| Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) | |
|---|---|
Cap badge of the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment (The Paschal Lamb) |
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| Active | 1661–1959 |
| Country | Kingdom of England (1661–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1959) |
| Branch | British Army |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 1–2 Regular Battalions 1 Militia Battalion (2nd Royal Surrey Regiment of Militia) 4 Volunteer Battalions |
| Part of | Home Counties Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Guildford[1] |
| Nickname | Kirke's Lambs, The Mutton Lancers |
| Motto | Pristinae Virtutis Memor (Mindful of Former Valour) Vel Exuviae Triumphans (Even in Defeat Triumphant) |
| March | Quick: The Braganza Slow: Scipio |
| Anniversaries | Glorious First of June (1 June) Salerno (9 September) |
The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959[2]. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence[3]. In 1959, it was amalgamated with The East Surrey Regiment, to form The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.
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The regiment was raised in 1661 by Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough as The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Foot on Putney Heath (then in Surrey) specifically to garrison the new English acquisition of Tangier, part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry when she married King Charles II. From this service, it was also known as the Tangier Regiment. As was usual at the time, it was also named after its current colonel, from one of whom, Percy Kirke, it acquired its nickname Kirke's Lambs.
In 1685, it was given the Royal title the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot (after Queen Catherine, widow of Charles II) and in 1703 became The Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1715, it was renamed The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Foot after Caroline of Ansbach, then Princess of Wales, and was re-designated The Queen's Own Regiment of Foot in 1727 when the Princess became Queen. It was ranked as 2nd Foot in the clothing regulations of 1747, and was renamed 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot by Royal warrant in 1751.
In the Childers reforms of 1881 it became the county regiment of West Surrey, named The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). In 1921, its title was slightly altered to The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey). In 1959, it was amalgamated with The East Surrey Regiment, to form The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.
The Regiment shipped to Tangier where it remained until the port was evacuated in 1684, when it returned to England. It took part in the suppression of the Monmouth Rebellion, fighting at the Battle of Sedgemoor, where it earned a widespread (but probably exaggerated[4]) reputation for brutality[5]. After the Glorious Revolution, it fought in Ireland for the new King, William III, defending the besieged Londonderry in 1689 and at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. From 1692 to 1696 it fought in Flanders in the Nine Years' War, at the Battle of Landen and the recapture of Namur in 1695.
During the War of Spanish Succession it served in the Iberian campaign, at Cadiz, Vigo, the sieges of Valencia de Alcantara, Alburquerque, Badajoz, Alcantara and Ciudad Rodrigo, and was virtually destroyed in the disastrous Battle of Almansa. In the campaign in the Low Countries in 1703, it defended Tongres against overwhelming odds, giving Lord Overkirk time to re-group his forces, until it was eventually captured[6]. It was for this action that it was awarded its Royal title and its mottoes. It spent most of the remainder of the 18th Century on garrison duty, being one of the regiments involved in putting down the Gordon Riots.
On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, detachments were in the West Indies and acting as marines in the Channel Fleet, notably at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, where they served on Howe’s flagship, Queen Charlotte and also on board Russell, Defence, Royal George and Majestic. In recognition of the Regiment's service, it was granted the distinction of wearing a Naval Crown superscribed 1 June 1794 on its colours. Another Regimental tradition dating from this victory was that of drinking the Loyal Toast seated (as is Royal Navy custom, owing to the difficulty of officers standing in the low, crowded and often unsteady wardroom of a man-of-war). This tradition is maintained by the successor Regiment, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. The Regiment was then reunited and sent to the West Indies where it took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1794, although the occupation was short-lived owing to outbreaks of disease, particularly yellow fever, among the troops, and the capture of Trinidad in 1797. A second battalion was formed in 1795 and stationed in Guernsey before being shipped to Martinique, where it was disbanded in 1797, its personnel being absorbed by 1st Battalion.
The Regiment was transferred to Ireland in 1798 where it helped put down the Irish rebellion and then took part in the unsuccessful 1799 Helder campaign. In 1800, it was part of the abortive expedition to Belle-Isle[7], from which it sailed to Egypt where it fought at the Battle of Alexandria and the Siege of Alexandria.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment first fought in the Peninsular War at the battles of Vimeiro and Corunna. It then took part in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign before returning to the Peninsula to fight at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, the second Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the Battle of Salamanca and the unsuccessful Siege of Burgos. By the winter of 1812, the Regiment was so depleted by casualties and disease that four companies were amalgamated with the equally weakened 2nd Battalion, 53rd Foot, to form the 2nd Provisional Battalion. Six cadre companies returned home to re-form. As part of the 4th Division, the Provisional Battalion took part in the Wellington's triumph at the Battle of Vittoria on 21 June, 1813, followed by the Siege of San Sebastian and, 1814, the battles of Orthes and Toulouse. In 1814, the Provisional Battalion was broken up and the Regiment re-formed.
The Regiment was on garrison duty in Baluchistan when the First Afghan War broke out in 1839. It formed part of the force that attacked the previously-impregnable city of Ghazni, taking the city by storm because the army lacked siege equipment, and opening the way to Kabul. It returned to India in November, 1839, storming the city of Khelat en route, and avoiding destruction along with the rest of Elphinstone's army.
It was shipped to the Cape Colony during the Eighth Kaffir War in 1851. On February 25th 1852 a draft of 51 men under the command of Ensign Boyland were aboard HMS Birkenhead travelling from Simon's Bay to Port Elizabeth when the ship struck rocks. The troops were assembled on deck and remained at attention to afford the embarked women and children time to take their place in the lifeboats. Shortly after this the ship broke up and the vast majority of the troops on board were either drowned or fell victim to sharks. The bravery of the troops, made up of cadres from ten different regiments, lead to the naming of Birkenhead Drill[8]. It once again became the 1st Battalion when the 2nd Battalion was reformed in 1857, and went to China in 1860 at the time of the Second Opium War, fighting at the Third Battle of Taku Forts and the capture of Beijing. In 1897–98, it took part in the Tirah Expedition on the North-West Frontier. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Third Anglo-Burmese War from 1886 to 1888 and in South Africa from 1899 to 1904 in the Second Boer War.
In 1909, many years after the event, the Regiment was granted the Battle Honour of "Tangier 1662-80", the oldest in the British Army. The Honour is still held by its successor, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre in August, 1914, and spent the entire war on the Western Front. The 2nd Battalion was in South Africa when war broke out and was shipped to France in November, 1914. It fought in France and Flanders until November, 1917, when it was sent to the Italian Front, taking part in the battles of the Piave and Vittorio Veneto. The Territorial and New Army battalions undertook a number of duties, including training, garrison duty around the Empire and combat service on several fronts[9].
The 1st Battalion spent the inter-war years on garrison duty, both in Britain and overseas. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Waziristan campaign of 1919-1920, attempting to pacify the tribal areas during the unrest following the Third Afghan War. It was in Palestine during the Insurgency of 1936-1939.
The 1st Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the Second World War and fought in the Burma Campaign throughout the war. The 2nd Battalion spent the early years of the war in the Middle East and Syria before also going out to the far East.
The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 and its personnel transferred to 1st Battalion (which had previously been reduced to nil strength in 1947). The reconstituted 1st Battalion fought the Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency from 1954-1957. In 1957, it returned to Germany where, in 1958, it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment, to form 1st Battalion, The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.
The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross: