The Second Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the South African War: With a Description of the Operations in the Aden HinterlandRomer, Cecil Francis
History
The Second Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the South African War: With a Description of the Operations in the Aden Hinterland
Romer, Cecil Francis
Great Britain. Army. Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 2nd Battalion; South African War, 1899-1902 -- Regimental histories
The officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the 2nd Battalion
of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers may well feel proud of the reception
accorded them on their return to their native land and city after a
long and arduous service under the British flag in foreign lands.
There was quite a contest for places on the gallery in the great
Central Hall of the Royal Dublin Society's buildings at Ballsbridge to
see the heroes of a regiment which had gained undying laurels in
Burmah, India, and South Africa. Exceptional arrangements had been
made for the entertainment of the battalion at Ballsbridge, and the
reception committee, which had for its chairman the Earl of Meath,
must be congratulated on the manner in which they carried out the
entertainment and provided for the enjoyment of such a large number of
guests. The arrangement of the hall was admirable in every respect. At
the further end a slightly-raised dais was placed and profusely
decorated with palms and evergreens, and immediately behind the chair
subsequently occupied by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught was the
regimental emblem introducing the figures of an elephant and a tiger;
the former bringing to mind the doughty deeds of the Dublin Fusiliers
in Burmah and the latter their equally splendid record on the historic
field of Plassey. At the back was the regimental motto, _Spectamur
Agendo_, and the roof and gallery railings were handsomely draped with
red, green, and blue muslin, while the names of the various
engagements in which the men took part were prominently displayed. On
the right-hand side of the hall four long rows of tables were placed,
handsomely prepared for the dinner, while the centre of the building
facing the dais was kept clear for the men to be drawn up in proper
formation to receive H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. The spacious
galleries reserved for ticket-holders were crowded long before the
hour fixed for the ceremony, 12.30 o'clock. Shortly before 10 o'clock
a large number of reservists of the battalion, about 250, and some
reservists from other battalions of the regiment assembled at the
Marshalsea Barracks, and under the command of Captain Perreau, Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, Adjutant 5th Battalion, and Major Baker, D.S.O.,
marched via Thomas Street, Cork Hill, Dame Street, Nassau Street,
Merrion Square North, Lower Mount Street, and Northumberland Road to
Ballsbridge. The men were dressed in civilian clothes, but wore their
medals and other decorations, and many showed by their appearance that
they, too, had played no insignificant part in the recent campaign.
They were accompanied by the massed bands of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th
Battalions Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The 2nd Battalion of the regiment
arrived from Buttevant by train at the Ballsbridge siding at 11.30
a.m., and marched across the roadway into the Royal Dublin Society's
premises. A great crowd of people watched the men detraining, and
several hearty rounds of cheering greeted their appearance. The men
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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