| Suffolk Regiment | |
|---|---|
Badge of the Suffolk Regiment |
|
| Active | 1685-1959 |
| Country | Kingdom of England (1685–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1959) |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 1–2 Regular Battalions 1–2 Militia and Special Reserve Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Bury St Edmunds |
| Nickname | "Old Dozen" |
| Engagements | Battle of Minden Eureka Rebellion Battle of Singapore |
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) in 1959. Its lineage is continued today by the Royal Anglian Regiment.
Contents |
The "Duke of Norfolk's Regiment of Foot" raised in 1685 incorporated men from the East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Until 1751 it was named after ten different colonels and was ranked in 1747 as the 12th Foot regiment. In 1751 it was retitled the 12th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 given a county association as the 12th (the East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot. In 1758 the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Regiment of Foot was redesignated as the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot. The 63rd Regiment of Foot (another regiment recruiting in Suffolk) became the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, which would later form the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment.
The 1st Battalion served in the Second Boer War.
By contrast between 1895 and 1914, the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment was not involved in hostilities. It was stationed for the majority of the time in India. Garrison postings during this period include; Secunderabad (India) 1895, Rangoon and the Andaman Islands (Burma) 1896 to 1899, Quetta (North West Frontier) 1899 to 1902, Karachi and Hyderabad (Northern India, now Pakistan) 1902 to 1905, Madras (India) 1905 to 1907, Aden 1907, Returning to Southhampton in 1908 after seeing 20 years overseas service as a battalion.[1]
During its service in India the 2nd Battalion became known as a "well officered battalion that compared favourably with the best battalion in the service having the nicest possible feeling amongst all ranks". The 2nd was also regarded as a good shooting battalion with high level of musketry skills.[2]
The spirit of independence and self reliance exhibited by officers and non-commissioned officers led to the 2nd Battalion taking first place in the Quetta Division of the British Army of India, from a military effectiveness point of view, in a six-day test. This test saw the men under arms for over 12 hours a day conducting a wide selection of military manoeuvres, including bridge building, retreats under fire, forced marches and defending ground and fixed fortifications.[3]
The value of the 2nd Battalion's 20 years of peacetime training was exemplified by their outstanding service to King and country at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914. In this action the 2nd Battalion undertook a fierce rear-guard defence out-manned and out-gunned by superior numbers of enemy. The 2nd held their defensive position despite losing their commanding officer, Lt. Col. C.A.H Brett D.S.O., at the commencement of the action and their second in command, Maj. E.C. Doughty, who was severely wounded after six hours of battle as he went forward to take ammunition to the hard-pressed battalion machine gunners.
Almost totally decimated as a fighting unit after over eight hours of incessant fighting, the 2nd Battalion was gradually outflanked but would still not surrender. This was despite the fact that the Germans, knowing the 2nd Battalion had no hope of survival, entreated them to surrender, even ordering the German buglers to sound the British Cease Fire and gesticulating for the men of the 2nd to lay down their arms. At length an overwhelming force rushed the 2nd Battalion from the rear, bringing down all resistance and the 2nd's defence of Le Cateau was at an end. Those remaining alive were taken captive by the Germans, spending the next four years as prisoners of war and not returning home until Christmas Day 1918.[4]
As an example of their valour and the level of training they had been subject to as a peacetime unit, it is noted that 720 men of 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment total roll call of some 1,000, many of whom had been with the battalion since the 1899 posting to Quetta, were killed, wounded or captured. This fight-to-the-last-man defence at Le Cateau was later recognised as a key factor in preventing the German occupation of Paris. (Bell 2007)
The 1/5th Battalion was a part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and saw action at Gallipoli (1915) and the First Battle of Gaza (1917).
The 4th and 5th (Territorial Army) Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment fought briefly in the defence of Singapore, with the 18th East Anglian Division, before British Commonwealth forces on that island surrendered on 15 February 1942. Men from the two battalions suffered great hardship as prisoners of war and only a few would survive the war.
The Suffolk Regiment Museum is at The Keep, Gibraltar Barracks, Newmarket Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons, medals, badges, insignia, photographs, regimental regalia and memorabilia. Admission is free.
| Preceded by 12th Regiment of Foot |
The Suffolk Regiment 1782–1959 |
Succeeded by 1st East Anglian Regiment |