseas, ''which Is" un^rededented. The famous band had its origin in two drummers, later augmented to six with a drum major (paid is 6d daily) and a flfer (paid Is daily). From these humble beginnings, the band developed into one of the finest, if not the finest, military combination in Europe. But if the Grenadiers are the smartest and bravest of the brave, what of that other corps, the Marines. Why They Exist. Kipling’s soldier could not understand how, when he boarded the ship, lie found “ a man-ol'-warsman [here, dressed up, in Regular’s style." Many people have been puzzled about the \ Royal Marines, why they exist, and j what they do on board ship. In the bad old days, the Fleet was largely manned per medium of the j

Another job for Marines on hoard is to act as officers’ servants, and many a Marine when he leaves the service finds his training as a batman lias qualified him for a job on shore. The Marines’ Unifofm. t The uniform Is blue with scarlet facings and white pipe-clayed belts. The drum and life hands of the Marines arc always to be found discoursing music on llie quarter-deck; you will always find a Marine sentry on duly outside tlie captain’s cabin; and when llie ensign'is hoisted on hoard at 8 a.ml the Marine guard will be there, drawn up at the “present," while the. Marino band plays. It is often claimed that the Royal Marines arc' llie smartest and best disciplined corps in tlie world. Certainly, their drill is admired even by Guardsmen, and their war record is second to none.

For precision, mechanical exactitude, life and spirit there 1 is no drill superior to dial of the Marines, whose commanding officers have for several generations set the highest .possible standard 'attainable. As for their fighting qualities and war 'record, it is said that many years ago the sovereign wished to give battle honours to l.lie Marines on their colours, after the custom' of Hie regular regiments. But when presented with the list, the King declared it would neecl a frigate’s fore topsail, to hold them all, and accordingly the Royal Marines have a Union Jack —properly termed " The Union " —for their King’s odours.

The Royal Marines la one of the few corps permitted to march through London with fixed bayonets, drums beating and colours flying. They have many popular nicknames. “ Jolly ” is as old as the corps itself, while to his own shipmates who have fought with him all over the world for two and a-half centuries, the Marine is a "Joey,” a “ Bashi Bazouk ” or " Leather-neck.” The Royal Marines have two special privileges. In recognition of their loyalty during the great mutinies at Spithead and at The Nore in the 18th century, Marines remain covered at the reading of the Articles of War when all others, officers and men, are bareheaded. And for their courage at llie capture of 'Gibraltar, “ Gibraltar ’’ is displayed on their colours, helmet plates, buttons and oilier accoutrements.