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132-598: 1–2 militia battalions 2–4 Territorial and Volunteer battalions The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms , originally as the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) , by the amalgamation of the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot and

264-781: A Pioneer battalion on the Western Front. Several of the Service (Hostilities-only) battalions of the New Army fought in France and Flanders and in the Italian Front . At the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the 8th (Service) Battalion, raised the previous September, lost all but one of its officers, and 550 men. A war memorial (the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Cenotaph ) to the regiment's dead of

396-609: A bill was introduced to Parliament to allow Militia volunteers to serve in Europe. In the event only three battalions were raised, and these were sent to serve under Henry Bayly . On 12 April 1814 they arrived in Bordeaux , where they were attached to the 7th Division . After the Napoleonic Wars, the Militia fell into disuse, although regimental colonels and adjutants continued to appear in

528-430: A county basis, and filled by voluntary enlistment (although conscription by means of the militia ballot might be used if the counties failed to meet their quotas). It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army. Training was for 56 days on enlistment, then the recruits would return to civilian life but report for 21–28 days training per year. The full army pay during training and a financial retainer thereafter made

660-399: A jacket, trousers and slouch hat. Each man brought his own weapon, usually a hunting rifle, and his own horses. The average Boer citizens who made up their commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working lives in the saddle, and, because they had to depend on both their horses and their rifles for almost all of their meat, they were skilled hunters and expert marksmen . Most of

792-519: A long sword bayonet . Gunners of the Royal Artillery wore blue jackets. The Boer marksmen could easily snipe at British troops from a distance. The Boers carried no bayonets, leaving them at a substantial disadvantage in close combat, which they avoided as often as possible. Drawing on years of experience of fighting frontier skirmishes with numerous and indigenous African tribes, they relied more on mobility, stealth, marksmanship and initiative while

924-628: A negative image of the Transvaal in Britain. In April 1880, the Liberal Party was elected as the new government in Britain and the feeling in the Transvaal was that it would lead to the return of sovereignty to the Transvaal. However, the new British Prime Minister, W.E. Gladstone reiterated British control of the Transvaal. In October 1880, a newspaper from Paarl in the Cape Colony reported: "Passive resistance

1056-620: A partially changed role and the inclusion of members of the Women's Royal Army Corps (hence the designation 'Mixed'). The regiment still wore its 20th Londons cap badge, together with RA collar badges. About 1951 its personnel adopted a supplementary shoulder title of 'THE QUEEN'S OWN' in grey on black beneath the RA shoulder title and above the AA Command arm badge. AA Command was disbanded in March 1955, and as part of

1188-709: A proclamation of the annexation of the Transvaal Republic was made in Church Square, Pretoria, the capital city of the Transvaal. The Transvaal Republic was now known as the British Colony of the Transvaal. A Transvaal government delegation comprising Paul Kruger and E. J. P. Jorrisen went to London in 1877 to present their case on behalf of the Transvaal to Lord Carnarvon, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The Transvaal Volksraad (People's Council) asked Transvaal citizens not to commit acts of violence, as this would create

1320-463: A single regular battalion. and, as a result, the 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 (nominally being amalgamated with the 1st Battalion). When the Territorial Army was reconstituted in 1947, 633 Infantry Regiment reformed at Blackheath as 569 (The Queen's Own) Searchlight Regiment. In March 1949 it was redesignated 569 (The Queen's Own) (Mixed) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, reflecting

1452-553: A time when Britain was engaged in the scramble for African colonies with France and Germany. In 1896, Cecil Rhodes , Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, attempted to overthrow the government of Paul Kruger who was then president of the South African Republic or the Transvaal. The raid, known as Jameson Raid , failed. By 1899, tensions erupted into the Second Boer War , caused partly by the rejection of an ultimatum by

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1584-609: A uniform), and after six months full-time training would be discharged into the reserve. The first intake was called up, but the Second World War was declared soon afterwards, and the militiamen lost their identity in the rapidly expanding army. Two units still maintain their militia designation in the British Army , in the Army Reserve . These are the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (formed in 1539) and

1716-483: A useful addition to the men's civilian wage. Of course, many saw the annual camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations , who could leave their civilian job and pick it up again. The militia was also a significant source of recruits for the Regular Army, where men had received a taste of army life. An officer's commission in

1848-664: Is based at Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery in Maidstone . The Home Guard platoon in the BBC series Dad's Army wore the cap badge of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. The battle honours were as follows: As the 97th Foot the regiment wore sky-blue facings on the standard red coats of the British line infantry . This colour, which was unusual in the British Army, was obtained from

1980-902: Is now becoming futile". With the defeat of the Zulus , and the Pedi, the Transvaal Boers were able to give voice to the growing resentment against the 1877 British annexation of the Transvaal and complained that it had been a violation of the Sand River Convention of 1852, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley , after returning briefly to India, finally took over as Governor of Natal, Transvaal, High Commissioner of SE Africa and Military Commander in July 1880. Multiple commitments prevented Colley from visiting

2112-459: Is the struggle you have embarked upon, and how little any accidental success gained can affect the ultimate result". Without waiting for a reply, Colley led his Natal Field Force – consisting of 1,400 men, an 80-strong Naval brigade, artillery and Gatling guns – to a strategic pass in the hills on the Natal-Transvaal border called Laing's Nek . At the battle of Laing's Nek on 28 January 1881,

2244-438: The 13th Brigade in the 5th Division . Among its first major engagements were the Battle of Mons on 23 August and the Battle of Le Cateau three days later. In October, the battalion made a heroic stand at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle ; being the only unit not to fall back. Out of 750 men, only 300 commanded by a lieutenant and a second lieutenant survived. Apart from a brief period from December 1917 to April 1918, when it

2376-479: The 308th Infantry Brigade . The 8th ( Home Defence ) Battalion was raised in 1939, presumably from the National Defence Companies and would have consisted of men with previous military experience, but who were too old or unfit for active duties, along with younger soldiers. In 1940, the younger soldiers of the battalion were split to help form the 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion. In 1941, the battalion

2508-517: The 36th Infantry Brigade , which included the 2/6th East Surrey Regiment (later replaced by the 5th Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) ), itself assigned to the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division , a 2nd Line TA duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division. They were sent to France in April 1940 to join the rest of the BEF. The division suffered very heavy casualties in the Battle of Dunkirk , mainly due to most of

2640-579: The 5th Indian Infantry Division , and fought in the 1944 Burma Campaign , where the battalion played a major role in the Battle of the Tennis Court , part of the larger Battle of Kohima , against the Imperial Japanese Army . During the battle, Lance Corporal John Harman of the 4th Battalion was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross , the first and only to be awarded to the regiment during

2772-582: The 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot . In January 1921, the regiment was renamed the Royal West Kent Regiment (Queen's Own) and, in April of the same year, was again renamed, this time as the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment . After distinguished service in the Second Boer War , along with both the First and the Second World Wars , on 1 March 1961, the regiment was amalgamated with

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2904-600: The Army List . Whilst muster rolls were still prepared during the 1820s, the element of compulsion was abandoned. For example, the City Of York Militia & Muster Rolls run to 1829. They used a pre-printed form with a printer's date of Sept 1828. The Militia was revived by the Militia Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 50), enacted during a period of international tension. As before, units were raised and administered on

3036-419: The Battle for Caen , Operation Market Garden and Operation Plunder . The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion was raised in 1940 from the younger soldiers of the 8th (Home Defence) Battalion and also from volunteers around the age of 18 or 19 who had volunteered for service in the British Army and, therefore, were not yet old enough to be conscripted , with the age being 20 at that time. The battalion remained in

3168-590: The Battle of Ginnis during the Mahdist War . It spent the years up to the outbreak of the First World War on garrison duty, including at Ceylon (together with the 2nd battalion) and Malta . In 1899, at least twenty members of the regiment raped an elderly Burmese woman in Rangoon, who subsequently died. The matter was initially covered up by military authorities, but when the viceroy, Lord Curzon , upon learning of

3300-638: The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) to form the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment , which was destined to be short-lived. On 31 December 1966, the Queen's Own Buffs was merged with the other regiments of the Home Counties Brigade —the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment , the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment —to form the Queen's Regiment , which was in turn amalgamated with

3432-730: The Cape Colony ). Following the Battle of Blaauwberg (1806) Britain had officially acquired the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa from the Dutch in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars . Certain groups of Dutch-speaking settler farmers ( Boers ) resented British rule, even though British control brought some economic benefits. Successive waves of migrations of Boer farmers (known as Trekboers which literally means "travelling farmers"), probed first east along

3564-659: The County of London . The Childers reforms also affiliated Militia and Volunteer battalions with their local county regiments, giving the Royal West Kents the following organisation: Regulars Militia Volunteers The 1st Battalion fought at the second battle at Kassassin on 9 September 1882 and at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir a few days later during Anglo-Egyptian War . It then spent two years on garrison duty in Cyprus before being transferred to Sudan , where it fought at

3696-805: The Drakensberg mountains, surrounded by the Cape Colony , the Orange Free State and Natal ), following an appeal from Moshoeshoe , the leader of a mixed group of mostly Sotho -speaking refugees from the Difaqane who sought British protection against both the Boers and the Zulus . In the 1880s, the Tswana country became an object of dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to

3828-645: The Dunkirk evacuation , but had suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of two rifle companies . After returning, the battalion was again transferred, in September, to the 12th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division. It remained in the United Kingdom, mainly engaged in anti-invasion duties , coastal defence, and training for future combat operations until February 1943, where the battalion left for French North Africa , arriving in Algeria in March, to take part in

3960-424: The First World War , but their rank and file did not, since the object of the special reserve was to supply drafts of replacements for the overseas units of the regiment. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to Supplementary Reserve in 1924, though the units were effectively placed in "suspended animation" until disbanded in 1953. The term militiaman was briefly revived in 1939. In

4092-500: The First World War , over 60,000 men served with the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). Three VCs were awarded. However, 6,866 officers and other ranks lost their lives, with many thousands more wounded. The 1st Battalion, which was a Regular Army unit stationed in Dublin at the outbreak of war in August 1914, was one of the first units to be moved to France where it became part of

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4224-667: The Great Trek , and those who took part in it are called Voortrekkers . Indeed, the British subsequently acknowledged two new Boer Republics in a pair of treaties: the Sand River Convention of 1852 recognised the independence of the Transvaal Republic, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854 recognised the independence of the Orange Free State. However, British colonial expansion, from the 1830s, featured skirmishes and wars against both Boers and native African tribes for most of

4356-626: The Greek Civil War . The 2nd Battalion was part of the garrison of Malta during its protracted siege . It then formed part of the 234th Infantry Brigade in the abortive assault on the Italian-held Dodecanese islands in 1943, being captured by the Germans on the island of Leros . Some of the prisoners were transported in cattle trucks from Greece to Wernigerode, in the Harz Mountains , where they were forced to work in support of

4488-604: The Jersey Field Squadron (The Royal Militia Island of Jersey) (formed in 1337). First Boer War Boer victory [REDACTED]   British Empire The First Boer War ( Afrikaans : Eerste Vryheidsoorlog , lit.   ' First Freedom War ' ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic

4620-701: The London Convention of 1884 which removed the SAR from British influence. In 1885, tensions rose between Transvaal and the British Government when gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand farm, which led to an influx of foreign (mostly British) labor . This new workforce of mostly British citizens threatened the balance of power in the Transvaal, and increased tensions between them and the British Empire. In 1895

4752-636: The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) during the Malayan Emergency . During their time in Malaya, the West Kents fought and killed numerous MNLA guerrillas, many of which they decapitated. Later in 2001, former soldiers of the regiment admitted that this was a common practice among British units in Malaya, and that it caused a public outcry after public knowledge. Later they took part in

4884-425: The Order of Saint Patrick decoration and led to the "Celestials" nickname. The 50th Foot (the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment) had black facings until 1831 and subsequently dark blue. Officers wore silver braid and other distinctions until gold was introduced in 1830. The khaki service dress adopted in 1902, and battle dress from 1938, were both of the universal pattern. Colonels-in-Chief of

5016-409: The Royal Hampshire Regiment , on 9 September 1992, to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) . Throughout its existence, the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was popularly and operationally known as the Royal West Kents . When the regiment was formed, Kent was one of five counties (the others being Surrey , Staffordshire , Lancashire and Yorkshire ) that

5148-406: The Siege of Kut in April 1916. The remaining companies were attached to 34th Indian Brigade (part of 15th Indian Division ), and were transferred to 17th Indian Division in August 1917. The 2nd Battalion remained in Mesopotamia for the duration of the war. On mobilisation the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion moved to its war station at Chatham , where it remained until the summer of 1918. Its role

5280-423: The War Office began to reorganise surplus Anti-aircraft regiments in the United Kingdom into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. The 34th was one of the units selected for conversion to the infantry role, becoming 633rd (Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Infantry Regiment, Royal Artillery and joined

5412-425: The occupation of the Suez canal zone in 1956. Between 1958–1959 the regiment were sent to fight against the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) during the Cyprus Emergency . In 1959, it returned to Britain for the last time, being amalgamated in 1961 with the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) , to form the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment . The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum

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5544-501: The 1/4th joining, in February 1918, the 3rd Quetta Brigade of 4th (Quetta) Division , the 1/5th to 54th Indian Brigade in the 18th Indian Division . The 2/4th Battalion, originally assigned along with 2/5th Battalion to 202nd (2/1st Kent) Brigade of 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division , took part in the Gallipoli Campaign in Autumn 1915 and then, having been evacuated, fought in the First Battle of Gaza in March 1917. The 3/4th Battalion landed at Le Havre in June 1917 and served as

5676-421: The 1870s the British annexed West Griqualand , site of the Kimberley diamond-discoveries. In 1875 the Earl of Carnarvon , the British Colonial Secretary , in an attempt to extend British influence, approached the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic and tried to organise a federation of the British and Boer territories modelled on the 1867 federation of the French and English provinces of Canada. However

5808-472: The 6th Battalion, commanded by a future politician for the Conservative Party , Lieutenant Colonel Paul Bryan , landed in Italy on 24 September 1943. Like the 5th Battalion, the 6th Royal West Kents was engaged in combat throughout most of the Italian Campaign, seeing action in the Moro River Campaign, the Battle of Monte Cassino, the fighting around the Gothic Line, and the final offensive in Italy in April 1945, followed shortly after by Germany's surrender and

5940-424: The 92nd Highlanders had cut and run in the face of Boer irregulars. This defeat had such an impact that during the Second Boer War , one of the British slogans was "Remember Majuba." Hostilities continued until 6 March 1881, when a truce was declared, ironically on the same terms that Colley had disparaged. The Transvaal forts had endured, contrary to Colley's forecast, with the sieges being generally uneventful,

6072-438: The Archbishop of Canterbury. At the end of the war, the 1st Battalion was transferred back to India, where it fought (along with the Territorial 1/4th Battalion) in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and then helped put down a Mahsud tribal rebellion in the Northwest Frontier in 1920. It spent the next decade in India and returned home to the United Kingdom in 1937. The 2nd Battalion returned to India from Mesopotamia in 1919, and to

6204-415: The Boer strength and capabilities. Indeed, strategists have speculated as to whether the convoy should have proceeded at all when it was known to be vulnerable to attack, and whether it was necessary for Colley himself to take command of the British guard. Colley's decision to initiate the attack at Majuba Hill when truce discussions were already underway appears to have been foolhardy, particularly as there

6336-420: The Boer uprising in Pretoria, when they were ambushed by Boer Forces near the Bronkhorstspruit Stream , about 120 men were killed or wounded by Boer fire within minutes of the first shots. Boer losses totalled two killed and five wounded. This mainly Irish regiment was marching westward toward Pretoria, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther, when halted by a Boer commando group. They were halted when they approached

6468-438: The Boers content to wait for hunger and sickness to take their toll. The forts had suffered only light casualties as an outcome of sporadic engagements, except at Potchefstroom, where twenty-four were killed, and seventeen at Pretoria, in each case resulting from occasional raids on Boer positions. Although the Boers exploited their advantages to the full, their unconventional tactics, marksmanship and mobility do not fully explain

6600-410: The Boers had single-shot breech-loading rifle , primarily the .450 Westley Richards , a falling-block, single-action, breech-loading rifle, with accuracy up to 600 yards. J. Lehmann's The First Boer War , 1972, comments "Employing chiefly the very fine breech-loading Westley Richards - calibre 45; paper cartridge; percussion-cap replaced on the nipple manually - they made it exceedingly dangerous for

6732-450: The British command, in particular Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley, although poor intelligence and bad communications also contributed to their losses. At Laing's Nek it seems that Colley not only underestimated the Boer capabilities, but had been misinformed of, and was surprised by, the strength of the Boer forces. The confrontation at Ingogo Nek was perhaps rash, given that reserves were being sent, and Colley had by then experienced

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6864-447: The British emphasised the traditional military values of command, discipline, formation and synchronised firepower. The average British soldier was not trained to be a marksman and got little target practice. What shooting training British soldiers had was mainly as a unit firing in volleys on command. On 20 December 1880, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Robert Anstruther and men of the 94th Foot ( Connaught Rangers ) were on their way to quell

6996-461: The British gradually extended their control outwards from the Cape along the coast toward the east, eventually annexing Natal in 1843. The Trekboers were farmers, gradually extending their range and territory with no overall agenda. The formal abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834 led to more organised groups of Boer settlers attempting to escape British rule, some travelling as far north as modern-day Mozambique . This became known as

7128-406: The British lost 139 officers and troops, half the original force that had set out to escort the mail convoy. Colley had been forced to leave behind many of the wounded to die of exposure. In the space of ten days, he had lost one-quarter of his field force, either dead or wounded. "One or two Pyrrhic victories like this and we shan't have an army left at all", Lieutenant Percival Marling wrote at

7260-671: The British to expose themselves on the skyline". Other rifles included the Martini-Henry and the Snider–Enfield . Only a few had repeaters like the Winchester or the Swiss Vetterli . As hunters they had learned to fire from cover, from a prone position and to make the first shot count, knowing that if they missed, in the time it took to reload, the game would be long gone. At community gatherings, they often held target shooting competitions using targets such as hens' eggs perched on posts over 100 yards away. The Boer commandos made for expert light cavalry , able to use every scrap of cover from which they could pour accurate and destructive fire at

7392-419: The British. The British infantry uniforms at that date were red jackets, dark blue trousers with red piping on the side, white pith helmets and pipe clayed equipment, a stark contrast to the African landscape. The Highlanders wore the kilt , and khaki uniforms (They had just been involved in the Second Afghan War ). The standard infantry weapon was the Martini-Henry single-shot breech-loading rifle with

7524-529: The British. The Transvaal ultimatum had demanded that all disputes between the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (allied since 1897) be settled by arbitration and that British troops should leave. The lure of gold made it worth committing the vast resources of the British Empire and incurring the huge costs required to win that war. However, the sharp lessons the British had learned during the First Boer War – which included Boer marksmanship, tactical flexibility and good use of ground – had largely been forgotten when

7656-405: The Bronkhorstspruit, 38 miles from Pretoria . The Boer leader, Commandant Frans Joubert (brother of General Piet Joubert ), ordered Anstruther and the column to turn back, stating that the territory was now again a Boer Republic and therefore any further advance by the British would be deemed an act of war. Anstruther refused and ordered that ammunition be distributed. The Boers opened fire and

7788-414: The County of London, so the 2nd and 3rd Volunteer battalions became the 20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich) in the new London Regiment . The 4th Volunteer Battalion was disbanded, and the 1st VB was formed into the 4th and 5th Battalions of the QORWK in the Kent Brigade of the TF's Home Counties Division . The regiment now had one Reserve and three Territorial battalions. During

7920-403: The European war over. After leaving the 36th Brigade, the 7th Battalion was reassigned to the 136th Brigade , 45th Division until early 1943, when it was reassigned to the 211th Infantry Brigade . On 2 May 1944, the 7th Battalion was formally disbanded and was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, to replace the original 2nd lost in the Dodecanese Campaign . From 23 July until the end of the war

8052-415: The First World War stands in Brenchley Gardens in Maidstone. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens , who was responsible for the Cenotaph in London among many other war memorials, the memorial is a cenotaph almost identical to that on Whitehall but reduced to two-thirds scale and lacking adorning flags. It was unveiled on 30 July 1921 by Major General Sir Edmund Leach , colonel of the regiment , and dedicated by

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8184-410: The German war effort. Others were transported by cattle train from Greece through the Balkans , to Stalag IV-B in Mühlburg , the largest prisoner of war camp in Germany. They were liberated by the advancing Russian Army on 23 April 1945. The battalion was reconstituted in 1944 by amalgamating the few remaining survivors (less than 100 officers and men) with the 7th Battalion and redesignating it as

8316-446: The Natal Field Force under Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley attempted with cavalry and infantry attacks to break through the Boer positions on the Drakensberg mountain range to relieve their garrisons. The British were repelled with heavy losses by the Boers under the command of Piet Joubert. 480 British troops were engaged, suffering 150 casualties. Furthermore, sharpshooting Boers had killed or wounded many senior officers. At

8448-420: The QORWK in the case of the 20th Londons, which reformed in the new Territorial Army as the 20th London Regiment (The Queen's Own) . In 1935, the 20th Londons was selected for conversion to the searchlight role as 34th (The Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Anti-Aircraft Battalion of the Royal Engineers , later 34th (The Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Searchlight Regiment of the Royal Artillery . Despite transfer to

8580-412: The RE, the battalion continued to wear its Kentish White Horse cap badge and 20th Londons buttons. The 1st Battalion was part of the 10th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division . Soon after the outbreak of war in September 1939, the battalion was sent to France where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Unlike in the Great War the battalion was not immediately in action, and

8712-401: The Second World War. The 5th Battalion of the regiment, recruiting from Bromley , had virtually the same service history as the 4th, with the exception that, when the 44th Division was disbanded, the 5th Battalion was transferred to the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade , now serving alongside two battalions of the Indian Army , of the 8th Indian Infantry Division . With the rest of the division,

8844-419: The Transvaal Volksraad (parliament). The agreement did not reinstate fully the independence of the Transvaal but kept the state under British suzerainty. British troops withdrew and in 1884, the Pretoria Convention was superseded by the London Convention , which provided for full independence and self-government although still with British control of foreign relations. When in 1886 a second major mineral find

8976-588: The Transvaal became besieged . Although generally called a war, the actual engagements were of a relatively minor nature considering the few men involved on both sides and the short duration of the combat, lasting some ten weeks. The fiercely independent Boers had no regular army; when danger threatened, all the men in a district would form a militia organised into military units called commandos and would elect officers. Commandos being civilian militia, each man wore what he wished, usually everyday dark-grey, neutral-coloured, or earthtone khaki farming clothes such as

9108-443: The Transvaal formally declared independence from the United Kingdom, the war began on 16 December 1880 with shots fired by Transvaal Boers at Potchefstroom . During this skirmish, the Boer "commando" was led by General Piet Cronjé . This led to the action at Bronkhorstspruit on 20 December 1880, where the Boers ambushed and destroyed a British Army convoy . From 22 December 1880 to 6 January 1881, British army garrisons all over

9240-463: The Transvaal where he knew many of the senior Boers. Instead he relied on reports from the Administrator, Sir Owen Lanyon , who had no understanding of the Boer mood or capability. Belatedly Lanyon asked for troop reinforcements in December 1880 but was overtaken by events. The Boers revolted on 16 December 1880 and took action at Bronkhorstspruit against a British column of the 94th Foot who were returning to reinforce Pretoria . The trigger for

9372-428: The United Kingdom for its existence, mainly on home defence and anti-invasion duties, or guarding airfields for the Royal Air Force . However, the battalion was disbanded in 1943 as the British government lowered the age of conscription for the British Armed Forces from 20 to 18. After the end of the Second World War and with Indian independence in 1948, all infantry regiments in the British Army were reduced to only

9504-525: The United Kingdom in 1921, briefly becoming part of the British Army of the Rhine . It was stationed at various garrisons in the United Kingdom until 1937, when it moved to Palestine to help with the suppression of the Arab revolt . In 1939, it was moved to Malta . The London Regiment had ceased to function in 1916, the battalions reverting to the administrative control of their pre-1908 affiliated Regular regiments –

9636-699: The United Kingdom in March 1900, to mobilize into a new 8th Division going to South Africa which was in the middle of the Second Boer War . A total of 1,030 officers and men of the regiment left Southampton in the SS Bavarian in March 1900, but the regiment's only action was a skirmish at Biddulphsberg , alongside the 2nd battalions of the Grenadier and Scots Guards . It stayed in South Africa until early November 1902, when it left Cape Town for Ceylon , then served in Hong Kong , Singapore , Peshawar and Multan before

9768-524: The War Office from that time onwards. Under the reforms introduced by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, the remaining militia infantry regiments were redesignated as numbered battalions of regiments of the line, ranking after the two regular battalions. Typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions (the 3rd and 4th) and Irish regiments three (numbered 3rd – 5th). The militia must not be confused with

9900-489: The affair, dismissed many of the men involved and punished the regiment by sending it to Aden for two years without any leave. The 2nd Battalion was deployed to South Africa shortly after its formation, in the aftermath of the First Boer War . It was then posted to Ireland and spent the remaining years of the 19th century in the United Kingdom before being sent to Egypt in 1899. After only six months, they returned to

10032-503: The aftermath of the Munich Crisis Leslie Hore-Belisha , Secretary of State for War , wished to introduce a limited form of conscription , an unheard of concept in peacetime. It was thought that calling the conscripts 'militiamen' would make this more acceptable, as it would render them distinct from the rest of the army. Only single men aged 20–22 were to be conscripted (given a free suit of civilian clothes as well as

10164-420: The ambushed British troops were annihilated. In the ensuing engagement, the column lost 56 men dead and 92 wounded. With the majority of his troops dead or wounded, the dying Anstruther ordered surrender. The Boer uprising caught the six small British forts scattered around the Transvaal by surprise. They housed some 2,000 troops between them, including irregulars with as few as fifty soldiers at Lydenburg in

10296-634: The battalion fought in the Italian Campaign , alongside the 1st (until it was sent to Greece) and 6th battalions for the rest of the war, and landed in Taranto , Italy on 24 September 1943, shortly after the initial invasion . The battalion fought in the Moro River Campaign and later the Battle of Monte Cassino , the Gothic Line and the final offensive . The 6th and 7th Battalions were both part of

10428-624: The battalion, now up to strength again, was sent to the Italian Front , and fought in the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino and, after pursuing the retreating German Army , where they helped breach the Trasimene Line , took part in the battles for the Gothic Line . In December 1944, the battalion was transferred to Greece to help maintain order after the German withdrawal and the subsequent break out of

10560-629: The battle of Schuinshoogte (also known as Battle of the Carrots) on 8 February 1881, another British force barely escaped destruction. General Colley had sought refuge with the Natal Field Force at Mount Prospect , three miles to the south, to await reinforcements. However, Colley was soon back in action. On 7 February, a mail escort on its way to Newcastle had been attacked by the Boers and forced back to Mount Prospect. The next day Colley, determined to keep his supplies and communication route open, escorted

10692-553: The coast away from the Cape toward Natal, and thereafter north toward the interior, eventually establishing the republics that came to be known as the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (literally "across/beyond the Vaal River"). The British did not try to stop the Trekboers from moving away from the Cape. The Trekboers functioned as pioneers, opening up the interior for those who followed, and

10824-529: The cultural and historical context differed entirely, and the Boer leaders turned him down. Successive British annexations, and in particular the annexation of West Griqualand, caused a climate of simmering unease in the Boer republics. In 1877, the British annexed the Transvaal, which was bankrupt, and under threat from the Zulu. The president of the Transvaal Republic from 1872 to 1877 was T.F. Burgers. The Transvaal Republic

10956-509: The deaths of many British soldiers and Colley himself. The First Boer War was the first conflict since the American War of Independence in which the British had been decisively defeated and forced to sign a peace treaty under unfavourable terms. The Battle of Laing's Nek would be the last occasion where a British regiment carried its official regimental colours into battle. The British government, under Prime Minister William Gladstone ,

11088-457: The division – was preparing to be sent to the Far East , but the move was cancelled when Imperial Japan surrendered ending the war. The 4th Battalion was a Territorial Army (TA) unit that recruited primarily from Royal Tunbridge Wells and formed part of the 132nd Infantry Brigade , serving alongside the 5th West Kents and the 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) . The 132nd Brigade

11220-621: The division, the 6th Royal West Kents landed in North Africa during Operation Torch and were involved in the Run for Tunis . The battalion fought throughout the Tunisian Campaign , notably helping to capture Longstop Hill in April 1943, and later fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily from July to August 1943. The 6th Battalion was serving with the 78th Division throughout the war. Shortly Afterwards,

11352-502: The east which Anstruther had just left. Being isolated, and with so few men, all the forts could do was prepare for a siege and wait to be relieved. By 6 January 1881, Boers had begun to besiege Lydenburg . The other five forts, with a minimum of fifty miles between any two, were at Wakkerstroom and Standerton in the south, Marabastad in the north and Potchefstroom and Rustenburg in the west. Boers begun to besiege Marabastad fort on 29 December 1880. The three main engagements of

11484-554: The east, and the British in the Cape Colony to the south. Although the Tswana country had at the time almost no economic value, the " Missionaries Road " passed through it toward territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand (modern Namibia ) in 1884, the British annexed Bechuanaland in two parts in 1885: the Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern Botswana ) and British Bechuanaland (later part of

11616-423: The end of January 1877 Shepstone admitted to Burgers that Britain was going to annex the Transvaal Republic. Burgers' response was to convince the Transvaal government to act in a more serious manner, but the Transvaal government refused to see the urgency of their predicament. Lord Carnarvon thought that the annexation of the Transvaal would be the first step in creating a British confederation. On 12th April 1877,

11748-587: The final stages of the Tunisian Campaign . The battalion, in late April, suffered over 300 casualties assaulting Peter's Corner and Cactus Farm. The campaign ended in mid-May 1943, with over 238,000 Axis soldiers surrendering. The battalion remained in North Africa, where, due to its heavy losses in Tunisia, it served as a reserve battalion, sending drafts of soldiers to other units as battle-casualty replacements. It remained in this role until late 1943, and in February 1944,

11880-523: The first few months of the conflict were spent digging trenches and defensive positions in expectation of a repeat of the trench warfare of the Great War. In early May 1940 the battalion was transferred to the 132nd Infantry Brigade of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division , a TA formation which also included the 4th and 5th Battalions. The battalion fought in the Battle of France and the subsequent retreat to Dunkirk soon after, returning to England via

12012-579: The garrisons would not survive until then. Consequently, at Newcastle , near the Transvaal border, he mustered a relief column (the Natal Field Force ) of available men, although this amounted to only 1,200 troops. Colley's force was further weakened in that few were mounted, a serious disadvantage in the terrain and for that type of warfare. Most Boers were mounted and good riders. Nonetheless, Colley's force set out on 24 January 1881 northward for Laing's Nek en route to relieve Wakkerstroom and Standerton,

12144-493: The greatest defeat for the British. The British, though they had the superior numbers, were slaughtered. On 26 February 1881, Colley led a night march of some 400 men from the 92nd Highlanders, the 58th Regiment, and the Natal Brigade. They reached the top of Majuba Hill, which overlooked the main Boer position. The troops took no artillery with them. At first light, a group of Highlanders advertised their presence by standing on

12276-568: The heavy British losses. Like the Boers, British soldiers were equipped with breech-loading rifles (the Martini-Henry), but they (unlike the Boers) were professionals, and the British Army had previously fought campaigns in difficult terrain and against an elusive enemy, such as the tribesmen of the Northern Territories in modern-day Afghanistan . Historians lay much of the blame at the feet of

12408-423: The hillside. The British suffered heavy losses, with 92 killed, 134 injured, and 59 men were taken prisoner. Major-General Colley was among the dead; he was fatally shot in the head when trying to rally his men. Of the Boers, six were wounded, one fatally. Within 30 minutes the British were swept off the summit. For the British the shame of Majuba was even more intense than that of Isandlwana . Elite units like

12540-467: The mail wagon personally and this time with a larger escort. The Boers attacked the convoy at the Ingogo River crossing, but with a stronger force of some 400 men. The firepower was not matched and the fight continued for several hours, but the Boer marksmen dominated the action until darkness when a storm permitted Colley and the remainder of his troops to retreat back to Mount Prospect. In this engagement,

12672-420: The meantime had offered a Royal Commission investigation and possible troop withdrawal and their attitude toward the Boers was conciliatory. Colley was critical of this stance and, while waiting for Kruger's final agreement, decided to attack again with a view to enabling the British government to negotiate from a position of strength. This resulted in the disaster of the Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881,

12804-448: The men being poorly trained and equipped and with little in the way of supporting units, and was disbanded in July 1940 and the 36th Brigade became an independent brigade. In June 1942, the 36th Brigade was assigned to the 78th Battleaxe Infantry Division . On 20 August 1942, however, the 7th Battalion left the brigade and was reassigned elsewhere, being replaced in the brigade by the 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders . With

12936-401: The militia was often a 'back door' route to a Regular Army commission for young men who could not obtain one through purchase or gain entry to Sandhurst . Under the act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time service in three circumstances: Until 1852 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but the 1852 Act introduced Militia Artillery units whose role

13068-620: The nearest forts. In a display of diplomacy before the beginning of the Battle, British commander Sir George Colley sent a message on 23 January 1881 to the Commandant-General of the Boers, Piet Joubert , calling on him to disband his forces or face the full might of Imperial Britain. He wrote "The men who follow you are, many of them ignorant, and know and understood a little of anything outside their own country. But you, who are well educated and have travelled, cannot but be unaware how hopeless

13200-457: The necessary physical requirements.' A further contrast was the replacement of several weeks of preliminary training with six months of full time training upon enlisting in the Special Reserve. Upon mobilisation, the special reserve units would be formed at the depot and continue training while guarding vulnerable points in Britain. The special reserve units remained in Britain throughout

13332-561: The new 2nd Battalion was assigned to the 184th Brigade of the 61st Division . By the end of 1944, the 21st Army Group fighting on the Western Front was suffering from a severe shortage of manpower, particularly among the infantry who had all suffered heavy casualties by this time. At the same time, the Luftwaffe was so short of pilots, aircraft and fuel that serious aerial attacks on the United Kingdom could be discounted. In January 1945,

13464-416: The new 2nd Battalion. The 7th Battalion had been a training and draft finding formation assigned to the 211th Infantry Brigade , which was part of the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division . In July 1944, the new 2nd Battalion was assigned to the 184th Infantry Brigade attached to the 61st Division , with which it remained for the rest of the war on home defence duties. In August 1945, the battalion – as well as

13596-517: The next two years on home defence against a German invasion . The division left the United Kingdom in May 1942 and went on to serve in the North African Campaign , at Alam el Halfa and El Alamein , until the 44th Division was disbanded in early 1943. The 4th Battalion was then transferred to the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade (alongside 1/ 1st Punjab Regiment and 4/ 7th Rajput Regiment ), part of

13728-592: The outbreak of the First World War. Between 1881 and 1913, the regiment lost 219 men: 22 killed in action or died from wounding, 12 by accident, and 185 from disease. A memorial for those who died in service exists in All Saints Church, Maidstone , which is located next to the regiment's barracks. By the time the Territorial Force was created in 1908, the suburban area of West Kent had been transferred to

13860-462: The reduction the regiment was merged into 265 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, becoming 'Q Battery (The Queens Own)', based at Lewisham. Further reductions in 1961 saw the whole regiment become 'Q (London) Battery' at Grove Park, perpetuating the history of four separate London battalions and regiments, and the Queen's Own lineage was discontinued. From 1951 to 1954, the sole remaining Regular Battalion fought against pro-independence guerrillas belonging to

13992-463: The regiment were: Colonels of the regiment were: [REDACTED]   New Zealand – 1st (Canterbury) Regiment (1913–1921) Militia (United Kingdom) A separate voluntary Local Militia was created in 1808 before being disbanded in 1816. By 1813 the British Army was experiencing a shortage of manpower to maintain their battalions at full strength. Some consideration was given to recruiting foreign nationals; however, on 4 November 1813

14124-592: The regular forces. Volunteer Corps required recruits to fund their own equipment, however, effectively barring those with low incomes. The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the military reforms of Haldane in the reforming post 1906 Liberal government. In 1908 the militia infantry battalions were redesignated as "reserve" and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Altogether, 101 infantry battalions, 33 artillery regiments and two engineer regiments of special reservists were formed. In contrast with

14256-487: The remainder of the century. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River , some 550 miles (890 km) northeast of Cape Town , ended the isolation of the Boers in the interior and changed South African history. The discovery triggered a diamond rush that attracted people from all over the world, turning Kimberley into a town of 50,000 within five years and drawing the attention of British imperial interests. In

14388-455: The second war broke out 18 years later. Heavy casualties, as well as many setbacks, were incurred before the British were ultimately victorious. The First Boer War resulted in a disaster for the British government, which had not lost a war to a rebellion since the American War of Independence in 1783. The South Africa Republic (aka Transvaal) was also established as an independent republic under British suzerainty, but they lost this status at

14520-412: The skyline, shaking their fists, and yelling at the Boers below. The Boers saw the British occupying the summit and stormed the mountain using dead ground. Shooting accurately and using all available natural cover, the Boers advanced toward the British position. Several Boer groups stormed the hill and drove the British off. As panic took hold, terrified British soldiers sprinted for the rear, then fled down

14652-404: The soldier serving in the militia, those who served under Special Reserve terms of service had an obligation to serve overseas, as stipulated in paragraph 54. The standards of medical fitness were lower than for recruits to the regular infantry. The possibility of enlisting in the army under Regular terms of service were facilitated under paragraph 38, one precondition was that the recruit 'fulfils

14784-689: The summer of 1918 the battalion was moved to Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey as part of the Thames and Medway Garrison. The 1/4th and 1/5th Battalions were both part of the Kent Brigade , alongside the 4th and 5th ( Weald ) Buffs (East Kent Regiment) , of the Home Counties Division were both sent to British India in late October 1914. Soon after arrival the division was broken up and both battalions were later sent to British Indian Army brigades,

14916-529: The time. On February 12, Colley received reinforcements consisting of the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot , and the 15th (The King's Hussar's) , with the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons , the 83rd (Country of Dublin) Regiment under the command of Sir Evelyn Wood , on the way. On 14 February hostilities were suspended, awaiting the outcome of peace negotiations initiated by an offer from Paul Kruger. During this time, Colley's promised reinforcements arrived, with more to follow. The British government in

15048-494: The volunteer units created in a wave of enthusiasm in the second half of the nineteenth century. In contrast with the Volunteer Force , and the similar Yeomanry Cavalry, they were considered rather plebeian. Volunteer units appealed to better-off recruits as, unlike the Militia which engaged a recruit for a term of service, a volunteer could quit his corps with fourteen days notice, except while embodied for war or training with

15180-455: The war came when a Boer named Piet Bezuidenhout (see Gerhardminnebron ) refused to pay an illegally inflated tax. Government officials seized his wagon and attempted to auction it off to pay the tax on 11 November 1880, but a hundred armed Boers disrupted the auction, assaulted the presiding sheriff, and reclaimed the wagon. The first shots of the war were fired when this group fought back against government troops who were sent after them. After

15312-498: The war to an official end. In the final peace treaty, the Pretoria Convention , negotiated by a three-man Royal Commission , the British agreed to complete Boer self-government in the Transvaal under British suzerainty . The Boers accepted the Queen's nominal rule and British control over external relations, African affairs, and native districts. The Pretoria Convention was signed on 3 August 1881 and ratified on 25 October by

15444-456: The war were all within about sixteen miles of each other, centred on the Battles of Laing's Nek (28 January 1881), Ingogo River (8 February 1881) and the rout at Majuba Hill (27 February 1881). These battles were the result of Colley's attempts to relieve the besieged forts. Although he had requested reinforcements, these would not reach him until mid-February. Colley was, however, convinced that

15576-559: Was accelerated due to the desire to control trade routes between India via the Cape of Good Hope, the discovery of diamonds in Kimberley in 1868, and the race against other European Powers to control as much of Africa as possible. The British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 represented one of their biggest incursions into Southern Africa, but other expansions also occurred. In 1868 the British Empire annexed Basutoland (modern Lesotho in

15708-532: Was an integral part of the 44th (Home Counties) Division and, with the rest of the division, was sent to France in April 1940 where it became part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) stationed on the Franco-Belgian border. About a month after arriving, it was involved in the battles of France and Dunkirk and was evacuated to England . After returning to England, the battalion spent almost

15840-457: Was conciliatory since it realised that any further action would require substantial troop reinforcements, and it was likely that the war would be costly, messy and protracted. Unwilling to get bogged down in a distant war, the British government ordered a truce. Sir Evelyn Wood (Colley's replacement) signed an armistice to end the war on 6 March, and subsequently a peace treaty was signed with Kruger at O'Neil's Cottage on 23 March 1881, bringing

15972-535: Was in serious financial trouble because the government had fallen behind on tax collection and a war with the Pedi under the leadership of Sekhukhune in the North-East Transvaal had commenced. Sir Theophilus Shepstone was sent by Lord Carnarvon (British Secretary of the Colonies) as a special commissioner to the Transvaal. Shepstone did not initially disclose his true intentions to the Transvaal government, but at

16104-756: Was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer victory and eventual independence of the South African Republic. The war is also known as the First Anglo–Boer War , the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion. In the 19th century a series of events occurred in the southern part of the African continent, with the British from time to time attempting to set up a single unified state there, while at other times wanting to control less territory. The British Empire's expansion in South Africa

16236-472: Was limited strategic value. The Boer positions were also out of rifle range from the summit. Once the Battle of Majuba Hill had begun, Colley's command and understanding of the dire situation seemed to deteriorate as the day went on, as he sent conflicting signals to the British forces at Mount Prospect by heliograph , first requesting reinforcements and then stating that the Boers were retreating. Thus poor leadership, intelligence and communications resulted in

16368-464: Was made at an outcrop on a large ridge some 30 miles (48 km) south of the Boer capital at Pretoria, it reignited British imperial interests. The ridge, known locally as the " Witwatersrand " (literally "white water ridge" – a watershed), contained the world's largest deposit of gold-bearing ore. This discovery made the Transvaal, which had been a struggling Boer republic, potentially a political and economic threat to British supremacy in South Africa at

16500-467: Was moved with the 5th Division to the Italian Front , the 1st Battalion was stationed on the Western Front for the duration of the war. The 2nd Battalion was shipped from Multan to Mesopotamia , via Bombay , arriving in Basra in February 1915, where it was attached to the 12th Indian Brigade . Two companies were attached to the 30th Indian Brigade (part of the 6th (Poona) Division ) and were captured in

16632-431: Was raised in late May 1940, with the role of 'holding' men who were homeless, unfit, awaiting orders of returning from abroad. In October 1940, it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion and, on 8 November, became assigned to the 221st Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) , alongside the 11th Gloucestershire Regiment and 7th King's Shropshire Light Infantry , both of which were also former holding battalions. The battalion

16764-519: Was redesignated the 30th Battalion and was disbanded in 1943. The 9th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was created in June 1940, consisting mainly of large numbers of conscripts . The 9th Battalion served alongside 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment and the 8th and 9th battalions of the Essex Regiment as part of the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) until early February 1941, when it

16896-618: Was split to create more than one regiment. Kent was split into two areas, with those in West Kent forming the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, while those in East Kent becoming the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) . The dividing line that separated the two regimental areas was east of the River Medway . The regiment's recruitment area covered both the towns and rural areas of West Kent and a number of south-east London suburbs that were later included in

17028-619: Was to equip the Reservists and Special Reservists of the regiment and send them as reinforcement drafts to the Regular battalions serving overseas. Once the pool of reservists had dried up, the 3rd Bn trained thousands of raw recruits for the active service battalions. The 9th (Reserve) Battalion was formed alongside the 3rd Bn at Chatham in October 1914 to provide reinforcements for the New Army battalions. In

17160-577: Was to man coastal defences and fortifications, relieving the Royal Artillery for active service. Some of these units were converted from existing infantry militia regiments, others were newly raised. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to Royal Engineers . Up to 1855, the Home Office administered the Militia and Yeomanry, until such time as they were Embodied. The resultant ‘confusion and inconvenience’ it caused, from 1854 to 1855, resulted in being administered exclusively by

17292-640: Was transferred to the 6th Support Group , part of the 6th Armoured Division . The battalion was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps and converted to armour in 1942 as the 162nd Regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps, but retained its Royal West Kent Regiment cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps as did all infantry units converted in this way. However, the regiment was disbanded in 1942, without seeing active service and having only seen home service. The 50th (Holding) Battalion

17424-462: Was transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted, in February 1942, into the 119th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery , and served in Home Forces until September 1942, when it joined the 79th Armoured Division . However, it was transferred to the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division in May 1943 and remained with the division for the rest of the war, serving in the Battle of Normandy in

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