Surrey regiments

 

Queens West Surrey regiment history

In 1685, it was the Queen Dowager’s Regiment of Foot (named for Queen Catherine, widow of Charles 11). In 1703 it was renamed the Queen’s Royal Regiment of Foot, becoming the Princess of Wales’s Own Regiment of Foot in 1715 and then the Queen’s Own Regiment of Foot when, in 1727, Princess Caroline became Queen. Its final change before 1751 came in 1747 when it was called the Queen’s Own Royal Regiment of Foot, ranked as 2nd Foot. In 1780 along with the Honourable Artillery Company the 2nd suppressed the Gordon Riots. Other than Guards regiments, the 2nd Foot was the oldest line infantry regiment in England.

 

It retained the designation of 2nd (The Queen’s Royal) Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881, when it became the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, then in 1921 the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey). It ceased to exist as a separate regiment in 1959 when it amalgamated with the East Surrey Regiment, to form The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment.  In 1966, The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment became part of The Queen’s Regiment and as a result of further reductions of Infantry in 1992 The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment was formed by the amalgamation of The Queen’s Regiment and The Royal Hampshire Regiment.

 

The Regiment saw service in a naval action that was to become known as the Glorious First of June 1794. The regiment, numbering 15 officers and 400 other ranks, was split into detachments, variously serving on Howe’s flagship, Queen Charlotte. In recognition of the regiment’s service, it was granted the distinction of wearing a Naval Crown super scribed,

1 June 1794, on its Colours. The regiment carries at least one Royal Navy tradition to the current day. During ceremonial occasions, the members of the regiment sit while making a toast. This reflects their use as marines, who did not stand while raising a toast onboard a ship to avoid striking their heads on low timbers.

 

War was declared on the 11th of October 1899 and on the 20th of October the 2nd Battalion of the Queen’s marched to Cosham Station escorted by the Band and Ship’s Company of H.M.S. Excellent, went by train to Southampton and embarked in the Transport Yorkshire, of the 1,062 N.C.O.s and men in the Battalion, over 600 were Reservists, most of whom had fought with the 1st Battalion in the Malakand and Tirah Campaigns. As a unit of 2 Brigade in the 1st Division of the South African Field Force, the 2nd Battalion arrived at Cape Town on the 10th of November and was sent on at once to Durban.

 

The Queen’s first action was the attack on the village of Colenso on the 15th of December, in the notorious Black Week’ of British defeats and Boer successes, and was an attempt to force the Tugela River. The Battalion was ordered to advance in extended order across flat open country, and the Boers, in well-prepared positions, shot with a most disconcerting accuracy, particularly at ranges between 800 and 1,000 yards, and put all the British artillery out of action. The Queen’s, supported by the East Surreys, reached the village but were then ordered to withdraw. After carrying out this extremely difficult and dangerous operation with the precision of a rehearsed demonstration they returned to camp exhausted, having lost 100 men and achieved nothing.

 

Everyone, particularly General Sir Redvers Buller, the force commander, had seriously underestimated the Boers as fighting men

 

For the next month, until reinforcements arrived, the troop’s remained in camp, watching the Boers strengthening their positions on the far side of the Tugela River, which was not crossed until the 18th of January 1900. On the 20th of January two companies of the Queen’s were ordered to make a frontal attack on a Boer position in order to cover a flanking movement by other units on Bastion Hill. Frontal attacks against Boer marksmen invited disaster. Captain Raitt, descendant of the famous Raitts in the Regiment, was killed when four out of the five officers were hit. The three others were severely wounded: one of them, Lieutenant Smith, was shot through the chest but continued to lead his men until he fell, and then crawled into cover. While his company was being driven back by intense, accurate fire he made a careful sketch of the enemy positions and then dragged himself back to the donga where the company was taking cover, and later, helped by one of his soldiers, walked back to the field hospital. He was specially commended in General Orders as `affording a brilliant example of coolness, courage and endurance’.

 

The battle for Spion Kop, fought on the 24th of January, was an attempt to turn the Boer flank and relieve Ladysmith. Its failure was largely due to lack of drinking water: none could be taken forward to the parched troops and they had to withdraw from the ground they had gained. Another attempt to force the Boer defences was made on the 5th of February. The Queen’s, having relieved the Durham Light Infantry and the 60th Rifles on Vaal Kranz Hill, remained there for thirty-six hours under intense rifle and artillery fire, but only two men were killed and twenty-eight wounded, for the Battalion had wasted no time in building protective field works.

 

During the final battle to relieve Ladysmith, the main objective for the Queen’s was the Monte Christo feature, captured with the bayonet in an attack in which Lieutenant Smith, seriously wounded less than five weeks before, played a gallant and effective part. He was awarded the D.S.O. at the end of the war.

The Natal Defence Force entered Ladysmith on the 3rd of March 1900 and went into bivouac near Surprise Hill. In the months of hard fighting since the first attack on Colenso the Queen’s casualties amounted to 52 per cent of the officers and 24 per cent of the N.C.O.s and men, but only three officers and thirty men had been killed.

The Battalion rested for two months and on the 12th of April was joined by the Volunteer Company, commanded by Captain de la Mare. This was an historic event. For the first time in the history of the Regiment the Volunteer Battalions had been called upon to fight with the regulars, and each sent their quota of reinforcements to the 2nd Battalion, a total of three officers and 112 N.C.O.s and men chosen from many applicants.

 

In subsequent operations during the war, they brought great credit upon themselves and the Regiment, and were worthy forerunners of the great Territorial Battalions which in both World Wars added so much glory to the Regiment’s history.

 

At last, in June 1904, after four and a half years either under canvas or in the open, the 2nd Battalion returned to England.

 

 

East Surrey regiment history

In 1881 the East Surrey Regiment was formed from the amalgamation of the 31 Regiment of and the 70 Regiment of Foot.

 

In 1702 a regiment of marines was raised in the West Country, by George Villier and named Villier’s Marines. Its direct descendant became the East Surrey Regiment. The regiment changed hands several times until 1711 when it became Goring’s Regiment, named after their Colonel.

 

In 1715 the regiment was removed from the marines and became the 31st Regiment of Infantry, and in 1751 the designation was changed to the 31st Regiment of Foot. Five years later a second battalion was raised in Scotland, the 2/31st Foot, which was pre-designated, in 1758, the 70th Regiment of Foot.

 

Further changes were made and in 1782 when the 31st became known as the Huntingdonshire Regiment, while the 70th became the Surrey Regiment. They stayed with this title until 1881 when they became the 1st & 2nd battalions of the East Surrey Regiment.

 

In the form of the 31st Foot, the regiment saw service at the Battle of Dettingen, where it received the nickname “The Young Buffs”. In the Napoleonic War’s it served in the West Indies and Spain, where it won eight Battle Honours. It was fighting in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Crimean War and in China at the Taku Forts..

 

The 70th Foot was in the Indian Mutiny, the Maori Wars in New Zealand, and the Second Afghan War.

 

The 2nd Battalion was ordered to mobilize for active service on 7th October, 1899, and four days later was informed that it would proceed to South Africa as part of the 2nd Brigade. Throughout its training and in the summer manoeuvres of that year the brigade had worked as a single unit, so that the battalions were thoroughly familiar with each other. Morale was high and the men had shown themselves to be fit and well trained. 2nd Battalion sailed on the Lismore Castle and Harlech Castle about 19th October 1899, and got to Durban about 14th November.  Along with the 2nd Queen’s, 2nd Devon, and 2nd West Yorkshire, they formed the 2nd Brigade under Major General H Hildyard.

 

At Willow Grange, 22nd November, the East Surrey supported the West Yorks in the assault, and in his report, dated 24th November, General Hildyard said, “The behaviour of all ranks of the 2nd East Surrey Regiment when engaged was satisfactory under great difficulties”. 

 

It was of vital importance that Colenso was captured, which the 2nd Queen’s successfully attacked and occupied. But the position soon proved to be untenable and, in the withdrawal from the massive onslaught of the Boers, the 2nd Surreys were ordered to cover the brigade.

 

At Spionkop, whilst the West Yorkshires attacked the main Boer position, part of the 2nd Surreys forced their way around the spur of a neighbouring feature, Bastion Hill, to attack the Boers from the flank, whilst the remainder of the battalion gave covering fire from another ridge of the hill. But the firepower of the enemy made their position unapproachable and it fell to the Surreys, once again, to cover the brigade’s withdrawal across the river.

 

During the fourteen days between 13th and 27th February they were, like the rest of the brigade, constantly fighting. On the 22nd, when we were knocking our heads against the strong defences east of Grobelar’s, “the East Surrey were ordered forward to reinforce the 60th Rifles; and they helped them with such spirit to maintain the passive strife—the business, you might say, of using the flesh of men to resist the bullets of the enemy—that they were praised afterwards by the general and thanked by the 60th Rifles”. That day Lieutenant Colonel Harris “received ten separate wounds”. 

 

In the final assault on 27th February the East Surrey worked along with and to the right of the 1st Rifle Brigade, these regiments being the first line of attack on what was perhaps the most strongly fortified part of the position.  The work was handsomely done.

 

During the fourteen days the battalion’s losses were approximately 1 officer and 27 men killed, 6 officers and 86 men wounded.

 

The 2nd Battalion Queens West Surrey’s, initially brigaded with the 2nd Battalion East Surreys, fought at Colenso, the Tugela River, at Spionkop and in the Relief of Ladysmith; but after the first year most of the time was spent on tedious tasks of guarding lines of communication and blockhouses in pursuit of Lord Roberts’ policy of attrition against the Boer Commandos. It returned to Shorncliffe in 1904.

 

It wasn’t until the Boer War that the Queen’s and East Surreys were called upon to furnish troops for duties with the Mounted Infantry. The 2nd Battalions of the Queen’s and East Surreys sailed to South Africa in October 1899. By November, 1899 eight Companies of Mounted Infantry were formed comprising 1,048 men. It wasn’t until November, 1900 that several new Battalions were formed furnished by half companies from each infantry battalion. The 2nd Queen’s and 2nd East Surrey each supplied 50 men who, together with the same number from the 1st Durham Light Infantry were designated No 2 Company, 2nd Division, Mounted Infantry.

 

On 23 February, 1900, Col Harris lay all day long in a perfectly open space under close fire of a Boer breastwork. The Boers fired all day at any man who moved, and Col Harris was wounded eight or nine times. Pte Curtis, after several attempts, succeeded in reaching the Colonel, bound his wounded arm, and gave him his flask, all under fire. He then tried to carry him away, but was unable, on which he called for assistance, and Pte Morton came out at once. Fearing that the men would be killed, Col Harris told them to leave him, but they declined, and after trying to carry the Colonel on their rifles, they made a chair with their hands, and so carried him out of the fire.’