Short History of the Border Regiment: Difference between revisions

== A History from 1702 to 1881 ==

For two hundred and twenty years the Border Regiment, composed of the old 34th and 55th Regiments of Foot, has rendered devoted service to King and country, as its long roll of battle honours and distinctions won in many parts of the world testify. Recruited from the sturdy men of the northern Border, the Regiment has exhibited the highest degree of courage and endurance on many a fiercely contested battlefield. In its long and honourable career it has gathered several distinctions unique in the British Army, in situations needing exceptional valour, and its conduct has shed lustre on the good name of the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, with which it has been so long associated. The Regiment can trace its history back to 1702, when the 34th Foot, now the 1st Battalion, was raised by Lord Lucas, then Lieutenant of the Tower of London, soon after Queen Anne ascended the throne.

 

 

 

After the occupation of Barcelona, the 34th was sent to Tortosa, a town 120 miles away, for garrison duty, where it was when a large French force suddenly marched on Barcelona. To help defend the town against this attack, the 34th was mounted on mules, and made the journey of 120 miles in two days arriving just in time to take a prominent part in repulsing a strong attack

It was at this period, 1755, that the 55th Regiment of Foot was raised in Scotland. It was first numbered the 57th Foot, and was formed at Stirling. In the following year it was sent to the West of Ireland, where it was put through a very thorough preparation for the conquest of Canada, then in the hands of the French. The next few years were very strenuous for the 34th and 55th Regiments, both being almost continuously on active service. The 34th was one of the four regiments which, under General Blakeney, won undying fame in the defence of Fort St. Philip on the island of Minorca in 1756. The enemy mustered over 20,000, whilst the British defending the crumbling ruins of the old fort did not number many more than 3,000. Disease broke out among the defenders, and before a month was gone more than half the garrison were unable to do duty. Yet the courage of the garrison never diminished, even the sick crawling to the walls to help repulse the enemy attacks. It was not until the gallant garrison had been reduced by death, wounds, and disease to less than a quarter of its original strength, and nearly all the ammunition had been expended, that General Blakeney capitulated. The French General was so much impressed by the gallantry of the defenders that he allowed them to march out with all the honours of war, with fixed bayonets and colours flying. The Regiment went to Gibraltar and thence to England, being given a great public welcome in honour of the share it had taken in the gallant defence of St. Philip. It was not long at home, for in 1758 it was in Brittany as part of the British force landed to attack St. Malo and Cherbourg, the capture of the latter port, harbour, and arsenal being a specially brilliant affair, in which a very large quantity of stores was destroyed and guns captured.

 

 

In the meantime the 55th Regiment had been winning equal fame in Canada. It shared in the first

 

Brilliant as the history of the Border Regiment had been, its crowning glory was to come when the Great War broke out in August, 1914. The splendid spirit which had ever characterized all ranks from its earliest days was never in better evidence. The hard-fighting Border men, whose marching air of "John Peel" has been heard in nearly every part of the Empire, were called upon to face dangers and endure losses such as would try them to the very limit of human endurance. How well all answered to the test is shown in striking fashion by the long roll of the honoured dead who fell in the cause of liberty while serving in the Regiment, and by the splendid array of honours, distinctions, and decorations bestowed on all ranks in recognition of wonderful feats of individual and collective heroism. These decorations included seven Victoria Crosses. The memory of the losses and these great achievements will be cherished with pride by successive generations of the Regiment so long as it shall endure, and by the Border counties that gave birth to such heroes.

 

At the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion was in Burmah and the 2nd Battalion at Pembroke Dock. Both were immediately drawn into the war, and saw some of the hardest fighting that fell to the lot of any troops. The 2nd Battalion, as part of the 7th Division, landed in Belgium to attempt the relief of Antwerp. Of all the divisions that landed on the Continent during 1914, the 7th stood out by itself for its remarkable physique, being composed mainly of foreign-service troops. It was as well that it was of exceptional physique, for it was called upon to make one of the most rapid forced marches of the war. Arrested on its way to Antwerp by news of the quite unexpected appearance of strong German forces on its right flank, Sir Henry Rawlinson, who was in command, realized that his division was in danger of being cut off. He at once turned towards the French frontier, and a rapid march was kept up during the next week in order to link up with the rest of the British Army, then moving up from the Marne. The 7th Division had reached the area just west of Ypres when it made contact with the British cavalry. The enemy was there found in ominous strength, and the division turned to face them. Strung out in a woefully thin line, the division, crouching in shallow, hastily dug trenches, put up a splendid fight against overwhelming odds. The Germans, deceived by the bold front and well-sustained rapid fire of the gallant force, recoiled in dismay from the British line under the impression that there were thousands instead of hundreds defending the trenches. From October 16th onwards the small but gallant British force faced the Germans with undaunted courage, the instructions being that the division was to hold on to the last man, until the rest of the British Army could be got up to their help. So the gallant division held on day after day against an ever-increasing storm of shell and shot of all descriptions. Their losses grew heavier and heavier as the enemy began to realise how few were the numbers opposing them. At length Sir Douglas Haig's 2nd Division arrived, followed quickly by other troops, and the long-suffering and sorely battered 7th Division was withdrawn from the line. For many days the 7th Division and the cavalry had held a line of eight miles against four times their own number of the enemy and six times their own weight of artillery. It was touch and go, but the splendid courage of the British soldier won through, and the position was saved. In that gallant affair the 2nd Battalion fully shared, and it came out of the long struggle a mere skeleton of its original splendid self. It was speedily reinforced from the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, which throughout the war trained and dispatched a constant stream of recruits to the battalions overseas.

It is interesting to note that the general arrangement of the present Regimental Badge is almost identical with the design on the breastplate, which was worn by the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment as long ago as 1820.