Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)

The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence. In 1959, it was amalgamated with The East Surrey Regiment, to form a single county regiment called The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment. Following further amalgamations the lineage of the regiment is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

Titles
The regiment was raised in 1661 by Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough as The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Foot on Putney Heath (then in Surrey) specifically to garrison the new English acquisition of Tangier, part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry when she married King Charles II. From this service, it was also known as the Tangier Regiment. As was usual at the time, it was also named after its current colonel, from one of whom, Percy Kirke, it acquired its nickname Kirke's Lambs.

In 1685, it was given the Royal title the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot (after Queen Catherine, widow of Charles II) and in 1703 became The Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1715, it was renamed The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Foot after Caroline of Ansbach, then Princess of Wales, and was re-designated The Queen's Own Regiment of Foot in 1727 when the Princess became Queen. It was ranked as 2nd Foot in the clothing regulations of 1747, and was renamed 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot by Royal warrant in 1751.

In the Childers reforms of 1881 it became the county regiment of West Surrey, named The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). In 1921, its title was slightly altered to The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey). By 1950 it was known as The Queen's Royal Regiment. In 1959, it was amalgamated with The East Surrey Regiment, to form The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.

Early years
The Regiment shipped to Tangier where it remained until the port was evacuated in 1684, when it returned to England. It took part in the suppression of the Monmouth Rebellion, fighting at the Battle of Sedgemoor, where it earned a widespread (but probably exaggerated ) reputation for brutality. After the Glorious Revolution, it fought in Ireland for the new King, William III, defending the besieged Londonderry in 1689 and at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. From 1692 to 1696 it fought in Flanders in the Nine Years' War, at the Battle of Landen and the recapture of Namur in 1695.

During the War of Spanish Succession it served in the Iberian campaign, at Cadiz, Vigo, the sieges of Valencia de Alcantara, Alburquerque, Badajoz, Alcantara and Ciudad Rodrigo, and was virtually destroyed in the disastrous Battle of Almansa. In the campaign in the Low Countries in 1703, it defended Tongres against overwhelming odds, giving Lord Overkirk time to re-group his forces, until it was eventually captured. It was for this action that it was awarded its Royal title and its mottoes. It spent most of the remainder of the 18th Century on garrison duty, being one of the regiments involved in putting down the Gordon Riots.

French and Napoleonic Wars
On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, detachments were in the West Indies and acting as marines in the Channel Fleet, notably at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, where they served on Howe’s flagship, Queen Charlotte and also on board Russell, Defence, Royal George and Majestic. In recognition of the Regiment's service, it was granted the distinction of wearing a Naval Crown superscribed 1 June 1794 on its colours. Another Regimental tradition dating from this victory was that of drinking the Loyal Toast seated (as is Royal Navy custom, owing to the difficulty of officers standing in the low, crowded and often unsteady wardroom of a man-of-war). This tradition is maintained by the successor Regiment, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. The Regiment was then reunited and sent to the West Indies where it took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1794, although the occupation was short-lived owing to outbreaks of disease, particularly yellow fever, among the troops, and the capture of Trinidad in 1797. A second battalion was formed in 1795 and stationed in Guernsey before being shipped to Martinique, where it was disbanded in 1797, its personnel being absorbed by 1st Battalion.

The Regiment was transferred to Ireland in 1798 where it helped put down the Irish rebellion and then took part in the unsuccessful 1799 Helder campaign. In 1800, it was part of the abortive expedition to Belle Isle, from which it sailed to Egypt where it fought at the Battle of Alexandria and the Siege of Alexandria.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment first fought in the Peninsular War at the battles of Vimeiro and Corunna. It then took part in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign before returning to the Peninsula to fight at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, the second Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the Battle of Salamanca and the unsuccessful Siege of Burgos. By the winter of 1812, the Regiment was so depleted by casualties and disease that four companies were amalgamated with the equally weakened 2nd Battalion, 53rd Foot, to form the 2nd Provisional Battalion. Six cadre companies returned home to re-form. As part of the 4th Division, the Provisional Battalion took part in the Wellington's triumph at the Battle of Vittoria on 21 June 1813, followed by the Siege of San Sebastian and, 1814, the battles of Orthes and Toulouse. In 1814, the Provisional Battalion was broken up and the Regiment re-formed.

Post Napoleonic 19th Century
The Regiment was on garrison duty in Baluchistan when the First Afghan War broke out in 1839. It formed part of the force that attacked the previously-impregnable city of Ghazni, taking the city by storm because the army lacked siege equipment, and opening the way to Kabul. It returned to India in November, 1839, storming the city of Khelat en route, and avoiding destruction along with the rest of Elphinstone's army.

It was shipped to the Cape Colony during the Eighth Kaffir War in 1851. On February 25, 1852 a draft of 51 men under the command of Ensign Boyland were aboard HMS Birkenhead travelling from Simon's Bay to Port Elizabeth when the ship struck rocks. The troops were assembled on deck and remained at attention to afford the embarked women and children time to take their place in the lifeboats. Shortly after this the ship broke up and the vast majority of the troops on board were either drowned or fell victim to sharks. The bravery of the troops, made up of cadres from ten different regiments, lead to the naming of Birkenhead Drill. It once again became the 1st Battalion when the 2nd Battalion was reformed in 1857, and went to China in 1860 at the time of the Second Opium War, fighting at the Third Battle of Taku Forts and the capture of Beijing. In 1897–98, it took part in the Tirah Expedition on the North-West Frontier. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Third Anglo-Burmese War from 1886 to 1888 and in South Africa from 1899 to 1904 in the Second Boer War.

In 1909, many years after the event, the Regiment was granted the Battle Honour of "Tangier 1662-80", the oldest in the British Army. The Honour is still held by its successor, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

The Great War
The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre in August, 1914, and spent the entire war on the Western Front. The 2nd Battalion was in South Africa when war broke out and was shipped to France in November, 1914. It fought in France and Flanders until November, 1917, when it was sent to the Italian Front, taking part in the battles of the Piave and Vittorio Veneto. The Territorial and New Army battalions undertook a number of duties, including training, garrison duty around the Empire and combat service on several fronts. 270 other rank returning prisoners of war were awarded a "Welcome Home Medal" at a reception in Guildford in January 1919. The medal has the regimental badge on one side and the inscription, " Prisoners of War The Queens Regiment Welcome Home on the reverse and is dated MCMXVIII.

Between the wars
The 1st Battalion spent the inter-war years on garrison duty, both in Britain and overseas. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Waziristan campaign of 1919-1920, attempting to pacify the tribal areas during the unrest following the Third Afghan War. It was in Palestine during the Insurgency of 1936-1939.

The Second World War
The 1st Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the Second World War and fought in the Burma Campaign throughout the war. The 2nd Battalion spent the early years of the war in the Middle East and Syria before also going out to the far East.

Post-war service and amalgamation
The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 and its personnel transferred to 1st Battalion (which had previously been reduced to nil strength in 1947). The 1st Battalion served in Berlin during the blockade to 1949 then Iserlohn in BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) part of 5 Inf Brg, 2nd Inf Div (Crossed Keys) until 1953. The 1st Battalion fought the Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency from 1954-1957. In 1957, it returned to Germany where, in 1958, it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment, to form 1st Battalion, The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.

Battle honours

 * Tangier 1662-80, Namur 1695, Ushant, Egypt, Vimiera, Corunna, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Toulouse, Peninsula, Ghuznee 1839, Khelat, Affghanistan 1839, South Africa 1851-2-3, Taku Forts, Pekin 1860, Burma 1885-87, Tirah, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902


 * The Great War (25 battalions): Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 '18, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 '17 '18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917, Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Soissonais Ourcq, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1915-16, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tell 'Asur, Palestine 1917-18, Khan Baghdadi, Mesopotamia 1915-18, N W Frontier India 1916-17


 * Afghanistan 1919


 * The Second World War: Defence of Escaut, Villers Bocage, Mont Pincon, Lower Maas, Roer, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Syria 1941, Sidi Barrani, Tobruk 1941, Tobruk Sortie, Deir el Munassib, El Alamein, Advance on Tripoli, Medenine, Tunis, North Africa 1940-43, Salerno, Monte Stella, Scafati Bridge, Volturno Crossing, Monte Camino, Garigliano Crossing, Damiano, Anzio, Gothic Line, Gemmano Ridge, Senio Pocket, Senio Floodbank, Casa Fabri Bridge, Menate, Filo, Argenta Gap, Italy 1943-45, North Arakan, Kohima, Yenangyaung 1945, Sittang 1945, Chindits 1944, Burma 1943-45


 * 4th, 5th Battalions: South Africa 1900-02

List of Colonels of the Regiment

 * 30 September 1661: Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
 * 9 April 1663: Andrew Rutherford, 1st Earl of Teviot
 * 10 June 1664: Henry Norwood
 * 15 May 1668: John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton
 * 5 March 1675: William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin
 * 10 November 1680: Sir Palmes Fairborne (died before his commission was signed)
 * 19 April 1682: Piercy Kirke
 * 18 December 1691: William Selwyn
 * 28 June 1701: Sir Henry Bellasis
 * 27 February 1703: David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore
 * 19 September 1710: Piercy Kirke
 * 12 August 1741: Thomas Fowke
 * 12 November 1755: John Fitzwilliam
 * 27 November 1760: Sir Charles Montagu
 * 7 August 1777: Daniel Jones
 * 20 November 1793: Alexander Stewart
 * 20 December 1794: James Coates
 * 22 July 1822: Sir Henry Torrens
 * 25 August 1828: Sir William Keppel
 * 23 December 1834: Sir James Kempt
 * 7 August 1846: Alexander George Fraser, 17th Lord Saltoun
 * 29 August 1853: Sir John Rolt
 * 9 November 1856: Sir James Holmes Schoedde
 * 28 May 1857: John Spink
 * 15 March 1877: Clement Alexander Edwards
 * 25 March 1877: Henry Smyth
 * 6 June 1891: Robert Bruce
 * 15 October 1891: Frederick Green Wilkinson
 * 29 August 1893: Sir Edward Selby Smyth
 * 23 September 1896: Granville George Chetwynd Stapylton
 * 16 April 1902: Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny
 * 27 December 1914: Sir Edmund Owen Fisher Hamilton
 * 13 October 1920: Sir Charles Carmichael Monro
 * 7 December 1929: Sir Wilkinson Dent Bird
 * 4 May 1939: Sir Ivo Lucius Beresford Vesey
 * 1 May 1945: Sir George James Giffard
 * 28 September 1954: John Yeldham Whitfield

Victoria Cross
The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:
 * Lieutenant (later Brigadier-General) Wallace Duffield Wright, Kano-Sokoto Expedition
 * Captain (temporary Lieutenant Colonel, later Lieutenant-General) Bernard Cyril Freyberg, Great War
 * 2nd Lieutenant (acting Captain) Clement Robertson, Great War
 * Lance Corporal John William Sayer, Great War
 * Captain (temporary Lieutenant Colonel) Christopher Bushell, Great War
 * Lieutenant Alec George Horwood, Second World War