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The Connought Rangers in regimental
military art prints by military artists Lady Butler, Richard Simkin and Harry Payne of
the Connaught Rangers (88th Regiment) during the reign of Queen Victoria. Military
prints published by Cranston Fine Arts. |
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Regimental Battle honours on
regimental colours.
Seringapatam, Talavera, Busaco,
Fuentes D'Onoro, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees,
Nivelle, orthes, Toulouse, Peninsular, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, central
India, south africa (1877-78-79) relief of Ladysmith, South Africa
1899-1902.
First World War battle Honours,
1st battalion,
Messines, 1914, Armentieres 1914, Ypres 1914, Festubert 1914,
Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, saint Julien, Aubers, Ypres 1915, Tigris,
Kut Al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916-1918, Megiddo, Sharon,
Palestine 1918
2nd Battalion,
Mons, retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 Langemarche,
Nonne Bosschen
5th Battalion.
Suvla, Sari Bari, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Kosturiono, Struma,
macedonia 1915-1917, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell'Azur, palestine 1917-1918,
Hindenberg Line, Cambrai 1918, Selle,
6th Battalion.
Somme 1916, Guillemont, Ginchy, Messines, Ypres 1917, Saint Quentin,
Bapaume 1918, Rosieres
The Connaught Rangers
(extract from the Army and Auxiliary Forces" Colonel
C. Cooper King, R.M.A. , 1894 )
This regiment was raised in 1793, on the outbreak of
hostilities with France; but a 2nd battalion was added in 1804,
and formed at Dumfries in 1805. The
latter was some foreign though but little active service, and disappeared
in 1816. The regiment early
assumed its present name, and had originally yellow facings, with the harp
and crown, and its motto “Quis separabit,” on its colours.
The old 88th embarked for the Netherlands in 1794,
sharing in the battle at Alost, and in the retreat by way of
Bergen-op-Zoom to the sea, and was then transferred to Nimeguen, returning
home in 1795; but in the autumn of the same year it sailed for the West
Indies under Abercrombie. The
disastrous voyage is part of our national history.
The fleet was practically destroyed; some ships foundered, some
were captured, and the regiment was dispersed with it.
One detachment was blown back into the Mediterranean as far as
Carthagena, and so injured was the transport that when it reached
Gibralter, “on loosening the frapping, the transport fell to pieces.”
Two companies reached their destination, and were engaged at
St.Lucia and Grenada; but the regiment was not re-formed as such until the
end of 1796. Under Sir David
Baird it sailed foe Egypt from Bombay, and, landing at Cosseir, made a
fourteen days’ march to Kennah, on the Nile, and reached Cairo by boats
the day the place surrendered.
It took part in the Monte Video expedition of 1807, where an eight-pounder
gun was captured, and marked by a soldier’s bayonet as the prize of the
88th; but this was their success.
In the storming of the town the defence was so well organised that
there was no choice in the end for the assailants but surrender.
Some of the men had even no flints in their Brown Besses, and 20
officers and 220 men were killed or wounded.
In 1809 the regiment served under Beresford on the Upper Douro in
the difficult country of the Tras os Montes, and took part in the battle
of Talavera, losing 6 officers and 130 men killed and wounded.
While with Crawford’s brigade “a regimental mess was formed;”
and that is incident is recorded shows the rarity of such an institution
in those days. Later on, in
Picton’s “fighting division,” it fought at Busaco, with bravery so
marked that Welliongton himself shook Colonel Wallace by the hand and
said, “Wallace, I never saw a more gallant charge than that just now
made by your regiment;” but
the battle cost 9 officers and 124 men hors de combat.
From Torres Vedras it moved in pursuit of Massena (when, to hide
the fact of retreat, the French substituted dummy sentries for real ones),
and saw continuous fighting throughout the campaign at Foz d’Aronce,
Sabugal, Fuentes d’Onor, Ciudad Rodrigo (where the “Rangers of
Connaught” were told by Picton to “do this business with the cold
iron”), Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, and
Toulouse. Sailing from
France to Canada in 1814, one company did well at Savannah, and returned
to France to garrison Valenciennes; but though serving in different
quarters of the world, it saw no further service until the Russian War,
when it was present at the Alma, Inkerman, and Sevastopol.
The “Rangers” in 1818 instituted a regimental “Order of
Merit,” in three classes, to reward old soldiers who had been (1) in
twelve general actions; (2) in six to twelve such battles; and (3) in less
than six. So distinguished had been the active service of the regiment,
that of these classes, 70,145, and 217 were respectively issued.
The badge of the harp and crown, with the motto “Quis separabit,”
though time had sanctioned it’s use, was not fully confirmed until 1830,
shortly after which “Pyrenees,” which had been omitted from the
official battle-roll, was also granted.
The last services of the 1st battalion of the present
regiment were in India in 1858, at Bhoguepore, Lucknow, Calpee, Selimpore,
Jamoo, and Birwah-for which “Central India” stands on their colours-and,
finally, in South Africa from 1877to 1880, during which time Major H.G.
Moore gained the Cross for Valour for saving the life of Private Giese,
being at the same time wounded in the arm by an assegai.
The 2nd battalion of the regiment was originally the 94th,
of which number there had been three predecessors-the Royal Welsh
Volunteers of 1760-63, the94th of 1780-83, and the “Scottish Brigade”
of 1794, which, at first four battalions strong, fought in India under
Baird and Wellesley, and in the Peninsula fromTorres Vedra to Toulouse.
This latter force received the title of the “94th”
in 1803, and was disbanded in 1818; but the regiment, with the same
number, was restored in 1823, and the officers of the previous battalion
were all appointed to the newly-raised battalion.
After a long period of comparatively uneventful service in India it
was transferred to the Cape in 1879.
It was present or represented at Ulundi; in the attack on
Sekukuni’s kraal-where Privates Flawn and Fitzpatrick won the Victoria
Creoss for saving the life of Liuetenant Dewar; at the disastrous affair
of Bruncker’s Spruit the opening phase of the Boer War, when all the
officers were hit, and shortly after which Captain Elliot was
treacherously shot by the Boers when crossing a river; and at Majuba and
Lydenberg, where Lieutenant Leng with seventy men held out agaist hundreds
for twelve weeks. The
buttons of the scarlet, green-faced uniform bear within a shamrock-wreath
the harp over the elephant; the elephant alone ( a reminiscence of the
services of the “Scottish Brigade” in India) on the collar; and the
harp crowned, with the regimental motto, “Quis Separabit,” on the
helmet-plate. Another
regimental badge is the Sphinx and “Egypt.”
The Militia battalions are the South and North Mayo (combined in
one), the Galway, and the Roscommon.
The 88th gained the names of the “Rangers,” and the
“Devil’s Own,” either from their bravery in battle or their
irregularity at other times; the 94th were called the “Garvies,”
from the spareness of their recruits.
The depot was at Galway. |
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Storming of Badajoz by Chris Collingwood.
The Storming of the night of April 6th 1812 of Badajoz Castle proved to be Wellingtons bloodiest siege. Depicted here are soldiers of the 88th Connaught Rangers (famously the Devils Own) and part of Pictons 3rd Division, successfully escalading the high walls of the Castle.
Signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 16 inches (64cm x 38cm). Price £95.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Image size 25 inches x 15 inches (64cm x 18cm). Price £135.00
Limited edition of 50 giclee canvas prints. Image size 40 inches x 30 inches (102cm x 76cm). Price £690.00
Original painting by Chris Collingwood. . Price £
Postcard size 6 inches x 4 inches (15cm x 10cm). Price £2.00
ITEM CODE DHM1340
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Listed for the Connaught Rangers by Lady Elizabeth Butler.
Depicts two Irish peasants in traditional dress being marched through a Kerry glen by a recruiting party of the 88th Regiment (Connaught Rangers)
Open edition print. Image size 30 inches x 18 inches (76cm x 46cm). Price £51.00
Open edition print. Image size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm). Price £43.00
**Open edition print. (2 copies reduced to clear) Image size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm). Price £22.00
ITEM CODE DHM0069
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Private T. Hughes Dashes Out In Front Of His Company, Shoots A Machine Gunner, And, Single-handed Captures The Gun.
Private Thomas Hughes, of the Connaught Rangers, was wounded in an attack, but returned at once to the firing line after having his wounds dressed. Later, seeing a hostile machine gun, he dashed out in front of his company shot the gunner and single-handed captured the gun. Though again wounded, he brought back three or four prisoners and was subsequently awarded the V.C. for this most conspicuous bravery and determination.
First World War antique black and white book plate published c.1916-18 of glorious acts of heroism during the Great War. This plate may also have text on the reverse side which does not affect the framed side. Title and text describing the event beneath image as shown. Paper size 10.5 inches x 8.5 inches (27cm x 22cm). Price £13.00
ITEM CODE DTE0816
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Irish Rifles by Harry Payne.
Open edition print. Image size 7 inches x 12 inches (18cm x 31cm). Price £14.00
ITEM CODE UN0018
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Connaught Rangers by Harry Payne.
Open edition print. Image size 7 inches x 12 inches (18cm x 31cm). Price £14.00
ITEM CODE UN0026
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The Connaught Rangers by Richard Simkin
Open edition print. Special Promotion : This print is HALF PRICE for a limited time only! Image size 9 inches x 12 inches (23cm x 31cm). Price £7.80
Original chromolithograph, published c.1888. Image size 10 inches x 12 inches (25cm x 33cm). Price £140.00
ITEM CODE UN0282
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The Great Act Of Heroism Of Privates H. G. F. Mead, J. W. Otton And A. S. S. Spencer, Of The 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment.
On November 5th 1914, near Neuve Chapelle, about six oclock in the evening, Private Mead heard a man crying for help and fort water. The cry came from the direction of a German trench, which earlier in the day had been taken by the 1st Connaught Rangers, who, however, had subsequently been compelled to abandon it. Private Mead immediately left his trench and ran across the open to the spot whence the cry had come, and found Lance-Corporal Ely lying badly wounded in the German trench. He raised the wounded men’s head ad poured some water down his throat, and then finding that he could not lift him over the parapet alone, he went back, fetched two of his comrades, Privates Otton and Spencer. They succeeded in carrying Ely to within a few yards of the British trench when the Germans saw them. Both Mead and Otton were killed instantly, but Spencer succeeded in dragging the wounded man into safety, though not before his clothes and equipment had been almost riddled with bullets. This gallant deed was recognised by the award of the D.C.M. to each of the three men.
First World War antique black and white book plate published c.1916-18 of glorious acts of heroism during the Great War. This plate may also have text on the reverse side which does not affect the framed side. Title and text describing the event beneath image as shown. Paper size 10.5 inches x 8.5 inches (27cm x 22cm). Price £13.00
ITEM CODE DTE0031
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Storming
of Badajoz by Chris Collingwood The Connaught Rangers at the Storming of
Badajoz
Listed for the Connaught Rangers by Lady
Butler Depicts two Irish peasants in traditional dress being marched through a
Kerry glen by a recruiting party of the 88th Regiment (Connaught Rangers).
Private T. Hughes Dashes Out In Front Of His
Company, Shoots A Machine Gunner, And, Single-handed Captures The Gun.
Private Thomas Hughes, of the Connaught Rangers, was wounded in
an attack, but returned at once to the firing line after having his
wounds dressed. Later,
seeing a hostile machine gun, he dashed out in front of his company shot
the gunner and single-handed captured the gun.
Though again wounded, he brought back three or four prisoners and
was subsequently awarded the V.C. for this most conspicuous bravery and
determination.
The
Great Act Of Heroism Of Privates H. G. F. Mead, J. W. Otton And A. S. S.
Spencer, Of The 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment.
On November 5th 1914, near Neuve
Chapelle, about six
oclock in the evening, Private Mead heard a man crying for help and fort
water. The cry came from
the direction of a German trench, which earlier in the day had been
taken by the 1st Connaught Rangers, who, however, had subsequently been
compelled to abandon it. Private
Mead immediately left his trench and ran across the open to the spot
whence the cry had come, and found Lance-Corporal Ely lying badly
wounded in the German trench. He
raised the wounded mans head and poured some water down his throat, and
then finding that he could not lift him over the parapet alone, he went
back, fetched two of his comrades, Privates Otton and Spencer.
They succeeded in carrying Ely to within a few yards of the
British trench when the Germans saw them.
Both Mead and Otton were killed instantly, but Spencer succeeded
in dragging the wounded man into safety, though not before his clothes
and equipment had been almost riddled with bullets.
This gallant deed was recognised by the award of the D.C.M. to
each of the three men.
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Regimental Books Available: |
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The Connaught
Rangers by Alan Shepherd & Michael Youens
Book price £8.99. Book serial number
Osprey MA12.
Post: For UK £2.00 (max post for multiple books £6).
For Europe £3.00 per book plus one charge of £3 airmail recorded
fee must be included.
Rest of World £6.00 per book plus one charge of £3 airmail
recorded fee must be included.
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To order your copy: secure
ordering form
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