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The Welch Fusiliers shown in regimental
military prints. The history of the Welch Fusiliers during the Battle of
Alma, Crimean War and military uniforms.
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| The Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Few regiments have a longer or more glorious history than the Royal
Welsh Fusiliers, formed as it was in 1689, and sharing in most of our
campaigns with such gallantry and distinction as to have the following
battle-roll: “Blenheim,” “Ramillies,” “Oudenarde,” “Malplaquet,”
“Dettingen,” “Minden,” “Corunna,” “Martinique,” “Albuhera,”
“Badajoz,” “Salamanca,” “Vittoria,” “Pyrenees,” “Nivelle,”
“Orthes,” “Toulouse,” “Peninsula,” “Waterloo,” “Alma,”
“Inkerman,” “Sevastopol,” “Lucknow,” and “Ashantee.”
This was one of the twelve regiments raised for the campaign in
Ireland against James 2nd., and as “Herbert’s Regiment”
first got under fire at the Boyne and return to England until 1691, and
three years later it sailed for Flanders, under the command of Colonel
Ingoldsby. It saw hard
fighting at Fort Knocque and Namur, where it lost heavily, and returned to
Ireland in1697, to return to the Netherlands in the army led by
Marlbourough four years later. It
was present at Venloo, Liege, and Schellenberg, where 16 officers and 228
men were killed and wounded; at Blenheim, where it shared in the final
attack on the village (when twenty-four battalions and twelve squadrons of
the enemy surrendered), Helixem, Neer Hepson, Ramillies, Ostend, Aeth, and
Oudenarde; at the siege of Lille, where the loss between the 14th
of August and the 22nd of October, 1708, amounted to 15
officers and 364 men killed and wounded; at Tournay, Malplaquet, and the
sieges of Mons, Douay, and Bouchain, besides being present, more or less,
as a covering force at numerous other affairs, returning to England after
the Treaty of Utrecht, when it received the title of the “Prince of
Wales’ Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers.”
The 23rd returned to England to put down both of the
Jacobite risings in 1715and 1745; in the former case arriving at Preston,
where Derwentwater surrendered, and in the latter remaining on the South
coast till after the defeat of the Young Pretender at Culloden.
Meanwhile, from 1742 to 1745, it had served in Flanders, sharing in
the battle of Dettingen, where its then colonel was mortally wounded, and
at Fontenoy, where the loss in killed, wounded, and missing was 22
officers and 300 men; while, after a short visit to England in 1745, it
re-appeared at the seat of war in 1747, and was engaged at the battle of
Val. About this time
the men were dressed like the rest of the army, with red coats and
royal-blue facings, heavy buff cross-belts and white gaiters.
One of the colours bore in the centre the Prince of Wales plume,
and the other the badge of the Black Prince (the rising sun), the red
dragon, and the three feathers in the coronet.
The grenadier caps also bore the plume, crowned with “Ich Dien,”
and below in white horse of Hanover, with “Nec aspera terrent.”
In 1756 the regiment assisted at the stubborn defence of Minorca,
when Admiral Byng’s effort to force the French fleet to raise the siege
failed, and the garrison had to surrender; but the Duc de Richelieu, in
consideration of the bravery shown, granted the garrison “all the
honours of war, to wit with firelocks on their shoulders, drums beating,
with colours flying, twenty cartridges for each man, also lighted
matches.” After some minor
operations on the French coast in 1758 it shared in the victory of Minden,
which was mainly due to the bravery of the foot regiments, and took part
in the battles of Warburg, Campen, Kirch-Denkern, and Groebenstein.
The regiment witnessed the first outbreak of hostilities in America
in 1775, at Concord, and in the retreat on Boston shared in the Battle of
Bunker’s or Breed’s Hill, where the Fusiliers first experienced the
deadlines of the fire of the colonial sharp-shooters, and after which they
had scarcely enough men left to “saddle the goat.”
Since the war began the regiment has been weakened by more than
half its strength, and the grenadier company, going into action with
forty-nine strong, left forty-four on the field.
The affairs of White Plains, Fort Washington, Ridgfield,
Brandywine, Germanstown, and Monmouth Court House followed in
succession’ and during the hostilities the Royal Welsh did duty on board
the fleet as marines, and were complimented by Admiral Lord Howe.
Finally, after sharing in all the minor operations, as well as at
Charlestown, Canada, Cowpens, Guildford Court House (where, as in most of
the actions in the war, the bayonet was found more efficacious than the
bullet), the regiment surrendered at York Town with the garrison; but the
colours were saved by Captain Peters and another officer, who wrapped them
round their bodies. Whether
this was strictly right may be questioned.
In 1794 it assisted at the taking of Port au Prince, but suffered
severely from the climate. In 1799 it was in Holland, at the battles of
Zype Dyke and Egmontop-Zee; in 1800 at Ferrol and Vigo, and the next year
landed at Aboulir Bay to take part in the fight there, and at Alexandria.
For this the Fusiliers earned the badge of “Egypt,” with the
sphinx, and each officer received a gold medal from the Sultan.
Increased to two battalions in 1804, the 1st served at
Copenhagen, and then went to Canada, to be employed at Martinique later
on, after which the grenadier company, out of their prize-money, reared a
monument at Halifax to their comrades who had fallen.
The 2nd (which was disbanded in 1814) was at Corunna,
where it was the last battalion to quit the shore; and in 1810 the 1st
battalion went to the Peninsula to gain honourable mention for continuous
service intil 1814, and adding Albuhera, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria,
Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, and Peninsula to its already long
list of honours. It
is impossible to do other than name the actions in which it gloriously
shared. The 23rd
was at Waterloo in reserve, and at Cambray; and in 1842 it was formed into
two battalions, named the “1st” and “Reserve”
respectively. It equally
distinguished itself in the Crimea, at the Alma-where Anstruther planted
the colours on the great redoubt, and died holding them-at Inkerman, and
at Sevastopol. It shared in the hard fighting at Lucknow and Cawnpore, on
the Goomtee, in Oude, and in the Trans-Gogra operations in1857-59.
Lastly the 2nd battalion formed part of the Ashantee
expedition, taking part in the actions at Amoaful, Ordahsu, and Coomassie;
and the 1st added the last title to the
roll-“Burma,1885-87”-for its share in that campaign.
One event in its history may be recorded here to emphasise the
value attached to the colours regiment.
When H.R.H. Prince Albert presented them in 1849, he said,
“Receive these colours; one emphatically called the Queen’s-let it be
a pledge of your loyalty to your sovereign, and of obedience to the laws
of your country. The other,
more especially the regimental one, let that be a pledge of your
determination to maintain the honour of you regiment.
In looking at the one you will think of your sovereign; in looking
at the other you will think of those who have fought, bled, and conquered
before you.” The
authorised regimental pet of the “Royal Welsh” is a goat.
How it became at first a custom, and later “a privileged honour,”
for the regiment to march past with a goat “having gilded horns, and
adorned with ringlets of flowers,” is somewhat obscure, but it dates
back to the early days of the regimental history.
On St. David’s Day, when the health of the Prince of Wales is
first drunk after dinner, the goat is marched thrice round the mess-table
with the drums, led by the drum major, to the tune of “The Noble Race Of
Shenkin,” while the national emblem, the leek, is being distributed.
Usually the animal behaves with sufficient decorum; but on one
occasion, in 1776, at Boston, he literally “bucked” his rider, a small
drummer-boy, into the middle of the mess-table, and escaped to barracks.
One account has it that the boy was killed, and that from that date
the mounting the goat was abandoned.
The same goat accompanied the regiment into action at Bunker’s
Hill. Until
quite recently the goat has, since 1844, been presented by Her Majesty
when a vacancy occurred, from a flock given her by the Shah of Persia.
In these cases “Billy” wore a silver shield surmounted by the
Prince of Wales’ plume and motto, on which is “The gift of H.M. Queen
Victoria to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
In the regiment’s recent march through Wales only last year
(1892) the tired goat was taken on a wagon, but unfortunately lost its
balance, and was killed.
The only peculiarity in the uniform of the regiment is that of both
officers and non-commissioned officers wearing the “flash,” a bow of
black silk ribbon, with long ends, fastened to the back of the collar of
the tunic. It is a relic of
the days of pigtails and powder, and in 1786 it is stated that “the
officers of this regiment wear the hair turned up behind,” when the
locks were tied into a queue with ribbon, a form of dressing the hair
which was supposed to be the “Grenadier fashion” of so arranging it.
It is also a regimental custom to wear the leek on St. David’s
Day. The prince of Wales’
plume, with the regimental title, is worn both on the button and
waist-plate, the grenade on the tunic collar, fusiliers cap, and
forage-cap, the latter with the red dragon. The
Militia battalions are the Royal Denbigh and Merioneth, which wore a red
dragon on the Glengarry; and the Royal Carnarvon, which had a bugle on the
collar and Glengarry. The
other badges are the “Rising Sun,” the white horse with “Nec aspera
terrent,” and the sphinx with “Egypt,” and with the Prince of
Wales’ plume the motto “Ich Dien.”
The volunteer battalions are the late 1st Denbigh (Wrexham)
and the 1st Flintshire and Carnarvonshire (Rhyl); both wear the
national scarlet with the rpyal blue facings. The nicknames are “Nanny
Goats” and the Royal Goats”, both referring to the regimental pet. The
depot was at Wrexham |
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Charge of the 2nd Carabiniers against the Square of the 23rd
(Royal Welsh Fusiliers) at the Battle of Waterloo by Brian Palmer
Sergeant Luke OConner Winning the Victoria
Cross at the Battle of Alma by L.W. Desanges Although shot in the breast, bravely carries forward one of the colours
at the Battle of Alma, 20th September 1854.
Officer, 23rd Foot 1790
by P H Smitherman Contemporary pictures and existing items of clothing have provided the
basis for this image, which shows further development of the fusiliers
uniform. fusilier caps were to be like the grenadier caps only
smaller. The plate with the royal arms in front of the cap has
gone, and has been replaced by a badge, and there is an arrangement of
gold cords at the back, invisible in the picture, ending in two large
tassels. The collar of the coat has now been turned up again and has
begun to assume the form which it has since retained. The
elaboration of the gold lace on the cuffs and lapels is in sharp contrast
with the simplicity noted in the previous image. Being a fusilier,
and armed on service with a fusil, he wears a shoulder belt with a pouch
as well as a sword belt. Black gaiters have replaced white
spatterdashes, except in the Foot guards. The white ones were first
replaced by brown - a more suitable colour, obviously, for service - but
they were not considered very smart, and so were blacked and finally
replaced with black gaiters. As the 23rd were allowed to wear a
badge, the Prince of Wales feathers, it appears on the gorget instead of
the royal arms. The plate on the shoulder-belt, carrying a
regimental device, was an innovation at about this time, and was worn by
all ranks. Thus the soldier now carried an easily recognisable sign
of his regiment, similar to the cap badge today. Previously, in most
cases, unless a man belonged to one of the few regiments permitted to
display a badge, he could be identified only by such details as his
buttons, or the pattern of his lace. The 23rd, or Royal Welsh
Fusiliers, were raised in 1689. The notable feature of their dress
today is the bunch of black ribbons worn on the collar at the back, a
survival of the ribbons worn before 1805 to protect the collar from the
grease of the pigtail. Corporal J. Davies And Eight Men Routing With The
Bayonet A Party Of Germans Who Had
Previously Surrounded Them.
Prior to an attack on the enemy in a wood Corporal Joseph Davies,
of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, became separated with eight men from his
company. When the enemy
delivered their second counter attack his party was completely
surrounded, but he got them into a shell hole, and, by throwing bombs
and opening rapid fire, succeeded in routing them.
Not content with this, he followed them up in their retreat and
bayoneted several of them. For
this act of most conspicuous gallantry he was awarded the V.C.
Private Lavin Grappling With
A Turkish Bomber In A British Sap At Suvla Bay, Gallipoli. While on patrol duty in front of the British lines at Suvla Bay,
Gallipoli on the night of November 9th 1915.
Private James Lavin of the 15th Battalion Royal Welsh
Fusiliers saw a Turkish bomber creep into a British sap.
Lavin at once crawled from the tree behind which he was taking
cover to the sap. As he
entered he heard the Turk loading his rifle, and while advancing, Lavin
accidentally kicked over an empty tin.
The Turk instantly turned and fired point blank at him, but
fortunately missed the mark. Throwing down his rifle, Lavin grappled
with his enemy, and having wrenched the rifle out of his hands, he drove
the Turks at the point of the bayonet towards the British lines.
His cool and courageous conduct was rewarded with the D.C.M.
Regimental Records of the Royal
Welch Fusiliers, Vol I by Cary and McCance. This is the first of a 4-volume history of the regiment from its
formation in 1689 to the end of the Great War. The RWF is one of only
four out of fifty-one English and Welsh regiments of infantry of the
line that have remained unaffected by disbandments, amalgamations and
redesignations since Cardwells reforms at the end of the nineteenth
century. This volume covers the period 1689 - 1815, the recording of
which has been considerably handicapped by the almost entire absence of
letters, diaries or journals of officers who served with the regiment.
Nevertheless the compilers, with the help of contributors named in the
introduction, have, by accuracy of treatment and attention to detail,
contrived to give a reliable record of the deeds of the regiment.
The book is compiled in the form of a running narrative arranged on a
year-by-year basis, and begins with a ten-page chronological summary in
which all significant dates (including every move of the regiment) are
listed for each year, beginning with 16 March 1689 when Henry, Lord
Herbert of Cherbury was authorised to raise the Twenty-third [of Foot],
and appointed colonel of the regiment. During the first 126 years of its
existence the regiment saw a great deal of action and a vigorous account
has been given of the campaigns in which it took part. Where it has been
possible to illustrate by incident the story has been graphically told.
Battle honours (twenty during the period) also tell the story: Namur,
Marlboroughs wars, Dettingen, Minden, Egypt, Corunna, the capture of the
island of Martinique, the Peninsular War, and finally Waterloo. The
regiment also fought in the American War of Independence. Officer
casualties are named with numbers of rank and file casualties, and from
time to time strength details are given. On 23rd April 1713 the regiment
was, for the first time. officially styled The Royal Regiment of Welch
Fusiliers and a second battalion was formed in August 1756 which, less
than two years later, became a regiment in its own right (68th Foot,
later the DLI). Appendices give the succession of Colonels of the
Regiment with record of service and extracts from the Regimental Mess
records which include the amounts to be paid in by officers on promotion
(£20 for a Lieut-Colonel getting command of the Regiment), and the
amount to be paid by officers coming from other regiments. Finally there
is a comprehensive index.
Regimental Records of the Royal
Welch Fusiliers, Vol II by Cary and McCance. This volume covers the hundred years between the victory of Waterloo
and the outbreak of the Great War, 1816-1914. The book is set out in the
same way as the first volume, beginning with a chronological summary,
which includes the dates of every move of the regiment, and with the
narrative providing a running account on a year-by-year basis. On 3rd
March 1858, as a consequence of the Indian Mutiny a second battalion was
again formed but this one was a permanent feature, so when the Cardwell
Reforms were implemented in 1881 the RWF was unaffected, being a
two-battalion regiment. From this point on the narrative covers each
battalion separately each year. This time the compilers are better
served with personal memoirs and diaries, especially the Burmese War of
1885-87; the Boxer Rebellion, 1900; the Black Mountain Expedition, 1891
and the S African War.
The regiment saw action in the Crimea (Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol),
the Indian Mutiny, Ashanti in 1874, Burma, S Africa and Pekin. Four VCs
were won in the Crimea and two in the Indian Mutiny.
This volume has a number of informative appendices: they include the
succession of colonels with the service record of each officer; a very
comprehensive one on regimental Dress and Equipment, one on firearms
used by the regiment from time to time and on medals, on regimental
music, on sport, on the Colours and finally on the history of the unique
Flash, the five-tailed flash of black silk ribbon attached to the back
of the collar of the tunic, first worn by officers, WOs and SSgts in
1834, but approved for all ranks from June 1900. The regimental Goat,
the famous mascot, gets its first mention in 1775. Again there is a
comprehensive index.
Regimental Records of the Royal
Welch Fusiliers, Vol III by Cary and McCance. The last two volumes of this history cover the Great War, during
which the original seven battalions (two Regular, one Special Reserve
and four Territorial) expanded to forty of which twenty-two served
overseas. Total casualties (dead) amounted to 9,800; 77 Battle Honours
were awarded and eight VCs were won, one by an officer serving on the
staff at the time (Lieut-Col Doughty-Wylie at Gallipoli). A further VC
was awarded to the MO of the 1/6th Battalion in Palestine.
Vol III is concerned only with the Western Front where fifteen
battalions served and four of these also served in other theatres. This
volume is arranged in seven parts, each part covering a specific period.
The narrative is continuous beginning with a brief background on the
immediate pre-war situation, the reorganisation of the War Office and
the Army, leading on to mobilization, the creation of new battalions, a
list of all the battalions that existed during the war, with postings
and, very useful, the nominal roll of all the officers serving on 1st
August 1914, extracted from the Army List - Regular, Reserve and
Territorial. The next part takes the story to the end of First Ypres,
involving the 1st and 2nd Battalions, followed by 1915, 1916-1917 (May),
1917, 1918 and the German offensive, and finally 1918 the Pursuit of the
Enemy. In each part any battle in which a battalion of the Regiment took
part is fully described with officer casualties named and other rank
casualties given by total. The author makes good use of personal
accounts, diaries and memoirs and so provides an extremely interesting
record. There is a comprehensive index.
Regimental Records of the Royal
Welch Fusiliers, Vol IV by Cary and McCance. This volume is concerned with operations on Gallipoli, in
Mesopotamia, Palestine, Macedonia (Salonika) and Italy, although the
author prefers THE WAR WITH TURKEY, THE WAR WITH BULGARIA and THE WAR
WITH AUSTRIA as titles to the three parts into which the book is
divided. The first part (Turkey) begins with a brief background on the
Turkish army, its strength and dispositions and then, after an account
of the landings on 25th April 1915, goes on to describe the regiments
part in the Gallipoli campaign.
Four battalions were involved at Gallipoli: 5th, 6th. 7th (Territorial
battalions) and the 8th (Service) Battalion. The 8th Battalion was in
13th (Western) division, the only RWF battalion in that division, and
landed at Anzac on 4th August 1915, followed shortly after by the three
Territorial battalions with 158th Brigade in the 53rd(Welsh) Division.
For the next four months they were in the fighting, notably at Suvla,
Sari Bair and Scimitar Hill until both divisions were evacuated to Egypt
in December. The 13th Division went on to Mesopotamia in April 1916,
where the 8th Battalion was the only RWF battalion to fight in that
theatre, and it was there to the end. The 53rd Division, after returning
from Gallipoli remained in Egypt through 1916 and in February 1917
advanced into Palestine, and in August 1918 the 5th and 6th Battalions
amalgamated to form the 5th/6th. In February 1917 the 74th (Yeomanry)
Division was formed in Palestine and two Welsh Yeomanry regiments were
posted to it and redesignated 24th and 25th Battalions RWF. Both
battalions fought in Palestine and in France. The 11th (Service)
Battalion went to France in September 1915 with 22nd Division; a month
later the division was transferred to Salonika and with it went the 11th
RWF, which was the only battalion of the regiment to fight in the
Macedonian campaign. Finally, the 1st Battalion, which had served on the
Western Front with the 7th Division from October 1914, went with the
division to Italy in November 1917 where it remained to the armistice.
The activities of all these battalions are well described in this
history which concludes with a chapter on the Armistice and
Demobilisation.
There are a number of appendices which include: the Roll of Honour for
the whole Regiment, taken from Soldiers Died and Officers Died; a short
piece on the campaign in the Cameroons (Dobell, the British commander,
was an RWF officer; brief notes on the Regimental Goats and the Flash;
the COs of all the battalions, with dates; an account of the unveiling
and dedication of the War Memorial at Wrexham, the depot of the
regiment; and a table showing details of the battalions war
establishment in 1914. Again, there is a comprehensive index. All in all
these four volumes make up a very fine regimental history. |
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Few regiments have a longer or more glorious history
than the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, formed as it was in 1689, and sharing in
most of our campaigns with such gallantry and distinction as to have the
following battle-roll: "Blenheim", "Ramillies", "Oudenarde",
"Malplaquet", " Dettingen", "Minden",
"Corunna", "Martinique", " Albuhera", "Badajoz",
"Salamanca", "Vittoria", "Pyrenees", "Nivelle",
" Orthes", "Toulouse", "Peninsula",
"Waterloo", "Alma", "Inkerman",
"Sevastopol", "Lucknow", and "Ashantee".
This was one of the twelve regiments raised for the
campaign in Ireland against James II, and as "Herbert's
Regiment" first got under at the Boyne and Aughrim, where its colonel
was taken prisoner and foully murdered. It did not return to England
until 1691, and three years later it sailed for Flanders, under the
command of Colonel Ingoldsby. It saw hard fighting at Fort Knocque
and Namur, where it lost heavily, and returned to Ireland in 1697, to
return to the Netherlands in the army led by Marlborough four years
later. It was present at Venloo, Liege, and Schellenberg, where 16
officers and 228 men were killed and wounded; at Blenheim, where it shared
in the final attack on the village (when twenty four battalions and
twelve squadrons of the enemy surrendered), Helixem, Neer Hespen,
Ramillies, Ostend, Aeth, and Oudenarde; at the siege of Lille, where the
loss between the 14th August and 22nd October, 1708, amounted to 15
officers and 363 men killed and wounded; at Tournay, Malplaquet, and the
sieges of Mons, Douay, and Bouchain, besides being present, more or less,
as a covering force at numerous other affairs, returning to England after
the Treaty of Utrecht, when it received the title of the "Prince of
Wales' Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers".
The 23rd returned to England to put down both of the
Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745; in the former case arriving at Preston,
where Derwentwater surrendered, and in the latter remaining on the South
Coast till after the defeat of the Young Pretender at Culloden.
Meanwhile, from 1742 to 1745, it had served in Flanders , sharing in the
battle of Dettingen, where its then colonel was mortally wounded, and at
Fontenoy, where the loss in killed, wounded and missing was 22 officers
and 300 men; while, after a short visit to England in 1745, it re-appeared
at the seat of war in 1747, and was engaged at the battle of Val.
About this time the men were dressed like the rest of
the army, with red coats and royal-blue facings, heavy buff cross-belts
and white gaiters. One of the colours bore in the centre the Prince
of Wales' plume, and the other the badge of the Black Prince (the rising
sun), the red dragon, and the three feathers in the coronet. The
grenadier caps also bore the plume, crowned with "Ich Dien", and
below it the white horse of Hanover, with "Nec aspera terrent".
In 1756 the regiment assisted at the stubborn defence of
Minorea, when Admiral Byng's effort to force the French fleet to raise the
siege failed, and the garrison had to surrender; but the Duc de Richelieu,
in consideration of the bravery shown, granted to the garrison "all
the honours of war, to wit with firelocks on their shoulders, drums
beating, with colours flying, twenty cartridges for each man, also lighted
matches." After some minor operations on the French coast in
1758 it shared in the victory of Minden, which was mainly due to the
bravery of the foot regiments, and took part in the battles of Warburg,
Campen, Kirch-Denkern, and Groebenstein.
The regiment witnessed the first outbreak of hostilities
in America in 1775, at Concord, and in the retreat on Boston shared in the
Battle of Bunker's or Breed's Hill, where the Fusiliers first experienced
the deadliness of the fire of the colonial sharp-shooters, and after which
they had scarcely enough men left to "saddle the goat".
Since the war began the regiment had been weakened by more than half its
strength, and the grenadier company, going into action with forty-nine
strong, left forty-four on the field. The affairs of White Plains,
Fort Washington, Ridgfield, Brandywine, Germanstown, and Monmouth Court
House followed in succession; and during the hostilities the Royal Welsh
did duty on board the fleet as marines, and were complimented by Admiral
Lord Howe.
Finally, after sharing in all the minor operations, as
well as at Charlestown, Canada, Cowpens, Guildford Court House (where, as
in most of the actions in the war, the bayonet was found more efficacious
than the bullet), the regiment surrendered at York Town with the garrison;
but the colours were saved by Captain Peters and another officer, who
wrapped them round their bodies. Whether this was strictly right may
be questioned. In 1794 it assisted at the taking of Port an Prince,
but suffered severely from the climate. In 1799 it was in Holland,
at the battles of Zype Dyke and Egmont-op-Zee; in 1800 at Ferrol and Vigo,
and the next year landed at Aboukir Bay to take part in the fight there,
and at Alexandria. For this the Fusiliers earned the badge of
"Egypt" with the Sphinx, and each officer received a gold medal
from the Sultan.
Increased to two battalions in 1804, the 1st served at
Copenhagen, and then went to Canada, to be employed at Martinique later
on, after which the grenadier company, out of their prize money, reared a
monument at Halifax to their comrades who had fallen. The 2nd (which
was disbanded in 1814) was at Corunna, where it was the last battalion to
quit the shore; and in 1810 the 1st battalion went to the Peninsula, to
gain honourable mention for continuous service until 1814, and adding
Albuhera, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes,
Toulouse, and Peninsula to its already long list of honours.
It is impossible to do other than name the actions in
which it gloriously shared. The 23rd was at Waterloo in reserve, and
at Cambray; and in 1842 it was formed into two battalions, named the
"1st" and "Reserve" respectively. It equally
distinguished itself in the Crimea, at the Alma - where Anstruther planted
the colours on the great redoubt, and died holding them - at Inkerman, and
at Sevastopol. It shared in the hard fighting at Lucknow and
Cawnpore, on the Goomtee, in Oude, and in the Trans-Gogra operations in
1857-59.
Lastly, the 2nd battalion formed part of the Ashantee
expedition, taking part in the actions at Amoaful, Ordahsu, and Coomassie;
and the 1st added the last title to the roll - "Burma, 1885 -87"
- for its share in that campaign.
One event in its history may be recorded here to
emphasise the value attached to the colours of a regiment. When
H.R.H. Prince Albert presented them in 1849, he said, "Receive these
colours; one emphatically called the Queen's - let it be a pledge of your
loyalty to your sovereign, and of obedience to the laws of your
country. The other, more especially the regimental one, let that be
a pledge of your determination to maintain the honour of your
regiment. In looking at the one you will think of your sovereign; in
looking at the other you will think of those who have fought, bled, and
conquered before you".
The authorised regimental pet of the "Royal
Welsh" is a goat. How it became at first a custom, and later,
" a privileged honour", for the regiment to march past with a
goat "having gilded horns, and adorned with ringlets of
flowers", is somewhat obscure, but it dates back to the early days of
the regimental history. On St David's Day, when the health of the
Prince of Wales is first drunk after dinner, the goat is marched thrice
round the mess-table with the drums, led by the drum-major, to the tune of
"The Noble Race of Shenkin", while the national emblem, the
leek, is being distributed. Usually the animal behaves with
sufficient decorum; but on one occasion, in 1776, at Boston, he literally
"bucked" his rider, a small drummer-boy, into the middle of the
mess-table, and escaped to barracks. One account has it that the boy
was killed, and that from that date the mounting the goat was
abandoned. The same goat accompanied the regiment into action at
Bunker's Hill.
Until quite recently the goat has, since 1844, been
presented by Her Majesty when a vacancy occured, from a flock given her by
the Shah of Persia. In these cases "Billy" wore a silver
shield surmounted by the Prince of Wales' plume and motto, on which is
"The gift of H.M. Queen Victoria to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
A.D. . . . . Duw. A. Cadwo. Y. Frenhines." In the regiment's
recent march through Wales in 1892 the tired goat was taken on a wagon,
but unfortunately lost its balance, and was killed.
The only peculiarity in the uniform of the regiment is
that of both officers and non-commissioned officers wearing the
"flash", a bow of black silk ribbon, with long ends, fastened to
the back of the collar of the tunic. It is a relic of the days of
pigtails and powder, and in 1786 it is stated that "the officers of
this regiment wear the hair turned up behind", when the locks were
turned into a queue with ribbon, a form of dressing the hair which was
supposed to be the "Grenadier fashion" of so arranging it.
It is also a regimental custom to wear the leek on St David's Day.
The Prince of Wales' plume, with the regimental title, is worn both on the
button and waist-plate, the grenade on the tunic collar, fusilier cap, and
forage-cap, the latter with a red dragon.
The Militia battalions are the Royal Denbigh and
Merioneth, which wore a red dragon on the Glengarry; and the Royal
Carnarvon, which had a bugle on the colllar and Glengarry. The other
badges are the "Rising Sun", the white horse with "Nec
aspera terrent", and the Sphinx with "Egypt", and with the
Prince of Wales' plume the motto "Ich Dien", The Volunteer
battalions are the late 1st Denbigh (Wrexham) and the 1st Flintshire and
Carnarvonshire (Rhyl); both wear the national scarlet with royal blue
facings. The nicknames are the "Nanny Goats" and the
"Royal Goats", both referring to the regimental pet. The
depot is at Wrexham.
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