The Flags of Our Fighting Army: Including standards, guidons, colours and drum banners — John Shaqi
The Flags of Our Fighting Army: Including standards, guidons, colours and drum bannersJohnson, Stanley C. (Stanley Currie)
History
The Flags of Our Fighting Army: Including standards, guidons, colours and drum banners
Johnson, Stanley C. (Stanley Currie)
Flags -- Great Britain
“It was superseded by a set worked by the white fingers of the English
princesses themselves—a probably unique honour. The Royal ladies were
the sisters of the Duke of Kent, then Colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.
Although exceedingly heavy and unwieldy, from being overloaded with rich
gold embroidery, these Colours appear to have been carried for some
time, and may have been in the turmoil at Albuhera. But history is
silent on the subject of the colours of the 7th in the Peninsula War,
although the Fusiliers saw a lot of fighting, and bear no fewer than
nine honours on their Colours in memory of the fact.
“In 1829 a new set of Colours was presented to the regiment by Lady
Augusta Fitzclarence, while stationed at Malta, after which the
princesses’ Colours were given to Lord Frederick Fitzclarence, not
reverting to the regiment until 50 or 60 years later, when one of the
Fitzclarence family kindly presented them.
“The 1829 set saw no active service, and were retired in 1851, shortly
before the Crimean War broke out, and their remains placed in the
garrison chapel at Portsmouth. The King’s Colour has now practically
disappeared, and the other has more than half gone, the three white
horses and other decorations having dropped off.
“The next set was also presented by Lady Augusta Fitzclarence, and saw
some stirring adventures in the battle of the Alma, soon after the
regiment landed to begin its march into the interior. Both officers who
carried the colours fell on this occasion, as did also relief after
relief in their turn. At length one of the Colours—the regimental—was
dropped in the rear of a Russian battery, and lay there while the
Coldstream Guards marched over it, without being aware of the fact—for
all eyes were fixed upon the enemy in front. It was finally picked up by
General Sir Percy Fielding, who sent it back to the 7th.
“In 1897 the second battalion of the regiment, the 1st Yorkshire Light
Infantry, and the 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment, participated in what was
probably a unique ceremony, all three battalions receiving their new
Colours at one and the same time from the hands of the Duchess of York,
now Queen Mary. The Duchess was assisted by Lord Roberts, and the
ceremony took place at Phœnix Park, Dublin, in the presence of a vast
crowd.”[13]
=The King’s (Liverpool Regiment).=—Facings: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 7th
(Isle of Man) Volunteers, and 9th batts., blue; 5th and 8th batts.,
black; 6th and 10th (Scottish) batts., scarlet.
R.C.—The White Horse within the Garter. The motto, “Nec aspera terrent”
(Nor do difficulties terrify us). In each of the four corners, the Royal
Cypher, ensigned with the imperial crown. The Sphinx, superscribed
“Egypt.”
The battle honours of the “Leather Hats” are: Blenheim; Ramillies;
Oudenarde; Malplaquet; Dettingen; Martinique, 1809; Niagara; Delhi,
1857; Lucknow; Peiwar Kotal; Afghanistan, 1878-80; Burma, 1885-87;
South Africa, 1899-1902; Defence of Ladysmith.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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