[Illustration: THE COLOURS OF THE TANGIER REGIMENT, 1684. (Now The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment.) To face page 2.] GIBRALTAR, 1704-05. This battle honour, which commemorates the capture of Gibraltar by the fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and the subsequent defence of the fortress under Prince George of Hesse, is borne by the following regiments: Grenadier Guards. Coldstream Guards. King's Own (Lancaster). Somerset Light Infantry. East Lancashire. East Surrey. Cornwall Light Infantry. Royal Sussex. Queen Anne caused a medal to be struck in recognition of the services of the senior officers at the capture of this historic fortress, but it was left to King Edward VII. to sanction the grant of the battle honour to the regiments which added the Rock to the possession of Great Britain. Owing to our having espoused the cause of Charles III. in the War of the Spanish Succession, a fleet of fifty sail was sent into the Mediterranean, under the command of Sir John Rooke, but it was practically placed at the disposal of King Charles. Embarked on the fleet under the command of Prince George of Hesse were the 4th (King's Own), 30th (East Lancashire), 31st (East Surrey), the 32nd (Cornwall Light Infantry), with Holt's and Shannon's Regiments, all acting as Marines. On July 22, 1704, the fleet anchored in Gibraltar Bay, and landed on what is now known as neutral ground. To a summons to surrender, the Governor sent a defiant answer. He, at all hazard, refused to recognize King Charles as his Sovereign, or our right to dictate to Spaniards in the choice of their monarch. On the following day Admiral Byng, with twenty-seven vessels, stood close in and silenced the batteries, when the bellicose Governor, in order to avoid the effusion of blood, accepted the terms offered. Rooke then landed the troops under Prince George, and sailed away to attack the allied fleets which were in the offing. In the course of the month of August he fought the Battle of Malaga, the effects of which were overshadowed by the glorious victory of Blenheim. The French and Spaniards were not prepared to sit down and see England established at the entrance of the Mediterranean, and at once took steps to recover possession of Gibraltar. We, on the other hand, took equally decisive measures to hold it. At that moment we had a considerable force in Portugal, acting in support of Charles III., and from this force reinforcements were immediately despatched to Gibraltar. CASUALTIES AT THE CAPTURE OF AND SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS AT GIBRALTAR, 1704-05.