ME -AT-ARMS SERIES

e flIes

Text byCHRISTOPHER

WILKINSO -LATHAM

Colour platts byMICHAEL ROFFE

rJorderersouth

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MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES

EDITOR: MARTIN WINDROWALBA:" BOOl( SERVICES

CJ30rdererstilesouth

Text byCHRISTOPHER

WILK INSON -LATHAM

ColoUT plates byMICHAEL ROFFE

OSPREY PUBLISHING LIMfTED

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Published in 1973 byOspr~y Publishing Ltd, 137 SouthamplOn Str~~I.

Reading, Berkshire(' Copyright 1973 Osprey Publishing Ltd

This book is copyrighted under Ih~ BerneConvention. All rights reserved. Apart from anyfair dealing for the purpose of private study,research, criticism or review, as permitu."d under theCopyright Act, 1956, no pari of this publicalion maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ort~ansmillcd in any form or by any means electronic,electrical, chemical, mechanic....d, optical, photo­copying, recording or otherwise, without the priorpermission of the copyright owner. Enquiries shouldIx- addressed to the Publishers.

paper edilion IS8S 0 8')04; 209 0

cased edilion 1S8S 0 ij5045 231 7

Prinled in Great Britain b)Jarrold & Sons Ltd. ;\orwich

'Dering} ~imentThe standing army in England, although datingfrom the Restoration of Charles I I, was notproperly established umilthe reign ofWilliam and'-1ary I68g-g4)' With the bloodless revolUlion of1688, the deposed King James fled across LheChannel to the protection of Louis XIV, whileWilliam, having been proclaimed King on13 February 168g, set about enlarging his armyfor the inevitable war with France.

On 8 March IG8g commissions were issued tofourteen noblemen and landowners who wereeach to form 'a regiment of FOOl ... for ourservice'. One of these commissions was sent to SirEdward Dering of Surrenden, a Kcntish baronetof substantial fortune and influence, who im­mediately set about the task of recruiting. AsLieutenant-Colonel of the new regiment, heappointed his younger brother Daniel whoalready had some military experience, havingbought a grenadier company in Sir WilliamKing's Regiment in ,68..... The first muster washeld on 8 ~larch, the regiment's establishmentbeing thirteen companies each of three sergeants,three corporals, two drummers, and sixty privates,a total ofBB4 non~commissioned officers and men,with onc major, nine captains, nine lieutenants,two ensigns, a chaplain, and a surgeon.

Exact details of the regiment's early uniformsare not known, although it is almost certain thatthey started off by wearing a blue coat, redbecoming the universal colour only with the reignof Queen Anne (I 70'l-14). The officers' uniformswere similar to those of the men but were made offiner material and were ornamented with gold orsilver lace, a broad sash, and a gorget.

After being issued with 'sllch arms as haveusually been delivcred to other regiments of foot',

qlfecJollt!l W7Ies 'Borderers

i.e. muskets and pikes, the regiment was orderedto move from its quarters at ~laidstone andDanford and proceed to thc Midlands. In JulyIhey were sent to Hoylake to embark for Irelandas part of General Schomberg's army, for thedeposed James II had gone to Ireland with anumber of French officers and, with the help ofTyrconnell, his viceroy, had raised an army toovcrrun Ulster, where the Protestants had acknow­ledged William as King.

On 13 August 168g, Dering's Regiment, alongwith the rest of the Anglo-Dutch Army, landed on

EdWl<rd Derinll' Baron"l, of S..rread"a ia Keal. wha ...i .....lh" r"lim"a1 in. th" ....rvlc:.. of Kiol WiI.liarn III. (South Wal...Borderen)

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Jou Churchitl, I.t Duke or M...lborou,h. Colo..el or the24d1 ResiIDeDt I~+ (Soudl Wales Borderen)

the soulhern shores of Belfast Lough. Schombergquickly joined forces with the smaller army ofGeneral Kirke, who had already taken Belfastwithout a shot being fired. After the raising of theSiege of Londonderry (28 july) and the rout atNewton Butler, James's army was in full retreattowards the Boyne, but they had left a smallgarrison at Carrickfergus. Schomberg immediatelybesieged the town and it was here that Dering'smen would have had Iheir first taste of battle.

The siege, though hampered by the inefficiencyof the artillery officers and Ihe poor quality of theguns and ammunition, lasted a week. On its fall,Schomberg, though uncertain of his troops,decided to push on to Dublin. After passingthrough Newry (5 September), his anny groundto a halt at Dundalk 7 September!, held up bythe shortage of horses and wagons.

For two months Ihe army camped on the damppeaty soil, the weather worsening along with the

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morale of the ill-fed and ill·clothed troops. TheBritish suffered more Ihan their Dutch comrades·in·arms, who, used to foraging, quickly builtthemselves huts to replace the leaky issued tents.

With the bad conditions came sickness. Amongthe earliest casualties was Sir Edward Dering,who, stricken by a fe\'er from which he neverreco\'ered, died on 17 OClober 168g. The colonelcypassed to his brOlher Daniel, at thai time acaplain in charge of a naval \·essel.

Although Ihe situation of his forces was becom­ing increasingly serious, Schomberg decided tokeep his position at all costs. He refused to breakcamp even when attacked by roaming bands ofCatholic irregulars known as 'Rapparees', know·ing full well that his troops 'if once disordered,would be lost'.

Early in November james's army broke campand withdrew to winter quarters. General Schorn­berg immediately followed suit and on 7 Novemberhis dispirited soldiers started Ihe long arduousmarch back to Belfast. :\Iore Ihan I ,Goo men haddied at Dundalk, a further 800 succumbing on IheIransports laking the sick to England, and 4,000in quarters.

On becoming colonel, Daniel Dering appointedSamuel Venner as his lieutenant·colonel. Venner,an ambitious soldier who had transferred from theDutch Army, led many a raiding·party during thewinter months, harassing the enemy's supplycolumns and lines of communication.

Iii April 16g0 a much·needed intake of recruitsarrived; they found the regiment's morale pitifullylow, for, apart from everything else, only £5,500of the regiment's £9,600 maintenance sinceSeptember of the year before had been paid.

The summer of 1690 saw the defeat ofJames IIat the Battle of the Boyne (I july), followed by hisflight to France and the occupation of Dublin,along with parts of Leinster and Munster, byKing William's victorious army. Unfortunalelyfor Dering's Regiment, they, with one British andtwo Ulster regiments, were left behind when thearmy marched on Dublin and so saw nothing ofthe main campaign. William advanced furtherinto the south but his progress was checked inSeptember at Limerick. With Ulster almostsecure, Dering's men had 10 contcnt themselveswith beating off the occasional raid by Rapparees.

After William's failure at Limerick the army wassent imo wimer quarters, Dering's Regimem~ing scaltered between Londonderry, Carling­ford, and Carrickrergus.

InJune IGgI, at the opening of the new cam­paign. Daniel Dering died and was succeeded ascolonel by Samuel Venner who appointedAlexander Ramse)' as his lieutenant-colonel.Shortly after his nomination, Ramsey led areconnaissance towards Sligo, consisting of 100 ofVenner's men with 200 Inoumed troops and 400militia. Advancing towards the Ballysclara Bridge,four miles from Sligo, they came upon a largeforce of Irish partisans under the command of SirTeague O'Regan. Ramsey immediately attackedand with such force that the Irish fled in panic,leaving the bridge open for Schomberg's followingarmy to advance towards Limerick, whose siegewas to be the culmination of the Irish campaign.

Venner's Regiment formed part oCthe army onthe Clare side oCthe Shannon, where the grenadiercompanies had been withdrawn from theirrespective regiments to form the main attackingforce who would storm the bridgehead imoLimerick. When the grenadiers attacked, therebels broke and fled, streaming hack towards lhetown. The officer on the gate panicked andraised the drawbridge, leaving his retreatingcomrades to be CUt down, captured, or drowned

The .tt.ck On the Sc:belleabers:. (Sautb W.lu Borde",...)

as they lried to swim the Shannon. The fall ofLimerick (3 OClober) marked the end of thecampaign for Venner's Regiment. After a briefspell of garrison duty in the captured town the)left for England, where they were quarteredbetween Bridgwater and Wells in Somerset.

In ~Iay 16g2, with the threat of a Frenchinvasion of England, Venner's Regimem founditself quartered at Guildford. With the Frenchdefeat at Cape Barfleur, however (19 May), themenace disappeared. It was now decided that anEnglish army would invade France, and con­sequently founeen battalions, including Venner'sand a large artillery train, were assembled alPortsmouth under the command of GeneralSchomberg's younger son. After excessive delays,giving the French ample time to strengthen theirdefences, the fleet sailed on 26July, but, after theabortive a tempt on St Malo, the plans werecancelled and the fleet returned to St Helen '5.

On 27 August the army, which had by nowgrown considerably, was once again sent acrossthe Channel and succeeded in landing at Ostendwhere, under the command of General Tolle­mache, they advanced on Dixmude, which fell on7September. With the hopes ofcapturing Dunkirkfading, Venner's men were relieved of garrisonduty and returned to England, where in thespring of 1693 they were ordered 'to embark inour fleet'. The regiment was subsequently split upamong the ships of the 'Grand Fleet', whichincluded the Norfolk and the Ropl Sourngn, andserved with them for six months, after which theywintered in Portsmouth. In June 16g4 Venner'smcn took part in the attack on Camaret Bay ledby Tollemache. AI the landing the troops cameunder a withering crossfire and were forced towithdraw, suffering heavy casualties, includingthe General, who died on the return voyage toSpithead.

In the winter of 1694, after complaints madeagainst him by his fellow officers, Samuel Vennerwas forced to vacate the colonelcy, his place beingtaken by Louis James Le Vasseur, Marquis ofPuisar. nder Le Vasseur the regiment sa.... noreal active service, and with the signing of thePeace of Ryswick they were transferred to the1rish Establishment and reduced by two com­panies, leaving them wilh 450 N.C.O.s and other

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ranks and thirty-seven officers, Tn 1701 LeVasseur died and the vacancy was filled by WilliamSeymour.

In November 1700 Charles II of Spain died,leaving his dominions in Spain, the Netherlands,and America to Louis XIV's grandson, Philip ofAnjou. William immediately ordered the twelveregiments in Ireland to embark for Holland;where French troops had already occupied theSpanish Netherlands. After an augmentation incompanies, bringing the total establishment to883, the regiment sailed from Cork on '24 June1701, arriving in Holland a fortnight later.

On 12 February 1702 William Seymour wastransferred to the Queen's Regiment of Foot(later the 4th or King's Own Regiment) and thevacant colonelcy was taken over by one ofEngland's greatest soldiers, John Churchill, Dukeof Marlborough.

On 4 May 17°2, with the Treaty ofThe Hagueand the 'Grand Alliance' between England,Austria, and the Tetherlands signed (7 September170t), war was finally declared against France.

J'r(arlborough's'Ultrs

The first two years of the war were frustrating anduneventful for Marlborough and his army, thetime being used in building up a base in theUnited Provinces for an invasion of France,Marlborough meanwhile trying to persuade hisallies that the solution to their problems was ahead-on confrontation with the enemy. In May1704 Marlborough undertook his famous marchto the Danube, a journey of 400 miles, which hisarmy took only forty days to cover.

After forcing a passage across the Danube'bydefeating a combined Franco-Bavarian Army atthe Heights of Schellenberg, Marlborough joinedforces with Prince Eugene of Savoy and formedup his men opposite the enemy-held position atBlenheim, where Marshal Tallard with 20,000reinforcements held the right of the line, the left

6

being under the command of Marshal Marsin andthe Elector of Bavaria.

At 12.30 p.m. on 13 August Major-GeneralCutts, the overall commander of the infantry,commenced his attack, the first line comprisingGeneral Rowe's Brigade, of which the 24th waspan. Rowe's Brigade, 'with undaunted courageand unparalleled intrepidity altacked the villageon the muzzles of the enemy'. Undeterred by theheavy fire-power of the French, the 24th and theother battalions moved steadily forward withoutfiring a shot; only when Rowe himself plunged hissword into the defensive palisade did they firetheir first volley and, dashing forward, tried toforce an entry. Greatly outnumbered by theFrench, the brigade was forced to retire and indoing so exposed their right flank to the enemycavalry. Cutts, seeing the danger, sent in theHessian Brigade who drove off the cavalry andcovered the withdrawal.

After the failure of the first attack Cutts sent ina second, comprising the remnants of Rowe'sBrigade, the Hessians, and Brigadier-GeneralFerguson's Brigade. When this attack was alsorepulsed, Cutts was StOpped from sending a thirdby Marlborough, who gave orders to pin downthe enemy in the village.

At 4 p.m. ~Iarlborough launched his greatattack. The Allied Army pounded its way throughMarshal Tallard's centre and, overwhelming thenine battalions in support, forced the French to

beat a hasty retreat. With this great victoryMarlborough's reputation was made, to thedetriment of the French, whose prestige as the'Invincible Army' was shatlered.

On 25 August '7°4 Marlborough was appointedto the colonelcy of the 1St Foot Guards, thevacancy in the regiment being filled by Lieutenant­Colonel William Talton.

The next two years werc relatively uneventfulfor thc regimcnt. It was nOl until 12 May 1706that, in Meredith's Brigade, they formed part ofthe nineteen battalions and fiftcen cavalry squad­rons ofthe huge British force which confronted theFrench under Marshal Villeroi at Ramillies,where, after stubborn resistance, the French with­drew with heavy losses.

In the winter of 1708 Tatton disposed of hiscolonelcy to Gilbert Primr~, who, after being

e-...... Sir David Baird, Bart.. G.c.B.. P.e., Coloa..1 of c.he-.tla Resim.....I~ ( ...rk.... Gall..ry)

promoted to brigadier-general on I January 1707,had for some time been commanding the home­based battalion of the 1st Foot Guards. Nosooner had the appointment been made when asudden scare of a French invasion of Scotlandnecessitatcd the immediatc transfer of ten bat­talions, including Primrose's, for home defence.By the time ~hey arrived in Scotland the Frenchhad been beaten off, so without setting foot on dryland the ten battalions rejoined ~(arlborough's

army. A short time after their return the regimenttook part in the next major action ofthe campaign,that ofOudenarde, where the French, after fiercec1ose-quarter fighting, wen~ outflanked by theAllied cavalry and forced to withdraw.

Marlborough's plans to march into Francewere baulked by his Dutch allies so the Duke

reconciled himself to besieging Lille. Five bat­talions took part in this operation, includingPrimrose's, who lost sixty-nine killed and 208wounded before the citadel finally capitulated.After Lille, ~1arlborough immediately lay siegeto Ghent and only when this city fell did he allowhis troops to move into winter quarten.

As the Allies and the French were quarrellingover the Treaty of Ryswick and the terms ofsettlement, the French General Villars assembledan army of 80,000 men behind the skilfullyplanned and extremely formidable entrench·menu which he had constructed in front of)"falplaquet. After twelve days of hard fighting(from 3' Augusl to II September 1709), theAllies emerged victorious, bUl with a very heavycasualty list comprising some 20,000 men, almost"double that of the French.

The campaign of '710 opened with ~(arl­

borough's laying siege to the last importantobstacle between France and the Netherlands, theheavily defended fortress of Douai. Eight bat­talions, among them Primrose's, took part in thetwo-month siege. When the stronghold finallysurrendered the regimelll had lost thirty-six menkilled and 157 wounded.

In December 17'1, after outwitting GeneralVillan and outflanking his TIL plus ultra line,Marlborough was recalled, for in England theWhigs had lost the election and the Tories, withthe backing ofQueen Anne, had decided to put anend to the war.

Primrose's Regiment left the Netherlands on24June t7'3 and sailed for their new station inIreland. It was 168 yean later, in 1882, that theregiment received iu reward for the War of theSpanish Succession, when the battle honours'Blenheim', 'Ramillies', 'Oudenarde', and 'Mal­plaquet' were emblazoned on its colours.

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18th @elltur),@ampaiglls

Apart from two short sojourns in England theregimcllI served on the Irish ESlablishmcni forsome IWClHy·fjvC years, years that were ver), dullafler whal Ihey had experienced on the Continent.In '7 I 7 Gilben Primrose died and was succeededby Thomas Howard who was to be their colonelfor the ne;.:t twenty years. I( was during this timethat the regiment rcccivtd the sobriquet,'Howard's Greens', which indicates that theregiment had by this time adopted green facingsto their uniforms.

In [7'9 the regiment len the tedium of Irishgarrison duty and embarked as part oCthe force of9,000 men, under the command of Lord Cobham,who were to make a descent on the Spanish coast.After receiving a warning that Corunna, theexpedition's original objective, was well preparedfor an allack Cobham changed course and headedfor Vigo where the Spaniards had stored mostof the equipment necessary for an invasion ofScotland. On the evening of 29 SeptemberCobham landed his grenadier companies threemiles from the town, where, except for a few armedpeasants, no opposition was encountered, allowingthe disembarkation of the rcst of the troops andstores to be completed without incident.

The next day the British advanced on the town.Seeing the mass of troops coming towards them,the Spaniards spiked their guns and took refugein the fortified citadel, where they managed tohold out until 10 October, when, after heavybombardment by mortars and siege guns, thegarrison finally surrendered.

Realizing that he had no hope of taking theheavily fortified ports of Corunna and Ferrol,Cobham embarked his men with the best of theSpanish guns and stores and, after destroying whatremained, sailed for home, having done 'a worldof mischief' at a cost of only 300 casualties.

Howard's Regiment returned to Ireland where

B

they continued garrison duties unlilthe spring of1740, when, under the command of ThomasWentworth, who succeeded Howard in 1737, theyassembled on the Isle of Wight as part 01' LordCathcart's force who were to attack the seat oftheSpanish Captain-General in the Indies, Sanjuande Cartagena. Although the campaign started offmoderately well for the British, it ended disaYtrously. The deadly climate and thick vegetationall pointed to speed on the attackers' part, butunfortunately Wentworth, who had taken overcommand of the invasion force after the death ofCathcart, was too cautious and delayed the finalattack on Fort St Lazar which commanded thetown. When the assault failed, Wentworth, all hisconfidence evaporated, abandoned the ventureand sailed for Jamaica on 26 April 1741. In thisshort campaign the regiment lost ten officers and781 rank and file. The regiment stayed in theWest Indies for another year during whichabortive attempts were made on Cuba andPanama. They then returned to England.

In June 1745 Thomas Wentworth relinquishedhis colonelcy and was succeeded by DanielHoughton, a veteran who had first held a commis­sion in 1708 and in 1741 had raised a foot regiment.later to become the 1st Battalion SherwoodForesters. In March 1746 the regiment wasordered to Scotland where they stayed for fouryears helping in mopping-up operations after theJacobite Rebellion and later in building roads toopen up the Highlands. During this periodHoughton died and was succeeded by WilliamKerr, Earl of Ancram, who transferred to the11th Light Dragoons in February 175'2, thevaca11l colonelcy going to the Hon. Edward Corn­wallis. Shortly before this, in July 1751, a royalwarrant had been issued regulating the clothingfor the army. This warrant fixed the regiment'sfacings as 'willow' green and the lace white withone green stripe and one red stripe. It is interestingto note that numbers were now coming into moregeneral use; after 1753 young officers found them·selves gazetted to 'The 24th. Cornwallis'sRegiment of Foot'.

In 1756 the friction between the Frenchsettlers in Canada and the English colonists inNorth America came to a head. The French,while threatening to invade England from Brest,

Office.... (M.jo....)I'pllolenes., .8.2-.6.(NatiOlUlI Army ~blle""")

-I-

Officer. ~tee of the .... llo (.8,2-,6). Thela~r. lu.ve toe- buttODeel backt. "veal t.elreeft (aciDs_ ...d .iJver lace butlon loop. inpai..... (National Army M".om)

were secretly concentrating all their forces atToulon, where they were preparing a descent onthe Balearic island of MinOTca. The garrisonconsisted of four battalions, including the 24th,aU under the command of General Blakeney.

On 18 Aprill756lhe Due de Richelieu with anarmy of '5,000 men landed on the western end ofthe island. Blakeney immediately pulled his smallforce back into Fort 51 Philip on the cancro end,south or the entrance to Port Mahon. The fortress,with its four bastions and undergTound galleries,

gave the defenders the possibility of all·round fireand good cover from the enemy bombardments.So effective was the defence thal by 8 May theFrench had succeeded in bringing only two siegebatteries into action.

On 19 May the tiny garrison's spirits rose highwhen they saw a British naval squadron under thecommand ofAdmiral Byng approaching from thesouth-east. The next day Byng fought an in·conclusive action with the French squadron and,after judging it impossible (Q help Fort St Philip.

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;

£a.ip P"DDyc:uJck ddnodml tbe body of hi. r.thlt'r atChilia.nwala, I] January lilt,. (Nuio..... A.....y MUftlUD)

sailed back loGibraltar where he was subsequentlytried by court martial and shot.

During the next month the defenders continuedtheir stubborn resistance, despite the heavybombardmenLS being handed Qut by the French.On 27 June, after lhey managed to bring overeighty guns and twenty mortars into action, thefrench opened up an unprecedented barrage as aprelude to the final assault. When the attack camethe garrison was too weak to hold Ollt. First oncredoubt fell, then another; the enemy thenmanaging to break into the subterranean pas­sages, rendering a counter-attack almost impos­sible. Blakeney, feeling thaI any further resistancewould mean the slaughter of his whole garrison,decided to capitulate.

Richelieu's terms were most generous. Heallowed his prisoners the full honours of war, tomarch out with 'firelocks on their shoulders,drums beating, colours flying, twenty cartridges

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for each man'. They were then embarked onFrench transports which set sail for Gibraltar. Itwas in November 1756 that the 24th finallyreached England, where they received an en­thusiastic welcome. The casualties were low;three officers and 123 men killed or died ofwounds and five officers and 301 men wounded.Of these figures the 24th had lost eleven killed ordjed ofwounds and two officers and fifty.two menwounded.

On 24 August 1756, while the regiment was stiUat Gibraltar, they, along with fourteen others,received orders to raise a second battalion, whichwas done, mainly from the county of Lincolnshire.Thence they joined the 1st Battalion, who, in ~lay

1757, were stationed in Leicestershire. Thissecond battalion existed for two brief years beforebecoming the Ggth Regiment later the 2ndbattalion, Welch Regiment).

The quarrel between France and England hadworsened into an imperial struggle between thePrussian King, Frederick the Great on the onehand and :\Iaria Theresa of Austria, stronglysustained by Louis XV of France, on the other,thereby constituting a direct threat to theElectorate of Hanover, part of George II's Britishdominions.

For three years the British Government underPitt refused to send troops into Germany whereIWO French armies were co·operating with theAustrians. Instead he preferred to employ themwith the Royal Navy in making raids on theFrench coast, but without much success. The 24thtook part in those of Rochefort, 5t Malo, Cher­bourg, and St Cast. Eventually, in 1760, Pitt wasforced to send British troops to Germany for theprotcction of Hanover. Six battalions, includingthe 24th, embarked for the Continent and for thenexl three years formed part of the Allied Armyunder Ferdinand ofBrunswick, filling a prominentrole in the victories of Corbach, Warburg,Clostercamp, and Vellinghausen.

Although originally undertaken for the defenceof Hanover, the campaign resulted, under theterms of the Peace of Paris (1763), in the with­drawal ofall French troops and ships from Canada,leaving Britain in control of the whole of NorthAmerica.

The close of the campaign found the 24th '201

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mcn short, having only 490 effectivcs, with 123sick. After wintcring in Munster and Paderbornthe regiment was placM under orders for Gibraltarwhere they stayed for a few years before movingto Irt~land.

A few years earlicr, in 1770, due to the success­ful skirmishing of light troops in the Westphaliancampaign, the regiment was authorized to forma 'Light Company'. This new formation took theleft of the line and, like the Grenadier Company,who took the right of the line, had two lieutenantsand no ensign.

In January 1776, after holding the colonelcy fortwenty·four years, Cornwallis died and was re·placed by William Taylor, formerly a lieutenant·colonel in the 9th Regiment (later the Royal~orfolk Regiment).

~1;zerica1776-1777With the French expelled from North America,the thirteen New England Colonies found them­selves in a position where they no longer had torely on Britain for protection and, when the homeGovernment decided to payoff some of the £ 140million National Debt, caused by Pitt's irrationalspending during the Seven Years War, by taxingthe colonists, they openly rebelled.

In 1776, three years after the famous BostonTea Party, twoexpeditions were sent from Englandto help quell the rebellion. The main force underSir William Howe was directed against New York,where he would await the arrival of the secondforce, who would join him after relieving Quebec,which had been besieged by an American armyunder Benedict Arnold since the autumn of 1775.

By the time the 24th Regiment arrived in June,Quebec had been relieved and the Americanswere in full retreat towards the border. Sir GuyCarlton, Governor of Canada and Commander­in-Chief, decided to u~ his newly arrived forcewithout delay, reorganizing them into threebrigades and an 'Advanced Corps', This latterformation was led by Lieutenant-Colonel SimonFraser of the 24th, the command of the battaliondevolving on Major Grant.

Officeu' tneu plate of the Zfth Resitne..t. (N.do...t ArtnyMUleutn)

After some preliminary skirmishing, in whichthe 24th isolated and captured 300 Americans,the main force continued up the 5t LawrenceRiver and arrived at Sorel whence the majority ofthe troops, including the 24th, turned up theRichelicu River. By October Fraser had pushedon to Crown Point, only twelve miles fromTiconderoga, but with a hard Canadian winterdrawing in it wa~ decided to make winter quarters,the entire force withdrawing to the northern endof Lake Champlain.

In 1777 General Burgoyne took over the com­mand and in June advanced his army towardsTiconderoga, a strongly fortified position held bysome 3,000 men. Fraser and his advanced corps,by making a rapid march through the woods andcrossing the rapids between Lake George andLake Champlain, secured Sugar Loaf Hill whichcommanded the rear of the settlement. To thesurprise of the enemy the British managed to get

II

some artillery to the top of the hill which putTiconderoga at Burgoyne's mercy. On the nightof 5 6 July the Americans evacuated the strong­hold, leaving behind some eighty guns and a largequandty of stores.

For the next two months the advance con­tinued, Fraser and his corps always leading theway. By 17 September they had reached Still­water, where 10,000 Americans under the com­mand of General Gates were strongly entrenchedon the Bemis Heights, which rose some 200 feetabove the Hudson River. On 19 SeptemberBurgoyne attacked, Fraser's Corps advancingthrough some woodland on the right flank. Aftersome heavy fighting Burgoyne's men consolidatedtheir position round Freeman's Farm, only a fewhundred yards from the enemy and overlooking~Iill Creek. a deep ravine situated in front of the

Officer'. ·Alben·....ul!... dulko, ......-ss- Notl! that the baDtuft.holdn- u. mu..lns. (Natio:a.al Army M"...,...... )

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heights. Here they waited a fortnight unable toatlack the Americans who were strong on the leftand unassailable on the right and in the centre.On 7 October as the expected assistance fromGeneral Howe had not materialized and therebels were receiving reinforcements daily.Burgoyne moved out in a desperate attempt tofind a weak spot on the left Oank which mightenable him to pave the way for an unmolestedretreat. Seeing this movement, Gates attacked andforced Burgoyne back. Fraser, who had beendetailed to cover the retirement, saw the centregiving way and quickly ordered his men across tohelp. This action enabled the majority of theforce to withdraw, but unfortunately Fraser waswounded by a sniper and died the same night.

Burgoyne, realizing that his position was unten­able, decided to retreat to Fon Edward, a distanceofsome twenty miles. On tht"'evening of8 October.with the remnants of Fraser's Corps acting asrearguard, the ballle-weaT)' soldiers moved off.Delayed by the pouring rain and enemy snipers.the force was soon overtaken by the Americans.who succeeded in getting between them and FonEdward. General Gates demanded an uncondi­tional surrender but changed his terms when itbecame clear that Burgoyne would not accept.The British were allowed to travel to Boston andembark for England on the condition that theywould not serve in America again during the war.

The campaign dragged on for anothcr thrceyears until 1]81, when General Cornwallis wasdefeated at Yorktown and the Americans finallyachieved their independence.

On 31 August 1]82 a royal warrant was issuedconferring county titles on all regiments notalready having a special designation, such as 'TheQueen's' or 'The King's Own', in addition to theirnumbers. The 24th became the 2nd Warwickshires,a title they retained until the Cardwell ArmyReforms of 1881 when they became the SouthWales Borderers.

After short tours ofduty in Scotland and Irelandthe regiment embarked for Canada where theystayed for eleven years before returning toEngland in October 1800, by which time the warwith France had taken a turn for the worse.

Cjtie:J\€!pofeonic"Wars

In August 17gB Napoleon's plans to overrun the~tiddle East and march to India were shatteredwhen his fleet was destroyed by Nelson at theBattle of the Nile. His lines of communicationgone, Napoleon deserted his army and returnedto France. In March 1801 the British Government,determined to destroy the French Army in Egypt,dispatched an expeditionary force under thecommand of General Abercromby. It was thisforce that the 24th and four other battalions wen:sent loreinforce inJunc, by which time the majorityor the French had capitulated, leaving only a smallforce under General Mcnall isolated in Alexandria.

On 21 August General Coote led a (oret', whichincluded the 24th (part of Finch's Brigade), andcaptured Fort Marabout, whence he advanced,causing the French to make a hasty withdrawal toAlexandria. This success brought Coote withinlong range of the city. Siege guns were brought lipand on 26 August the batteries opened lip withsuch ferocity thai by evening Menou was forcedto negotiate terms, which resulted in his menfollowing their comrades back to France.

On 1 November the regiment moved to ~lalta,

where it stayed for a few months before returningto England in March 1802. At the close of thecampaign the 24th, together with the other regi­ments engaged, were awarded the Sphinx super­scribed 'Egypt' which was ordered to be borneon the colours.

In 1804 the British Government under Pittdecided to strengthen the army a!! a safelY measureagainst the gathering invasion force of~apoleon.

This increase resulted in many regiments, amongthem the 24th, forming a second battalion. Itwas raised at Warwick in September for homeservice only, but later, after the defeat of theFranco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar which removedthe threat of invasion, the battalion becameavailable for active service abroad.

Meanwhile in August 1805 the 1/24th em­barked for South Africa as part ofan experlitionaryforce led by Sir David Baird, to retake CapeTownwhich was in the hands of :'\apoleon's allies, theDutch. Landing at Leopard's Bay on 6 january1806, Baird immediately pushed on to Cape Townsome sixteen miles to the south, where he securedBlaauberg Ridge before the Dutch, under Generaljanssens, could take advantage of its high position.After some hard fighting, in which the 1!24th borethe brunt on the British right, the Dutch forceretired in confusion, leaving the defence of the cityto a force of French sailors and Waldeck mer·cenaries. On to january 1807 the British finallyoccupied Cape Town and eight days later theDutch troops surrendered.

With the Cape secured and British interestsin the East safe, the 1/24th remained on garrisonduty for the next four years and was unable tojoin the 2nd Battalion, now free to serve abroad,in the forthcoming Peninsular campaign.

In 1808 the Spaniards rose against the Frenchafter Napoleon had decided to place his brotherjoseph on the Spanish throne. Britain, who saw anopportunity to strike a blow against Napoleon,dispatched an army under the command of SirArthur Wellesley. The 2/24th was not includedin this first expedition, although Sir David Baird,who had become Colonel of the 24th in 1807,accompanied Sir john Moore's abortive advanceon Madrid and the heroic retreat to Corunna. InApril IBog Wellesley returned 10 Portugal with amixed force of British, Portuguese and Spanishtroops, the 2/24th being one of the twenty Britishbattalions.

By 22july Wellesley's main force had advancedto the outskirts of the village of Talavera. Sixdays later Marshal junot's French Army, out·numbering the British two to one, attacked theAllim positions. This battle proved to be one ofthe most difficult of the war, costing Wellesleysome 5,000 men while the French lost over 7,000.The 2/24th had one officer and seventy men killmand ten officers and 268 men wounded, almostfifty per cent of their initial strength. Talaveraranks as one of the greatest days in the regiment'shistory and was the first of nine battle honoursthat they won during the Peninsular War. On26 August Sir Arthur Wellesley was rajsed to the

13

1

Group oC office.... N.C.O.• llDd mea, 186:z. NOle che HrSea.n.t­m.jo..•• n.JlkinS (left) ..... doe ......d ........ aad ......d.boy(riftbl) ill while ruaia. witll tr- collars aDd slubed cuft'.aaps. (South W.ln Borde"-n)

,. (

pttrage and adopted the title ofViscount Welling­ton ofTaJavera.

After Wellington's victories over MarshalMassena at Busaco in September 1810 and atFuentes de Onoro in May 1811, the Britishbesieged Cuidad Rodrigo. Unfortunately the2/241h did not receive this battle honour, foralthough their part in the siege was equal to thatoflhe other battalions who did receive the honour,they did not participate in the storming of thecitadel.

The regiment's next action came at Salamancaon. 22 July ,812, where, after a violent forty­minute encounter, the broken French Army re­treated. Three months later the baltalion founditself at Burgos where they were chosen byWellington to force the breach. This they did witha spirited attack, pressing home so quickly that

14

the French fell back, leaving the way clear for thebacking-up force to move in. The battalion'scasualties were comparatively low: twelve menwere killed and two officers and fifty-six menwounded.

During the remainder of the campaign theregiment, now veterans, marched across Spain,slowly pushing the French towards their ownborder. After their defeat at Vittoria, the Frenchwithdrew across the Pyrenees where, hampered bythe bitter weather and increasing sickness, theywere defeated at the battles ofNivelle and Orthes.On 6 April 181~ Napoleon's abdication finallybrought the Peninsular campaign to an end. On24 Novem~r 1814 the 2nd Battalion was dis­banded, the remaining 300 men forming a depotand training cadre for the 1St Battalion.

I/ldiaOn (oJune ,810 the 1St Baualion, its lour ofdutyin South Africa at an end, embarked on five trooptramports at Cape Town and sailed for India, buttwO of the ships put back into port, leaving the restto continue their journey. Off the island of Mada­gascar the small convoy was anacked by Frenchwarships and two, carrying headquarters and fourcompanies, were captured, but nol before ColonelMarnal had the colours and regimental recordsthrown overboard. The other East Indiaman,though badly damaged, succeeded in escapingduring the night. The prisoners were taken to theFrench-held island of Mauritius where they re­mained until it was captured by the British fivemonths later. In March 1811 Colonel Marriot'sparty rejoined the rest oCthe battalion at Calcutta.

The long-standing troubles with the Kingdomof Nepal came to a head in 1814 and caused the1/24th to be moved to Dinapur in the north. InNovember they joined the eastern column ofGeneral Marley's army bound for the Gurkhacapital, Katmandu. After a very hard and difficulttwo-year campaign in the Himalayan foothills,peace was finally signed on 6 March 1816 and the1/24th returned to Dinapur.

Immediately upon their return the Rank com­panies were sent to Allahabad, where they formedpart of the pun.itive expedition being sent againstthe Pindaris and their Maratha supporters. InMarch 1818 they returned to Dinapur. After thePindari War the regiment remained in Indiafor another five years, moving from garrison togarrison before they prepared to embark forhome, landing in England in July 1823.

Between 1825 and 1841 the regiment servedfour years in Ireland and then moved to Canada,where they helped suppress the 1838 rebellionbefore returning home.

September 1846 found the regiment onceagain stationed in India. The First Sikh War(1845 6) had left the Sikh power unbroken andits leaden incensed at the British demands. In1848 the murder of two British officers at Multan

sparked off new hostilities in which the regimentwas to playa tragic but glorious role.

At the beginning of November the regimentjoined Sir Hugh Gough's Army of the Punjab atferozepore, where they were brigaded with the25th and 45th Bengali ative Infantry in the 2ndDivision. On 8 November Gough crossed theRiver Sutlej, determined to bring the Sikh leader,Shere Singh, to battle, and by 13January 1849 hehad occupied the village of Chilianwala. Notexpecting an attack, arms were piled, guns parked,and horses off·saddled. Lieutenant Macpherson ofthe 24th, having finished his duties, climbed a treeand looked out over the broken ground andjunglein front of him. To his surprise he saw 'somethingflitting to and fro' which he immediately recog­nized as the turbans of the enemy. Jumping downfrom the tr«, Macpherson raised the alarm JUStas the Sikhs opened up with heavy and accurateartillery fire. The British were caught completelyby surprise. Buglers sounded 'Stand to' and thetroops grabbed their muskets and formed up.

The 2nd Division, now under the command ofColin Campbell, was on the left, having Penny·cuick's Brigade (H.M.'s 24th Regt, 25th and 45thN.J.) on its right.Just before Campbell moved offto direct the movements of Hogan's Brigade onthe left, he told Pennycuick and the 24th thatthere was to be no firing; the work was to be donewith the bayonet. This order was later describedby Gough as 'an act of madness'.

At 3 p.m. the advance started, the 24th in thecentre with their grenadier company skirmishingahead. After covering some 200 yards they enteredthe thick jungle well within range of the enemyguns, which opened fire wilh devastating effect.Although no order to charge was given, the paceincreased, so much so that the 24th were wellahead of the sepoys on their flanks. The grenadiercompany were the first to reach the guns, only tobe forced back, but as the rest of the regimentcame up they surged forward again and, thoughthe Sikhs fought bravely, they failed to save thecannon, which were spiked by a small party underLieutenant Lutman. The colour party was wipedout within a few yards of the guns and the centrecompany of the 24th was almost annihilated byrepeated counter-attacks; but the remnants stoodtheir ground. Inside the enemy positions Colonel

15

A..i.staat-Slirseoll DaliSla.. V.c. This officer .M fourprivacu., Bell .Old Murphy ....011I elI~on, w~~ .~rd~ cheVictoria ero.. for d.~ir .cliDa .c the .....d.m 1.la.1lld. illM.y 1867. TheN we~ tbe 6 1members of the SUOeGt cobe .~rded elIe Victoria C (South W.I.... Borde.......)

16

Privale Bell, V.c. (Sollell Wales Borde....... ) Privace Murphy, V.c. (South Wales Borde )

Pennycuick feU mortally wounded, and his son,newly joined from Sandhurst, was shot as hereached his father's side.

Theheavycasualties in the centre had weakenedthe line so much that the Sikhs managed to breakthrough and, as no support came from the :'\aliveInfantry, the regiment was forced back throughthe jungle, sustaining heavy losses as they re­treated. As soon as they reached the far side of thejungle, Captain Blachford, almost the only cap·tain unhurt, rallied the men and re·formed theranks for a counter-attack. This action, thoughdisastrous for the regiment, enabled Hogan'sBrigade, on the left, to advance and attack theSikh line from the flank, forcing the enemy toretire.

By the evening torrential rain was pouringdown on the wounded, many of them lying in thewet jungle without foOO or drink, waiting to befound by one of the ~arch parties. Of the thirty­one officers and 1,065 other ranks belonging 10 the24th who had gone into action, thirteen officersand 225 men had been killed and nine officers and278 men wounded. The Queen's colour was lost,one account stating that it may have been buriedwith Private Connolly who had wrapped itround his body in order to save it and had thenbeen killed. The regimental colour was safelybrought in by Private Perry who rescued it whenEnsign Collis was killed.

On 21 February 1849 the two armies met onceagain at Gujerat. After bombarding the Sikhbaneries for three hours, the British made a eon­eened attack, forcing the rebels to retreat. AfterShere Singh's surrender at Rawalpindi (14 March1849) the regiment was stationed at Waziribadbefore moving on to Sialkot in 1852. In March1853 three more battle honours were added to theregiment's list, those of 'Punjab', 'Chilianwala',and 'Cujerat'.

In May 1857 the regiment was at Rawalpindiwhen the Mutiny broke and, although only on thefringe of the affected area, had its ·share of theaction, notably at Jhelum, where 300 men of the1St Battalion with three pieces of light artillerysuccessfully anacked and drove off 1,000 well­armed mutineers.

In March 1861, after 'fifteen years ofmemorableservices in India', the battalion embarked for home.

In the next ten years they moved from England toIreland, then on to Malta and Gibraltar beforefinally being ~nt to South Africa in ~ovember

1874.A new 2nd Battalion, the third in the regiment's

history, was raised at Sheffield on 3 June 1858.After a short spell of reauiting and the presenta­tion of colours by Lad) Wharncliffe on 3 ~Iay

1859, the thirty-two officers and 779 N" .C.O.s andmen moved to the new military camp at Aldershot.Their stay at Aldcrshot was a short one, for anunfol'tunate incident with some men from amilitia battalion resulted in a personal telling-offfrom the Duke ofCambridge and a tour ofduty onthe island of Mauritius.

After a pleasant sojum of six years the zl24thwent to Rangoon in the autumn of 1865. butsupplied three officers and tOO men for dutv onthe Andaman Islands. In May 1867, when thecrew of a British ship were reponed to have beenmurdered by natives of the Little Andamans, aparty of the 2/24th was sent to investigate. Arriv­ing at the scene of the rtputed massacre, the troopsmanned two boats and rowed inshore. Only oneboat's crew managed to get ashore through theheavy surf and immediately started to search forevidence, while the second boat rowed along tocover their movements. As the small part)' ad­vanced, they were attacked by natives, whoforced the soldiers to take cover behind a rock,when: they found the skull of a European. Theirammunition nearly exhausted, they made a dashfor their boat which unfortunately capsized asthey tried to embark. So they made their way tothe original landing-place, on the way discoveringthe bodies of four more Europeans.

The situation was now desperate and volunteerswere called for to sail a gig inshore and pick up thestranded men. Assistant Surgeon Douglas andPrivates Bell, Cooper, Griffiths, and Murphyundertook the mission and, although in constantdanger ofoverturning, managed to save the wholeshore party. The brave conduct of these men warecognized when they became the first membersof the regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

In 1868 the 2/24th transferred to India,eventually returning to England in 1873, whencethey joined the 1/24th in South Africa in 1878.

At the time of the 2/24th's arrival the 1st

17

Battalion had already been on aaive service forthree years, campaigning against the Kaffirs in theTranskei. Having sulxJued the Kaffir rebellion.the reasonably confident troops were to be facedwith a far stronger and better organized enemy,the Zulus, perhaps the finest c1ose.combat fightersin the world,

Cjhe Zulu UbI'In April 1877 Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere wasappointed Governor of Cape Colony. Frere, along and distinguished career in the IndianService behind him, was confident that he couldsolve the problems of Southern Africa, He wassure that the antagonism between Briton andBatr could be checked and that the only realobstacle to confederation was the autonomousZulu nation ruled by King Cetewayo. In Frere'sopinion it was imperative that this 'irresponsible,bloodthirsty and treacherous despot' should becrushed and so 'relieve South Africa of the Zuluincubus',

By annexing the Transvaal the British in·herited the boundary dispute between the Boersand the Zulus. Frere offered to set up a commis·sion to study the problem, hoping that they wouldfind in favour of the Boers, thus limiting Zulupower. To his surprise the report he receivedawarded the disputed territory to the Zulus, OnII December 1878 the findings were imparted toCetewayo's envoys, but coupled with it was anultimatum which demanded that the Zulu armyshould be disbanded, that the King's celibatewarriors should be allowed to marry, and that theKing should make compensation for certain out­rages and hand over the men responsible. Aclash was inevitable, for compliance would haveended Zulu independence once and for all. Whenthe thirty days' grace expired British troopsmarched into Zululand, an invasion that wouldsurely have been stopped had London been in­formed of it.

The Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty'sForces in South Africa, Frederic Augustus

18

Other raaJu' .Ioako-p"te, .81fi!-79. n.e office.... pttem WlUI

.bnllar, bat had the additioa of ••Uver Sph.iaa _ • tablftmlcribed 'Esypt', below the Garter belt. (Aatho.... collecli_)

Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, had decided onhis plan ofcampaign. Three columns would enterZululand from different points and converge onCetewayo's capital at Ulundi. On II Januaf)1879 Chelmsford and his staff crossed the BuffaloRiver at Rorke's Drift, the central column beingcommanded by Colonel Glyn, late of the 24th.This, the strongest column, consisted of sevencompanies of the I !24th, eight companies of the2!24th, two squadrons of Mounted Infantry, twobattalions of the Natal Native Contingent, 200Natal Volunteers, and 150 ~lounted Police, sup·ported by six guns and two rocket tubes of theRoyal Artillery and a half<ompany of RoyalEngineers. 'B' Company, 2!24th under LieutenantGonville Bromhead, were left at the Drift to guardthe stores and hospital

Hampered by the weather and rough terrain,it took the column len days to cover the first eightmiles. On the 20th, a general advance was madeto the new camp site at Mount Isandhlwana, a

n.e 24th a. l....dltJ.wa.na, 'D JIUlU.,. ".,!H • pain1UoI byCJaarles E. fripp. (Natiaaal Army MV'Oevm)

large outcrop of rock that the men of the 24ththought bore a strange resemblance to theirSphinx badge. The camp was situated on the~astem side of lsandhlwana which slopes gent!)down to a deep gully, running almost parallel tothe mountain.

During the afternoon of 21 January MajorDartnell of the Natal Native Contingent (N .N.C.),who had been sent out with a small force to recon·noitre the fOOlhills 10 the soulh-cast, came acrossseveral hundred Zulus. Thinking that they mightbe part of the main impi, Dartncll requestedreinforcements so lhat he could attack the nextmorning. At about 4 a.m. Chelmsford, accom­panied by Colonel Clyn with four guns and sixcompanies of the 2/24th, headed south·east, leav·iog headquarters and five companies of the 1/24thunder Lieutenant·Colonel PuJleine and 'C' Com­pany 2/24th with the colours of that Battalion.The 1St Battalion had their Queen's colour in thecamp, the regimental colour having been left at

Helpmakaar. Before departing, Chdmsfordordered Colonel Anthony Durnford R E. to

advance with his reserve column from Rorke'sDrift and reinforce Pulleine.

At about 8 a.m. a repon reached Pulleine thata Zulu impi was approaching the camp from thenorth-east. He immediately put the camp underarms and sent a dispatch to Chelmsford. No Zuluswere seen until about 9 a.m., when a smallnumber were spoued on the distant hills; butthey soon moved out of sight to the norlh·west.

At 10 a.m. Durnford arrived in camp and,hearing that the Zulus were in the vicinity,decided to ride out across the plain and takeoffensive action when he found them. To supporthim, PuJleine ordrred 'A' Company LieutenantC. W. Cavaye) to take up position on a ridgeabout 1,500 yards to the north. At about middayheavy firing was heard from the north-east.Captain Ceor~ Shepstone, Durnford' staffofficer, had encountered some 20,000 Zulus who

19

Lieut"'...". M.r.lvtll aM Co5hiU ..vias the QJ>H"'. eolo.... atI....dhl_...... <t2 J......ry .879; (rom.. paial.iaa by AlphollHde Neuville. (Author's coUectio..j

were advancing on the camp. Sending a rider towarn Dumford of the danger, Shepslone gallopedback 10 PuJleine to ask fOT reinforcements, as hissmall force was slowly being driven back.

20

•••

Pulleine reluctantly sent 'F' Company CaptainW. E. ~1ostyn) to reinforce: Cavaye on the ridge;he then sent another dispatch to Chelmsford. andhad the buglers sound the 'Stand to'.

On the ridge, 'A' and 'F' Companies were nowheavily engaged wiLh the enemy, pouring volleyafter volley into a horde of advancing Zulus. Thetwo companies were ordered to fall back nearerthecamp, where they were joined by 'C' CompanyCaptain R. Younghusband).

On the plain Durnford received Shepstone'smessage, but it came a little too late, for a fewminutes afterwards a mass of Zulus appeared andcharged towards him. Firing as they went,Durnford's men retreated to the wide gully infrOlll of the camp where they halted and took upa defensive position.

The British perimeter was made up as follo.....s:to the left of the camp and facing north, 'A', 'F',and 'c' Companies; on their righI, at an anglebetween them and the front-line defences, theNatal Native Contingent. All these companieswere in extended order. On the extreme left of thefront line were two artillery pieces with, to theirright, two companies of the 1/24-th and LieutenantPope's Company ('G') of the '2/'24-th, all inextended order bUI wiLh large gaps between them.Durnford's men, having been fOfCed to quit the

The Ddeno:e of Rorke'. Drift j rro... a paiJuu.~ by AlphoDlNlde Neuville. (Parker Gallery)

gully, were to the right, where they were makingtheir last gallant stand.

The soldiers of the 24th kept up a heavo.- andsustained fire against the advancing Zulus, soeffectively that at one point the attack was checked

but only for a briefmoment. The defenders wererunning short of ammunition. for the boxes, con·taining some 4-80,000 rounds, wefe tightly fastenedand only a few could be opened. As the fireslackened along the front line the Zulus charged.The Natal Native Contingent, panic-stricken,fled, leaving a large opening through whichCetewayo's 'celibate, man-destroying gladiators'charged, outRanking the infantry on either side.Cavaye's and ~lostyn's Companies were hackedto pieces before they even had time to fix bayonets.Pope's 'G' Company ohhe '2/'24th with 'E' and 'H'Companies ofthe [/24th lasted a little longer, but acharge by the Zulus overwhelmed 'E' Companyand pushed 'H' Company towards the tents wherethey too were wiped out. Most of Pope's Companyfell in small groups as they fought their way backtowards the ntk, but the remainder, still led byPope, kept firing and lunging with their bayonets

21

umil the overwhelming black mass cut them downwhere they stood. Among those killed in 'G'Company, 2/24th, was Private Griffiths, one of themen awarded the V.C. for gallantry at theAndaman Islands. Younghusband's Companysucceeded in falling back to the southern slopesof the mountain where after a bitter struggle theywere surrounded and killed to a man.

By 2 p.m. it was all over. As the Zulus movedround the camp disembowelling the dead Britishsoldiers and killing their own badly woundedcomrades, the small number of survivors werestruggling to reach safety in the direction ofRorke's Drift. Forced by the Zulus to changedirection, the fugitives started to make their wayto the Buffalo River where most of those whoreached the bank were killed by the pursuingwarriors. Of the almost 1,800 men in the camp atlsandhlwanaonlyfifty-five Europeansand perhaps300 Natal Kaffirs managed to escape.

A short time after the Zulus had broken throughthe line Lieutenant·Colonei Pulleine gave theQueen's colour of the 1/24th to Lieutenant Teign­mouth Melvill, the Adjutant, and ordered him 10carry the honour of the regimem to safety. AsMelvill wheeled his horse and made for theBuffalo River, Pulleine returned to his tent, wherehe was killed a short time afterwards.

After cutting his way out of the camp Melvillwas joined by Lieutenam Nevill Coghill, ColonelGlyn's orderly officer, who had injured his kneeand had therefore been left in the camp thatmorning. The two men rode to the river together,plunged their horses into the raging torrent, andmade for the other side. Coghill gOt across safely,but Melvill, hampered by the colour, was washedoff his horse and swept downstream. Seeing hisbrother officer in difficulty, Coghill turned backinto the river to help him. A large party of Zulushad now reached the bank and those with rifleswere firing at the two men. One of the bulletskilled Coghill's horse, plunging its rider into theswiftly nowing river. Eventually both men reachedthe bank, but unfortunately .Melvill had lost hisgrip on the colour and it floated off downstream.After clambering up a steep slope that led awayfrom the river the two officers were finally over­taken and killed.

~Ielvill and Coghill were buried where they

22

fell, at the top of what is still called Fugitives'Drift, and in 1907 were posthumously awarded theVictoria Cross. The colour was found by a patrolon 4 February a quarter of a mile downstream.The 2nd Battalion colours were lost during thebattle.

Lord Chelmsford received Pulleine's message at9.30 a.m., but as no sign of the Zulus could be.seen near the camp from his position he felt nocause for concern, although he did send Com·mandant Brown's battalion of Native Contingentto ensure his lines of communication. When hereached the new camp site, several officen toldChelmsford that a large number of Zulus couldbe seen in the vicinity of lsandhlwana. Eventuallyhe received a message rrom Brown: 'For God'ssake come back: the camp is surrounded.' At'2 p.m. he started back towards Isandhlwana.Five miles from the camp an exhausted Com·mandant Lonsdale, an officer in Major Dartnell'sNative Contingent, approached them with thenews that the camp had been captured. Thatnight Chelmsford's weary troops bivouackedamong their dead comrades on the battlefield.All was quiet, but in the dislance they heard thesounds ofanother battle coming from the directionof Rorke's Drift, where 'B' Company, 2!24th,under Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead had beenleft as a permanent garrison.

The morning of 22 January had been quiet atRorke's Drift, the Swedish Mission Station com­mandeered by the army for use as a hospital andcommissariat store. Situated on the Natal side ofthe Buffalo River, it consisted of twO buildingssome thirty yards apart, a mud-brick thatchedhouse being used as a hospital and a barn servingas a storeroom. The river lay some 800 yards belowthe post; behind, at a distance of400 yards, was alarge, rocky hill which the Swedish missionary,Otto Witt, had named the Oskarberg.

At about 2 p.m. Major Spalding, the com­mander of the post, rode to Helpmakaar, for hewas anxious to find out why a company of the1/24th, which was to augment the garrison, wastwo days overdue. In his absence the commanddevolved on LieutenantJohn R. M. Chard, R.E.

At 3.15 p.m., as Chard was checking the pontsdown by the river, two mounted figures gallopedintosight and splashed across the drift. Lieutenants

The NVe. rneonbe... or the .."c.h Rqim.eal ._reled theVicto.... Cross ror Iheir psrt iD the Dere.£e orRork",'s Dril\,~ Jaauary '179- Top row, left 10 ri,,1111 I Corporal AUna.Privstn Hheh .nd Wil""""" Celure: Lie.. I",....1 eo.viIleBro "'..d. Bouoon row, Jdl to risht: Privstn R. Jo......H and W. JOD_lSo..1h Wales Borel",re...)

23

AdcndorO' and Vane of the Natal Native Con­tingent reported the disastrous encounter atIsandhlwana and went on to say that a Zulu impiwas now advancing on Rorke's Drift. Adendorffsaid he would stay 10 help in the defence of thestation while Vane galloped 00' to warn thegarrison at Helpmakaar.

Chard returned to the post to find that Lieu­tenant Bromhead had also received the news, aswell as orders to strengthen the station. The twoofficers, assisted byJ. L. Dalton of the Army Com­missariat Department, immediately set aboutbarricading the windows in the hospital andstoreroom, piercing loopholcs in the walls andconstructing a breastwork four feet high connect·ing the two buildings. A cross·wall, joining thestoreroom with the nonhern breastwork, was alsobuilt as a second line of defence. Fortunately thenecessary materials were at hand in the form oftwowagons, bags of mea lies, and biscuit boxes.

The total force that Chard could call upon waseighty·four men of 8romhead's '8' Company, afew casuals from other regiments, and about 300

Memorial Roll to doe office........ mCtl or lhc "-tth. kill~ a(l.....dhlW1Ull.. (Nadonal Anny MUNum)

24

men of the Natal Native Contingent, a total ofabout 400 men, excluding the hospital patients.

While the work was in progress, Chard rodedown to the river to make sure that the pants hadbeen secured in midstream and to order the menback to the post. Sergeant Milne of the Buffs,along with the civilian pom·man, Daniells, volun­teered to moor the ponts in midstream and defendthem from their decks with a few men. Chardrefused, as he could ill afford the men, and thenstarted back.

As he approached theslalion, at about 3.30p.m.,an officer of Durnford's Horse with his trooparrived and asked. for instructions. Chard requcstedhim to cover the pants and to send out patrols inthe direction from which the enemy were expected.As the impi advanced, they were to fall back onthe post and assist in its defence. At about 4.15 p.m..after firing a few shots, the men of Dumford'sHorse and their officer Aed. in the direction ofHelpmakaar. At the same time the detachment ofthe N.N.C. also deserted the post, reducing thetotal force to some '39 men, of whom only 104were fit for duty. As the perimeter was now toolarge for the few men left to defend, Chardordered the retrenchment of the wall, but even asthe work was begun the first Zulus appeared frombehind the Oskarberg Hill and charged at thesouthern wall.

At 500 yards the men of the 24th opened asustained fire and managed to keep the Zulus at adistance, but, taking advantage of the brokenground and uncut bush, the warriors eventuallymanaged to reach the outer defences. From theslopes of the Oskarberg Hill the few Zulus who hadriRes sniped down on to the soldiers who were nowengaged in a hand·to-hand struggle. At thenorthern wall the Zulus were actually reaching upand trying to pull the bayonets off the rifles. Timeand again the Zulus would charge the perimeter,concentrating their attacks on the hospital andthe front barricade. On being repulsed they wouldtake cover wherever they could and then, with atotal disregard for their lives, would rush forwardonce more.

Chard was soon forced to withdraw his men to

the second line of defence, a wall of biscuit boxesthat bisected the original perimeter, leaving thehospital in a desperate situation. A number of

Private, '74'1'I Grenadier, '73'3 Grenadirr, .768

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Serge"nt, TllgSIt PriVllt;", '9003 Officer, ID.... d ...... , .llgs

Ballalioa InlellilJ",ate Officer. 'gl,53. Prival"',1th Baltalioa, S.W.B., ,g,63 Drum_Major, full dress, Igl18

,

G

H

R.S.M,,1936<I Office.., 194<13 Office.., Royal Regintenl of Wain, '970

Li..ul.....nl-Colon..1 J. M. G. Tonsu.. (t...R) wilh Li..,u..n.nISPhlpp••nd W.... II ...n., tb.. colour p.rly .nd colours, .f'.. rQ.u...... Victoria b.d d ..corsled Ih.. recov...red Qu n'. colourwith. wre.1h ofimmorl"n.... Nol .. Ib.1 lbe colour r."••"..nd p";VaI....... w ... r;IIS Ih.. '869-78 .hako-pl.l.. on th..h..lm.... (Aulhor'. collectioll)

patients had already left to fight at the barricades,while those who remained and could fire a riRewere doing their best to help the soldiers detailedfor the building's defence.

At 6 p.m., having failed to break into thehospital, the Zulus managed to set fire to thethatched roor, forcing the immediate evacuationof the patients. Hampered by the lack of inter­communicating doors, the handfuJ of soldiershacked through the inner walls and passro thesick from room to room, keeping the enemy atbay as they went. In the last room Privates Hook,Williams, R.Jones, and W.Jones started to lift theeleven patients through a small window fromwhich they were to run, crawl, or be carriedacross an open piece of ground towards the store·house defences. Nine of the cleven made il. Of thetwo who died, one was assegaied as he crossed thegap and the other, Sergeant Maxfield, wasdelirious and refused lO leave his bed and waseventually stabbed to death by the Zulus.

While the fire continued to burn, the battleraged on. Two of the walking wounded, CorporalAllen and Privatc Hitch, although unable to usctheir rifles, made themselves useful by supplyingtheir hard-pressed comrades with ammunition.At 4 a.m. the hospital fire nickered and died and

with it the Zulu attacks. At sunriS<." the only Zulusin sight were the 350 or so who lay dead round theperimcter. The losses of the garrison were seven­teen killed or died of wounds and ten woundM.

Of the eleven Victoria Crossa granted for thedefence, seven of them went to men of the 24th,Lieutenant Gom'ille Bromhead, Corporal Allen,and Privates Hilch, Hook, R. Jones, W. Jones,and Williams, the greatest number ofV.C.s everawarded to one regimem in one aClion.

The might of the Zulu Empire was finallysmashed at the Battle of Ulundi in July 1879 andwith the capture of King Celcwayo the followingmonth.

In 1880 the regiment ha\;ng returned fromSouth Africa, the Queen expressed a wish to seethe colour rescued by Melvill and Coghill. On28 July Lieutenalll·Colonel J. M. G. Tongue,with Lieutenants Phipps and Weallens and anescort offour colour·sergeants, took the colours toOsborne, where Queen Victoria attached a wreathofimmortelles tothe poleoflhe Queen'scolour, 'Tocommemorate the devoted gallanu) ofLieu tenaniand Adjutant T. ~Ielvill and Lieutenant XJ. A.Coghill . . . and in recognition of the nobledefence of Rorke's Drift'.

As far back as 1877 a committee under ColonelStanley had recommended that line and militiabattalions should be more closely connected andfurthermore, 'we consider this is best to be effectedby their being treated as onc regiment, such regi·ment wearing a Territorial designation; the LineBattalions being the 1st and 2nd; the MilitiaBattalions the 3rd and 4th elC, ofsuch Territorialregiment; Ihe Depot being common to all. andbeing the last battalion of the series.' In February1881 the Ellice Committee put forward certainproposals on the formation of Territorial regi·ments. On 1 July 1881 the 24th changed theirtitle of '2nd Warwickshire' for that of the 'SouthWales Borderers'. This change of title was not askeenly felt as in some olher regiments, as for the

25

OLhu ranka' b"hn"t-plate., .88.-.9'>" (Aud.or'. collectio...)

past eight years their depot had been at Breconand their recruiting done along the Welsh border.Thechangewhich probably saddened the regimentwas the loss of their green facings for white, as thereforms made no distinction between English andWelsh non-Royal regiments. Another blow waslhe official loss of lhe cherished numeral '24',although unofficially the South Wales Bordererscontinued to be known as the '24th'.

While the 1/24th were stationed in England, the2nd Battalion left South Africa for Gibraltarwhere, on 6 August 1880, they were presentedwith new colours by Lord NapierofMagdala. Twoyears later they quilled the Rock and sailed forIndia. The year 1886 saw the baualion once moreon active service, this time in Burma, where Iheyhelped to suppress King Theebaw's rebellion.The two and a half years spent in Burma cost the2/24th some sixty casualties, mostly from disease.In November 1888 they returned to India and

26

remained there until October 1892, when theychanged stations for Aden. The following Octoberthe battalion embarked for England. In December18g2 the 1/24th went on foreign service to Egypt,then to Gibraltar and finally to India in 1897.

On the outbreak of the South African War, II

October ISgg, the 2nd Battalion, having justmoved to Ireland, was not included in the armycorps dispatched to the Cape. Only after thereverses at Magersfolltein, Colenso, and Stonn­berg, referred to as 'Black Week', were they sentout, landing at Cape: Town on 3 February 19ooas part of the 15th Brigade in the 7th Division.

In February and March tgoo the battalion tookpart in Lord Roberts's operations for the relief ofKimberley, coming under fire for the first time alJacobsdalon 15 FebruaT)', when the 15th Brigadeattacked in force and drove some 300 Boers fromtheir positions. At Cronje's surrender at Paarde­berg, 27 February, the battalion was representedby its mounted infantry companies, the remainderof the 2nd not being committed.

On 8 March 1goo the 3rd 11iJilia Battalionof the regiment landed at the Cape (II rouu forKimberley where it did great service: in guardingthe communications on Lord Roberts's left Rank.After the capture of Pretoria and the generaldispersion of the Boers the struggle developedinto guerrilla warfare with sharp isolated actions,long marches, but no sustained fighting. Thissituation lasted until 31 Ylay 1902, when theBoers signed the Peace Treaty al Vereeniging.

Offi.",," ofttle Il4tb ... EIJYPt,.1gs. (SouLh WaI" Bardere")

The casualties sustained by the 2124th during thewar amounted to 216 men, ninety-five of themfrom disease.

The 2nd Battalion remained on garrison duty in50mh Africa until May 1904, when they sailed forEngland. One year later the regiment was grantedpermission to resume the cherished green facingsthat they had lost in 1881. In Igl2 the battalionwas posted to Ticmsin, where they were includedin the international force which had beenquartered in North China since the BoxerRebellion of 'goo.

The 1/24th returned to England in 1910 aftera foreign tour of eighteen years in which they hadseen no active service. As part of the 3rd Brigade inthe 1St Dh'ision they were training at Bordenwhen assassination ofArchduke Francis ferdinandof Austria sparked off an uncontrollable chain ofevents culminating in the First World War of1914- 18.

Sialle lock brid... anutracud u. linloe O"oK lUI Ito.... by'0' Compa.a" 2ad Bal..uo., So....'" Walft Borde."... alAlden-hot, lilt,. NOlI! do.at tM IDee are weariar doe fieId.,.pwhid>. replaced lhe Ikuprry. (Soutll Walft 8orde."...)

Cjlie 'World 'UltrsAt the outbreak of the war the 1st Battalion wemto France as part of Britain's 'comemptible littlearmy'. Within three weeks of mobilization theywere in action at ~10ns, then for thirteen da)'sthey endured the hardships of the Great Retreat,although in both of these they hardly saw any realaction. When Joffre staged a counter·attack theB.E.f. advanced with him and drove the Germans

27

back across the Marne and came to grips withthem on Ihe northern heights of Ihe Aisne. Thebattalion lost eight officcrs and 200 men duringthe German counter-attack on Mont Faucon, andreceived the personal congratulations of SirDouglas Haig: 'Thc conduct of the Soulh WalesBordercrs in driving back thc strong attack madeon them is particularly deserving of praise.'

In October 1914 the baualion was transferredto Flanders where they came in for some very toughfighting at Ypres. On 31 October the Germanattacks strengthened and carried Gheluvelt, seem­ing to break the British line. The 1/24th were inIhe grounds of Chateau Gheluveh and with'indomitable courage and dogged tenacity'managed to hold their position until reinforced bythe 2nd Worcesters, who counter-attacked anddrove the Germans back, thereby securing IheRank. For the Worcesters and the 24th Gheluveltranks as one of the great days in their histories andis remembered with special pride. trthe 24th hadnot held their position, the Worcesters' counter­attack would have been impossible, and had theadvance failed the efforts of Ihe 24th would havebeen useless.

For Ihe remainder of the war the battalionfought with Ihe 1st Division on Ihe Somme in 19t 6,

Second Lieutenant Morpn.Qwen (Hated, left) in the Tran".vaal, 19oo. He wa" appointed Colonel of the Regiment in t93"NOIe the differencell in drellll between the mounfed infantry.man (litanding, right) and the infanfryman (centre). (SouthWal.,.. Bordenu)

28

Officeu of fhe Regiment at Karachi, tgoll. (South Will...Bordererll)

at Ypres in 1917, and in thc breaking of theHindenburg Line in 1918. After the signing oCtheArmistice they marched with the rest of rhedivision into Germany as part of the Army 0\Occupation.

The 2nd Battalion had nearly completed twoyears' service in North China when war broke out.In August 19'4 the Japanese entcred the conflictagainst the Germans and the 2/24th, along withthe 36th Sikhs,joined them for the capture of theGerman base of Tsingtao. At 6,30 a.m. on7 November Tsingtao fell at a cost to the battalionof fourteen men killed or died of wounds ordisease and two officers and thirty-four menwounded. The battle honour 'Tsingtao', is heldby no other British regiment.

InJanuary '9'5 the 2/24th returned to Englandand joined the 87th Brigade of the 29th Division.Their stay at home was a short one, for in Ylarchthey left England for the attack on the GallipoliPeninsula, where, on 25 April '9'5, the 29thDivision made its famous landing at Helles. At'$' Beach in particular the men or the 2ndBattalion proved their worth. Three companies,covered by the guns of H.M.S. Cornwallis, madean efficient landing and dislodged the Turks fromtheir defensive position for the comparativelylight cost of two officers and eighteen men killedand drowned and two officers and forty menwounded. The 2/24th served throughout the restof the Gallipoli campaign and took part in thefinal evacuation of the peninsula on 8 January

'9 16.

In ~larch 1916 the 29th Division arrived inFrance, where they remained for the rest of thewar, taking part in the actions at Beaumont Hameland Cambrai and helping to check the Germanoffensive on the Lys in April 1918. At the end ofthe war they formed part of the Army ofOccupa­tion in Cologne.

The Territorial and Service units of the SouthWales Rorderers, between them, raised sixteenbattalions and saw active service in France,Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, and Macedonia. It was

HaDdam•• _d buld_boy.. 1907. (South WainBordlt-I"e",)

the loth (lSt Gwent) Battalion thai furnished oneof the regiment's heroes, C.S..\1. Jack Williams.who finished the war with the V.C., D.C..\1..~I.M. and Bar, and the :\ledaille .\lilitaire, oneof the most decoraled soldiers of the First WorldWar.

During Ihis 'war lO end all wars' the 24th wonsix Victoria Crosses as well as numerous otherdecorations, seventy-four baltle honours, ten ofwhich are borne on the Queen's colour, for theloss ofno fewer than 5,777 officers and other ranks.

A pri_IIt- with thlt- ~It-.ral maKer.(wildlt-bit-etlln).t Tidwortlt., 1905- (South WalflIBorden",)

29

Priva1e iD review ord"r. Co 19'0.(South Waln Bord"""l

D..............er. c. 'g'o.(Natioo:o.al A......y M"",..III)

?3etweefl the mrsThe First World War had ended, bUl the yearsbetween 1919 and 1939 were not particularlypeaceful for the 1St and ~md Battalions, who wereeMployed on internal security duties in the majortrouble-spots of the Empire. The 1St Battalionwas in Ireland during the 'Troubles' of '920-2,and in 1928 moved to Cairo whence, after lessthan a year, they were sent to the mandatedterritories of Palestine. They returned to Egypt in1929 and in October of the following year sailedfor Hong Kong, where they were to spend fouryears, during which lime they wen:: presentedwith new colours to replace the famous Isandhl­walla set. In 1934 the battalion landed in India,when:: they helped to put down the various tribalrevolts that occurred along the North- WestFrontier.

The 2nd Batlalion was stationed in Indiabetween 1919 and '927, when they moved toAden for a year before returning to England. In'935 the baualion was sent to strengthen thegarrison at Malta when a state of tension haddeveloped between England and Italy overMussolini's threat to Abyssinia. In mid-1936,after the occupation of Addis Ababa by Italiantroops, the situation altered and the 2nd Baualionwas moved to Palestine, where the Arabs wereonce more in open conflict with the Jews.

For the first two years of the Second World \Varthe 1st Baualion remained in India, but in 1941,in response to the threat of a German attack onthe oilfields of Iraq, it was moved to Qaiyara andthen to Mosul. In May '942, as pan of the 20thIndian Brigade of the loth Indian Division, thebattalion was ordered to Egypt, where Rommel'soffensive was in full swing.

With the other members of their brigade thebattalion formed a defensive 'box' at Bel Hamednear Tobruk, which was still holding out. Thisbox was ordered to be defended to the last, but on'7 June orders were received to withdraw toSol!um, some seventy miles east. To try to outwitthe enemy who lay across the route in greatstrength, the commanding officer decided to

drive the convoy south and then east in a bid tooutflank them. During the journey many of thevehicles were either lost or hit and only a fewmanaged to reach their objective. Of the battalionwho had left Bel Hamed only four officers andabout one hundred men got through safely, therest, some 500 men of all ranks, were takenpnsoner.

The withdrawal continued through EI Alamein,whe~ the Germans were eventually halted, toCairo where the remnants of the battalion wereaugmented by a draft of fifteen officers and 300men, prior to their embarkation for Cyprus. Inmid-August, while they were awaiting reinforce­ments, the battalion was ordered to disband. Thisorder came as a great shock to the men who weremostly transferred to the 1St King's Own RoyalRegiment, while a small cadre joined the 4thBattalion Monmouthshire Regiment in England.In December '942 the 4th Monmouths becamethe 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers.

When the Germans invaded Norway andDenmark in '940, the 2nd Battalion became partof a small Allied force, which included Polish andFrench troops, sent to help the i'ol"orwegian Army.In April the banalion landed at Harstad,boarded some Norwegian fishing-boau. andmoved to the Andenes Peninsula, where they wereto suppon a French push towards Narvik. Theyadvanced along the peninsula until orders fortheir withdrawal were received. At Harstad theyembarked on the cruiser Effingham which sailed

Other ......u of tIM! 2Ild Solido. Wales Boniuen al It.e BritialroBarracks al TienlSOa, 19'+ (Solltlro Wales Bonl~)

31

G_rd of "oD.our of tM Uld. Soutla Walfll Borde~... a'To-um, HI J....e 1"4. (Nal:i--.J ArI8Y M"-D.III)

for the West Fiord. The next day the cruiserstruck an uncharted rock and had to be aban·doned, the men on board transferring to anesconing destroyer and continuing their journey.For the rest of the campaign the battaliondefended Bodo, where an airfield was underconstruction. After the invasion of Belgium andHolland and the disastrous events in France, thewhole Allied force in Norway was evacuated. Inthis small campaign the 2nd Battalion lost thirteenmen wounded and six killed.

The 2/24th were the only Welsh battalion totake part in the Normandy landings of 6 June'944. They landed at Lc Hamel at midday,captured the bridge at Vau:<·sur~Aisnc, and bythe end of the day had covered more ground thanany other baualion in the assault.

For the next eleven momhs they fought throughFrance (Sully, Caen, Falaisc, Risle Crossing, LeHavre), Belgium (Amwerp Turnhom Canal)and Holland (ZeHen, Arnhem), ending up inHamburg in May 1945.

In '940. in view of the threat of a Germaninvasion of England, threr: new battalions were

32

raised, the 5th, 6th, and 7th South WalesBorderers. The 5th was a home defence unituntil their disbandment in 1943. The 6th becamea tank unit, the 158th Regiment, Royal ArmouredCorps (South Wales Borderers), until in '943 itwas reconvened to infamry and sent to Burma,where it did sterling service against the Japanese(Burma '944 5, MayuTunnels,SahmawChaung,Pinwe, the Shweli, Myitson). The 7th Battalionwas eventually transferred to the Royal Artillery.The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Monmouth·shire Regimem fought in Nonh~west Europe fromshonly after '0' Day until the end of the war,when the 2nd passed into suspended animationand the 3rd was disbanded. The ,st (Rifle)Battalion the Monmouthshire Regiment hadtransferred to the Royal Artillery (T.A.) in 1938and therefore ceased to belong to the corps of theSouth Wales Borderers.

•

•

I

•

The uu:I Woreest...... P."UoI throullo the la' Sout.h WalesBordere... al Ckileav Gllottuvell, 3" October '914. (SouthWales Bordere...)

ru1il elldalit!aCf3egillllillg

The years immediately after the Second WorldWar saw the birth of the brigade syucm and therapid reduction ortbe army. On 31 May 1948 theregiment's 2nd Battalion was formally disbanded,the majority of the men being transferred to otherregiments in the Welsh Brigade.

In October 1945 the 1St Battalion sailed fromSoUlhampton for PalcSline, but after only sevenmonths they moved to Cyprus (0 guard thethousands ofJews who had been detained whiletrying to enter Palestine illegally. In '949. whenBritain recognized the State of Israel and gave upher mandate, the battalion moved to the Sudan,where two companies were detached to the RedSea hills, while the remainder of the unit stayed atKhartoum. Hardly a week had passed when a

tactical headquarters and one company weredispatched to Asmara, in the ex-Italian colony ofEritrea, to help the 1St Battalion RoyallkrkshireRegimem in operations against a group ofbanditscalled shijtQ. When Eritrea was united withEthiopia the 1/24th returned to Wales. but onlyfor a shon stay, for inJanuary '953 they moved toGermany, where they remained for nearly twoyears.

In September 1955 the battalion sailed fromSouthampton for Malaya for active serviceagainsl the Communist terrorists who werewaging a guerrilla war. Landing at Singapore on19 OClober, the regiment took over the camp atKluang from the lSI East Yorkshire Regiment.Their job consisted in flushing out and destroyingthe isolated pockets of Communist rebels, a taskwhich they performed well, for within a fewmonths one ofthe leading terrorists, Kok Fui, hadbeen killed. In 1956 the battalion mo\'ed toSegamal, in lhe State of Johore, where theydestroyed the Selumpur branch of the rebels, anaction which was followed by the surrender oftheir leader, Ming Lee. In April 1958, having

33

Colo\U' party at tbe Citadel, Cairo, 1929. (South WalesBorder..n)

spent most of their last two years' service inMalaya on internal security duties in Singapore,the battalion returned to Wales, where theybecame part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade in thenewly formed Strategic Reserve.

During their tour of duty in the Far East many

34

changes had occurred in the armed forces: loss ofregimental depots, Widespread amalgamations,and the adoption of brigade badges. The WelshBrigade badge consisted of upright Prince ofWales's Feathers with the moHo, 'lch Dim'.

In the summer of 1959 the battalion once moremoved to Germany as part of the II th InfantryGroup based at Minden. Three years later theyflew to Hong Kong, where, as well as their normalduties, they supplied one officer and fifteen men tothe United Nations Platoon which formed theHonour Guard at Seoul in South Korea.

In January 1967, after only a few months inEngland, the regiment was posted to Aden, wherein their nine-month tour they were engaged insome 300 terrorist actions in which they killed andwounded twenty-two terrorists and capturedeighteen, for the loss of two men killed and thirty­three wounded.

In the White Paper published by Mr Wilson'sGovernment in July 1967, drastic cuts in thearmed forces were proposed. The Welsh Brigadewas to reduce by onc banalion, the 1st \VelchRegiment, and to amalgamate with the SouthWales Borderers to form a new regiment.

On II June 1969, in the shadow of the tower ofCardiff Castle, the South Wales Borderers and theWelch Regiment died, to be reborn as the RoyalRegiment of Wales, a regiment which its Colonel­in-Chief, Prince Charles, affirmed would become'the pride of Wales'.

CJhe 'PlatesA I Pricalt, 1742The first reliable information on the uniforms ofthe 24th Regiment appeared in the Clothing Bookof 1742, platc 57. This plate, part of the setengraved by John Pine by order of the Duke ofCumberland, shows a private of the regimentwearing the large broad-skirted red coat withcuffs and lapels in green. At this period the facingsand skirt linings were usually of the same colour,bUI in the engraving the skirt linings are shown aswhite. The black felt tricorn hat had, in the caseof the 24th, the edge taped in white.

A2 Grenadier, 175'The most oUlStanding feature of the grenadier'suniform at Ihis period was undoubtedly lhe'mitre' cap. The cap oflhe 24th had a green clothfront, 12 in. high, edged in white tape andembroidered with the royal cipher, 'C.R.', inwhite worsted with a crown in heraldic coloursabove and foliage on each side. The front nap wasin red cloth, edged in white and ornamented withthe white horse of Hanover and the mollo, 'NeeAspera Ttrrttlt'. The headband at the baek of thecap was in green cloth, embroidered with leavesand the regimental number in white worsted.

A3 Grenadier, '768The Clothing Wo"onl of 1768 abolished the clothgrenadier cap and replaced it with one in blackbearskin, bearing a black·japanned copper platewith the raised parts in silver plate. The red clothcoat was lapelled to the waist in green cloth andfastened by means of ten pewter buttons withbuttonholes taped in regimental·pauern tape,white worsted with a red and green line.

Bl Sergeant, Grmadier Company, 1808The short coat, introduced in 1796, was of redcloth with green facings and fastened down thefront with eight buttons set in pairs. All sergeants'tape was plain white and not of regimentalpattern. A General Order dated July 180'2 dis·tinguished sergeant-majors by four chevrons in

silver lace, sergeants by three chevTOns in whitetape, and corporals by two chevrons in tape ofregimental pattern. The ser~ant's waist-sashwas crimson with a centrnl stripe of regimentalcolour. A Horse Guards circular of 20 October1806 abolished the lacquered shako introduced in1800 and replaced it with one in felt whichtapered slightly to the top. The plate worn on theprevious pattern was retained, i.e. approximately6 in. by 4 in., bearing the Garter with the motto'Honi soil qui moly pense', with the royal cipher inthe centre surmounted by a crown, with a trophyof arms and flags behind and a lion beneath.

82 Officer, 1808Although the men's cocked hat had been dis­continued by the General Order of '24 February1800, officers still continued with it, wearing itfore and aft and ornamented with a red and whiteplume. The lapels of the coat were often wornwith the tops turned back, revealing the gTCen

ut 8.ttaliDD colou......d .Uver d 19:JD. The Q.Uft1'l'.colour (left) i. that ..ved by Lieute b Melvill aad Cot:Iilll., I....dhlwaaa. TheM !tOlou... were in uM wuil I April 1'34>wbea they we"" laid up .1 Bre<:oa. (Soudo W"" Borde""...)

35

facings and silver lace bulton-loops. In about1802 a new crossbeh plate had been adopted.Oval in shape, it was engraved with a Carter beltsurmounted by a crown, with the Litle 'Warwick·shire Regt' on the belt and the number '24' in thecentre. Surrounding the bell was a laurel wreath.Below the Garter was the Sphinx over 'Egypt' andon either side of the crown the royaJ cipher, 'G' onthe Icft and 'R' on the righ!.

83 Offiur, 1790By t790 the tricorn hat had the sides and baekturned up much higher, so high in fact that theyhad to be laced up in position. The coat had greenfacings and white turn backs, though the latterwas now universal and not a regimental distinc·tion. The cuffs were small and round, measuring3+ in. deep and ornamented with butlon.loopsand buttons. The white bald rick and crossbehplate were introduced in about 1788. The platewas in silver with a matted surface with a beadedborder, and in the centre an engraved star withthe Garter belt and numeral 'XXIV' mounted ingilt.

CI Prit'att, 1813The uniform worn at this period was the same asfor 1800, except that grey overall trousers andanother new shako had been introduced. Knownas the 'Waterloo', 'Wellington', or 'Belgic' shako,it was authorized by a General Order of 24 Feb­ruary 1811. The body of the shako was of blackfell for other ranks and black beaver for officers,and was cylindrical in shape, was bound round

Officen of the Re,im.e111 Oft the North.Wea' FraDtu,r, lDdia,'937. (Soudo Wain 8orduera)

36

the lower edge with black tape, and had a highfalse front, also edged in tape. The front measured8t in. in height, whereas the back and sidesmeasured only 6t in. Twistcd white worsted cordswere attached to the shako at each side and hungdown in front above the black leather peak. Theshako-plate was roughly oval in shape, surmountedby a crown, with the royal cipher, 'CR', in thecentre. A Horse Guards circular of 14 February1812 permitted the use of badges and numbers onthe shako-plate, but it is not known whether the24th look advantage of this.

C2 OJliur, /Leu dress, 1822The 'Regency' pattern ofthe shako wasauthorizroon 22 August t815, and was a much more cumber­some affair than the Waterloo shako, measuring71- in. in height, with a top 11 in. in diameter. Thecoat had broad green lapels, heavily ornamentedwith silver lace and a 'Prussian' collar, and twopairs ofsilver lace butlon·loops and silver butlons.So much lace had been introduced that theauthorities issued special orders to inspectingofficers to report any deviations from dressregulations. The officer who inspected the 24thRegiment on 23 October 1828 handed in thefollowing: 'The major·general has to report that,previous to March last, light blue trousers, withsilver lace, costing four pounds, and a silver waist­belt, costing one pound fifteen shillings, wereintroduced for dress by Lieutenant-ColonelFleming, but the only deviation from the regula­lion which now exist are having badges placed onthe breastplate, costing eighteen shillings, and atrifling alteration in the wings of the Aankcompanies.'

C3 Officer, f832The shako remained basically the same as in 1822,except for some slight modifications that wereintroduced in 1828, i.e. the height of the plumewas reduced from 12 (08 in. and the height of theshako from 71- to 6 in. By GeneraJ Order 495,issued in 1830, all lace was to be gold for Regularregiments and silver for Militia.

D 1 Corporal, 1840A Horse Guards circular of 27 August 1835replaced the plume on the shako with a ball tuft.In 1839 yet another change in the shako took

c.s.M. Watkins UMI Prh'al" A. Lovell, '.1 R.n..Hoa So.. thWalu Borde"'..... at tbe Baho! PaSoda, BQMn&, '9f+ (So.. t.bWale. Bord.,",ra)

Jwalle patrol ill Malaya. '9»-6. (Sout.b W.I_ Bord,,",n)

place when a new plate was introduced. Made ofbrass and circular in shape, it bore the numlx:r'24' stamped in the centre on a lined background.Round the edge of the plate was a wreath of halfoak leaves and half laurel leaves. Regimental­pattern tape had been abolished for other ranks in1836 and been replaced by plain white tape. Atthe same time sergeants had been issued with aplain-fronted double-breasted coat.

D2 Pionur, /849The 'Albert'-pattern shako was authorized on4 Decemba 1843. It had a body ofblaclc felt forother ranks, 6! in. high with a black lacqueredleather top. Both the front peak and the smallerone at the back were also in lacquered leather.The illustration shoW! the shako with the whilecalico cover worn on tropical service. The follow­ing exlract is from a letter written by Lieutenant­Colonel M. Smith after the Battle ofChilianwala:'The men wore their dress caps in the action, andthis sort of headdress is always found unsuited forhard work in battle. Many fell off and were lostin the melee, and it seems to be, on such occasiom,the soldier's great desire to rid himself of SOinconvenient an appendage.' In addition to theusual equipment, regimental pioneers wore buffaprons and carried axes, bill-hooks, and saw­backed short swords with brass hilts.

D3 Officer. 1855On 16 January 1855 the 'Albert'-pattern shakowas superseded by a new cap, sometimes referredto as the '2nd Albert'. Based on the contemporaryFrench headdress, it was smaller and lighter thanits predecessor but still retained the two peaks, theback one continuing the line of the shako, thefrom one being horizontal and squared at the end.The plate was in the form ofan eight-pointed star,surmounted by a crown. On the centre of the starwas the number '24' surrounded by a Garter beltbearing the motto, 'Hon; soil qui ma/J pntst'. Thetail-coat was now abolished in favour ofa double­breasted lUnic which had lapels that could bebuttoned back to reveal the facings or buttonedover. A crimson net sash was worn over the leftshoulder and was held in place by a small scarlettwisted cord on the tunic. A waist-belt and swordslings replaced the crossbelt and elaborate plate.

37

United Nation. HODour Cuard, Ko~...g6~ (South WaletlBord",~n)

£1 Officer, 1865Authorized on '28 November 1860, this pattern ofheaddress is usually refcrrcd to as the 'quilted'shako, by virtue of the ribbed blue cloth whichcovered the cork body. A single-breasted tunic,introduced in 1856, rcplaced the double-brcastedpattern. The cuffs were round with a slashcdpanel, both in the facing colour. The skirLS at theback were ornamented with scarlet slashcd panels,lace loops, and buttons.

£2 Privalt, 1879The white foreign-service helmet was authorizedfor all ranks on I June 18n, although it had beenworn previously in India and on other stations.Made of cork, it was covered in white cloth in sixseams and had a zinc button, also covered inwhite cloth, fitted to the top. The equipment worn

38

at this date was the 'Valise' pattern, introduced in1868. When on active service the helmet andwhite buff equipment were usual1y dyed with asolution of tea or coffee. The tunic was in scarletcloth, the collar being ornamented with greencollar-patches and the Sphinx badge. The cuffshad a pointcd panel of green cloth edged in whitetape which terminated in a crow's-foot knot at thepoint. The shoulder-straps were of scarlet cloth,edged in white tape and ornamented with thenumber ''24' in whilt metal. The buttons were ofthe general-service pattern introduced in 1873,when regimental numbered buttons were dis­continued for other ranks.

£.1 Officer, undrtss uniform, 1894The forage-cap was ofdark blue cloth with a bandofblack oak-leaf-pattern lace round the headband.

The badge was in the form of a gilt laurel wreath,surmounted by a crown, with, in the centre, lheWelsh Dragon in silver on a black velvet ground.The patrol jacket was ofunive~1.1 pattern in darkblue cloth, braided round the edge in black withblack cords and loops across the front, and a blackAustrian knot on each cuff. The trousers were indark blue cloth with a scarlet welt down theoutside seam of each leg.

F/ Strgeant, /895General Order 40 of May 1878 inmxiuced thehome-service helmet, generally known as the'blue cloth' helmet. The plale was a brass eight­pointed star surmounted. by a crown. After 1881Ihe centre of the star was a circle bearing the title,'South Wales Borderers', and in the centre lheWelsh Dragon surrounded by a laurel wrealh.The wnic was of scarlet cloth with while collarand cufTs and fastened down the front with sevengeneral-service buttons. A red cloth flap was wornon the left shoulder to prevent any rifle oilstaining the tunic. The waist-belt was of whitebuff leather, fastening at the front with a brassuniversal-pattern locket.

F:J Pric:alt, /9°0The helmet shown is the foreign-service pattern,introduced in 1877, worn with lhe khaki cover andneck-protector. The tunic, of khaki cloth, had astand-and-fall collar and plain cuffs. Trouserswere of the same material and were worn withputtees. The equipment was of the 'Slade Wallace'pattern, which was introduced in 1888 andreplaced the 'Valise' equipment.

F3 OJficer, mtss dress, /895The mess jacket was of scarlel cloth with thecollar and pointed cuffs of facing c10Ih, which inthe case of lhe South Wales Borderers was white,lhe regiment having loslthcir green facings in theArmy Reforms of 1881. The edge ofthejackel wasbound all round, including the top and bottom ofthe collar, with gold braid. A row ofgilt studs andhooks-and-eyes wel'"C down lhe leading edge. Thewaistcoat was in white cloth and was edged ingold braid round the top and down the fronl andalong the bottom to the side seams. The pocketswere also edged in braid, with crow's-foot knotsat the top, bottom, and ends.

G/ Battalion lnltlligtnu OJfiur, /915This illustration shows an officer in service dressWilh ranking sewn on to the cufT-Aaps. Bands ofchevron tape and tracing braid were worn roundthe cuff according to rank, e.g. lieutenant, onerow ofchevron lace; captain, two ro'o\o~ ofchevronlace; major, three rows of chevron lace withtracing braid between. The green cap-band andcollar-tabs indicate that the officer is employed onintelligence duties.

G:J Pn·c:atl. 4th BattoliDn, S.W.B., 19/6The helmet worn was the foreign-service or'Wolseley' pattern, which had a cork bodycovered in khaki drill cloth in six seams. Thetunic and shorts were also in khaki drill, theformer having lwo pockets at the waist and twoon the chest. The equipment was lhe Ig08 pattern.

G3 Drum-Major,jull dress, 1928The illustration is based on a photograph ofDrum-Major Matthews of the 2nd Battalion. Thehome.service helmel was of the same pattern as

RKCt Pbot_ fut,d ....S a I:t.u.r arm. caclte .... Ad-. .,..,..(Sou.tI:t. Wales Borde,..,...)

39

Birth o( the Royal Rep...".t o( Wales. P.."..,..taliOll byli.R.K. no.. Prillce o( W.J.,. o( oew colo....... Cardiff C..d"..969- (So..lh W.I.,. Bordu"ra)

worn by the sergeant in 1895 (Plate FI), exceptthat the plate was now surmounted by a domedTudor crown (in use from 1901 to 1952). Thescarlet tunic had a green collar, edged in gold laceand ornamented by a collar badge - the Sphinxon a tablet inscribed 'Egypt'. The wing epauletteswere scarlet, edged and decorated with gold lace.The Drum-Major's sash was the ordnance-issuepatlern of green cloth, edged in gold lace and

40

ornamented with the crown and royal cipher, inembroidery, with a silver shield and drumsticksbelow and the tide, 'South Wales Borderers', ingold embroidery underneath. The mace was ofebony, decorated with a silver top and ilverchains.

HI R.S.M.,1936The tunic and shorts were in khaki drill cloth.The collar-badges, a Sphinx over 'Egypt' with'S.\V.B.' beneath, were in bronze, whereas theR.S ..M.s rank badge was in polished brass. TheSam Browne belt was in brown leather with brassfittings and had a cross-strap passing over theright shoulder and fastening on the left side. Thesword-frog was attached to the left side. The 18g2­pattern infantry sword in a Sam Browne scabbardwas worn.

H2 Officer, 1942In 1938 the War Office, after six years of trials,finally approved a pattern of bauledr ,consist­ing of blouse, trousers, and gaiters. The waist­length blouse had buuoned cuffs, two patchpockets on the chest, and a fiy-front fastening. Theolive drab waist-belt was 2j- in. wide and had a'pistol case' on the left and an ammunition-pouchon the right.

H3 Officer, Royal Rtgimml of Walts, 1970The service cap is of universaJ pattern m bluecloth with a scarlet band and welt round thecrown, ornamented with the regimental badge.The badge, in silver, is the Prince of Wales'sFeathers with the motto, <lch Dim'. Thejacket andtrousers are in blue barathea.

Men-at-Arms Series

THE SEVEN YEARJ WAllMO:-.,.CALM'S ARMY £1-2.5WOLFE'S ARMY £1-2~

THE AUSTR().HUSGARIA'1 ARMY Of THE SEVE~

YEARS WAR lI·2)FREDERICK THE GREAT'S ARMY £1-2.5

NAPOLEONIC WAllSFOOT GR£.~ADIERSOF THE IMPERIAL GUARD£1-25CHASSElJRS OF THE GUARD [125BLUCHER'S ARMY £1'25RUSSIA." ARMY OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS£1-2.5THE BLACK BRC:"SWICKERS £125At:STRO-Hl.':"'GARIAX ARMY OF nil:"'APOLEO:-.'IC WARS £1-2)WELLI:,\GTQS'S PENINSULAR ARMY £1-25KISC'S GERMA." LEGIOS ll-2~

NAPOLEON'S POLISH TROOPS £I­'l;"AI'OL£O:o<'5 GERMAN ALLIES II £1­NAPOLEON'S GERMAN ALLIES (2 £1­SPANISH ARMY OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS£1!JO*PORTlJClJESE ARMY at' THE NAPOLEONIC WARS£1·NAPOLEON'S ARTILLERY £'SCANDINAVIA" AR\llY-S Of' THE NAPOLEONICWARS £1·

OTHER 19TH CENTURY CAMPAIGNSRUSSIAN ARMY Of' THE CRIMEA £1-75BRITISH ARMY OF TilE CRIMEA £1-25*ARMY m' nlE GERMAN t:MPIRE 1870 1888 ,£1'2.';THE SUDAN CAMPAIGNS £ITHE BOER WAR [ITHE ZULU WAR [I'~

WORLD WAR UTHE WAFFEN SS [1'2:1LUITWAfFE AIRBORNE ANI) t"U:LD UNITS £I ..'j(lTHE PANZER DIVISIONS [1-2:1THE JAPANESE ARMY OF WORLD WAR II ll·2.';THE SOVIET ARMY £1-2.';

BRITISH REGIMENTSTHE BLACK WATCH ll-2:1THE GOLDSTREAM GUARDS £1-2:1THE ROYAL SCOTS GREYS ll-2:1THE ARGYLL AND SUTIIERLASD HIGHLA..'ODERS[1-25THE COSSAUGHT RANGERS ll-2:1THE BUfFS ll-2.';THE ROYAL ARTILLERY ll-15THE KI:'iG'S REGIME.'.,. £1-2:1THE GURKHA RifLES £ITHE 30TH PUSJABIS l12.';THE SOL'TH WALES BORDERUS [ITHE GREE.....JACKETS ll'

AMEIlICAN SUBJECTSTHE STOSEWALL BRIGADE ll15THE IROS BRIGADE £1'15THE U.S CAVALRY [12.5GEORGE WASHI:-iGTO:-i'S ARMY ll-2:1THE UNITED STATES MARISE CORPS [1-15THE AMERICA.~ PROVISCIAL CORPS £1'25THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AMERICA177~1783 li-THE AMERlCA.'1 WAR 1812 1814 £I.THE ARMY Qt' THE POTOMAC li-THE ARMY OF NORTHER'I/ VIRGINIA ll'THE MEXICAN.AMERlCA.' WAR 1846--1847 £I.WOLFE'S ARMY ll-2~

MO...TCALM'S ARMY ll-2:1

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTSTHE FRESCH FOREIGN LEGION ll·2.5THE COSSACKS £1'2:1ENGLISH CIVIL WAR ARMIES ll·2:1THE ROMAN ARMY rROM CAES.... R TO TRAJ....N[1·2.'1*MEDIEVAL EUROPt:..AN ARMIES 1500 lSOO £ITHE LASDSKSECHTS IITHE ARAB LEGIO_" £1'2.';