Kent Surrey and Sussex Regiments
These are the local army regiments which are linked geographically to the counties of Surrey, Kent and Sussex. They are all the product of several amalgamations and re-namings, though all have seen a varied and valliant history.
The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment
The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) : First raised in 1661 as the Old Tangier Regiment, they became, after the Restoration, the Queen’s Foot, in 1684. The numerical designation came in 1751 when they were awarded the position of second in the line, thereby becoming the 2nd Regiment of Foot, The Queen’s Royal Regiment.
The East Surrey Regiment
This Regiment was first raised in 1702 as a battalion of Marines know after it’s colonel – Villiers. It gained it’s numerical designation in the army reforms of 1751, and became the 31st Foot Regiment. A second battalion was formed in 1754, and shortly after in 1758 it became the 70th Regiment of Foot.
The two regiments amalgamated in 1881 to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the East Surrey Regiment.
In 1959 both the Surrey regiments ( East and West) were amalgamated to form the The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment.
|
|
The Queen’s Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) were raised in 1665 as the Holland Regiment. In 1751 they acquired the numerical designation of 3rd Regiment of Foot.
The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment were first raised in 1756 as the 52nd Regiment of Foot. They were re-designated in 1758 as the 50th Regiment. A 2nd battalion, the 97th was raised in 1824. In 1881, they were amalgamated as the 1st and 2nd battalions The Queen’s Own, Royal West Kent Regiment.
The East and West Kents amalgamated in 1961 to form the The Queen’s Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment.
The above text has prompted an email from a former member of the Buffs – this is what he tells us:
| There is an error on your piece about The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). They were raised in 1572 at a review of the trained bands by Queen Elizabeth I at Greenwich, to aid the Dutch in their fight the against the Spanish in the Low Countries. 1572 was confirmed as the date of the raising of The Buffs by:
a. King Charles II who, to mark The Buffs first centenary in 1672, gave the Regiment the ‘Privilege’, in perpetuity, of marching through the City of London to recruit. b. Queen Anne, who in 1702, awarded the Regiment to wear the TUDOR Dragon, a Royal Beast, as their badge. c. Fortesque and other great military historians who have accepted 1572 as the date of the raising of The Buffs. The Regiment was titled the Holland Regiment in 1665 on their return to England, one of many titles this ancient regiment had during its long history. For verification of my last e-mail, please refer to the Historical Records of The Buffs. Volume I (1572-1704) by H.R.Knight covers the origins of the regiment in 1572 on page 7 et seq. Part II (1814-1914) by C.R.B.Knight gives, at Appendix C page 678, the reason why the Tudor Dragon badge was awarded in 1707 to recognise that the regiment’s first muster was in the presence and reign of Queen Elizabeth I (the Dragon having been a supporter of her Royal arms, where the Unicorn is now ). Part II (1814-1914) at Appendix E, pages 713-714, deals with the warrant granted by King Charles II in 1672, the regiment’s first centenary year, giving it, in perpetuity, the Privilege of marching through the City of London, subject only to due notice being given to the Lord Mayor . This Privilege was initially shared only by The Buffs (at this time called the Holland Regiment), the Grenadier Guards and the Royal Marines. There are many other references that you could find for verification of these matters, but please see especially History of the British Army by Sir John William Fortescue, the greatest of all military historians. Unfortunately I do not have a copy immediately available and so cannot give you page numbers. Thank you again for your interest. John (late THE BUFFS) |
The Royal Sussex Regiment
was first raised in Belfast in 1701, they were given royal permission to wear orange as their facing colour by William III. In the 18th century they acquired the numerical designation of the 35th Regiment of Foot. In 1782 the 35th became the county regiment for Dorset. By 1804 this regiment had its local allegiances changed once more, becoming the 35th Regiment of Foot, and the county title of Sussex from the 25th who later became the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. In 1832, William IV granted the regiment the right to use the ‘Royal’ prefix. In 1881, the 2nd battalion, the 107th, was amalgamated with the 1st to form The Royal Sussex Regiment.
The following email was recently received from one of our website ‘readers’ and I thought it appropriate that, with Rob Vine’s permission that this be included on this page :
I thought you might be interested to know that on the 11.11.01 Royal Legion crosses were laid by myself and my son, who is an ex member of the Royal Horse Artillery, at the graves of four members of the Sussex Regiment and one member of the Royal Artillery at the war grave plot at Gyselbrechenham in Belgium. You will notice that the national flag of Belgium has been planted at the graves by the villagers. All five soldiers died on the same day in May 1940.
I have a particular interest in this village as my Grandfather’s battery was dug in and around the village on the 11.11.18 and he celebrated the end of the First World War here.
I am an ex member of the Gloucestershire Regiment and live near Brussels.
Rob Vine
