Before the great war on the Continent the King's Royal Rifle Corps were credited with the highest number of battle honours, viz., 40, the Gloucester Regiment being second with 34, then in order the Rifle Brigade 33, Highland Light Infantry 32, Black Watch and Gordon Highlanders 31 each, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Royal Scots, South Staffordshire Regiment and South Lancashire Regiment 29 each, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 27, Sherwood Foresters, Seaforth Highlanders, Royal Munster Fusiliers, Northamptonshire Regiment and Royal Dublin Fusiliers 25 each, and The Buffs, East Surrey Regiment and Grenadier Guards 24 each. The 16th Lancers have the highest number of honours amongst the Cavalry regiments, viz., 18, the 9th Lancers having 16, and the 14th Hussars 15. Many other matters of interest attaching to each regiment will be found in the following pages. [Illustration: Royal Escort of Life Guards at St. James's Palace.] [Illustration: Types of Royal Flying Corps Aeroplanes and Anti-Aircraft Gun] [Illustration] (_Record Office_, Aldershot) _Uniform_, Blue. _Facings_, Scarlet. _Service Uniform_, Khaki fold-over jacket, breeches, and putties, with turndown cap. Motto: _Per Ardua ad Astra_ (Through difficulties to the Stars). [Illustration: Qualified Pilot's Badge worn on left breast] ROYAL FLYING CORPS The great European war brought out in startling fashion the remarkable efficiency of the military aerial service, which is embodied in the Naval and Military Wings of the Royal Flying Corps. The Naval Wing is concerned chiefly with airships, while the Military Wing is devoted to work with aeroplanes and man-carrying kites. The Corps has its foundation in the old Balloon Company of the Royal Engineers, which in 1911 was absorbed into the Air Battalion Royal Engineers, when the aerial service of the army was placed on a sound basis. The headquarters were placed at Aldershot. On April 13th, 1913, the Royal Flying Corps was organised and developed in remarkable manner in methods, material, and men. When war was declared against Germany in 1914 the members of the Corps quickly achieved fame by their efficiency and daring, many decorations being won, notably the V.C. by Lieut. Warneford, who was killed soon after in an accident near Paris. Nicknames: "The Hawks," "The Sky Pilots." [Illustration] "Dettingen," "Peninsula," "Waterloo," "Tel-el-Kebir," "Egypt, 1882," "Relief of Kimberley," "Paardeberg," "South Africa, 1899-1900." _Uniform_, Scarlet. _Facings_, Blue. _Cloak_, Scarlet. _Head-dress_, White metal helmet with white plume; band and trumpeters, scarlet plume. _Cap_, Blue, with scarlet band. On State occasions the band and trumpeters wear a special tunic of crimson heavily braided with gold. A crimson cord is worn in the centre of the shoulder belt. Two scarlet stripes are worn down the side seams of the overalls.