Name : Staffordshire Regiment Started : 1959 Ended : 2007 Previous Regiment Lineage(s) : ---------------------------------------- Guise's Regiment of Foot (1688 - 1689) Foulkes' Regiment of Foot (1689 - 1693) Lillingston's Regiment of Foot (1693 - 1708) Jones' Regiment of Foot (1708 - 1711) Alexander's Regiment of Foot (1711 - 1717) Lucas's Regiment of Foot (1717 - 1729) Jones' Regiment of Foot (1729 - 1735) Murray's Regiment of Foot (1735 - 1738) Duke of Marlborough's Regiment of Foot (1738 - 1739) Dalzell's Regiment of Foot (1739 - 1750) Philipps' Regiment of Foot (1750 - 1751) 38th Regiment of Foot (1751 - 1782) 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot (1782 - 1881) South Staffordshire Regiment (1881 - 1959)
---------------------------------------- 80th Regiment of Foot (1793 - 1802) 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) (1802 - 1881) South Staffordshire Regiment (1881 - 1959)
---------------------------------------- 64th Regiment of Foot (1758 - 1782) 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot (1782 - 1881) Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire) Regiment (1881 - 1921) North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (1921 - 1959)
---------------------------------------- 98th Regiment of Foot (1824 - 1876) 98th (Princes of Wales's) Regiment of Foot (1876 - 1881) Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire) Regiment (1881 - 1921) North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (1921 - 1959)
----------------------------------------
Subsequent Regiment Lineage : ---------------------------------------- Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) (2007 - Present)
----------------------------------------
South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment-Regimental District No. 38-is composed of the 38th and 80th Regiments of the line.
The 38th Regiment dates from 1702, when it was raised in Ireland, and for many years known as Colonel Luke Lillingstone's Regiment of Foot. Five years after its formation the regiment went to the West Indies and served there "an unprecedented period of, it is said, nearly sixty years, during which detachments of the corps served at the capture of Guadaloupe in 1759, and of Martinique in 1762." (Archer.) On their return home the 38th-as they were numbered in 1751-served in the American War, after which the flank companies were employed at Martinique in 1794, and subsequently at St. Lucia. The regiment as a whole, after taking part in the campaign in Holland, served under Sir D. Baird at the Cape of Good Hope in 1805, and the following years at Buenos Ayres. At Monte Video in 1807, under Colonel Vassal, they formed part of the assaulting party, and greatly distinguished themselves, Colonel Vassal being mortally wounded.
The 38th then took part in the Peneinsular War, fighting at Roleia and Vimiera, sharing in Moore's splendid victory at Corunna, and gaining for their colours the eloquent legend of "Busaco." At Badajoz, when a temporary discomfiture caused Walker's brigade to fall back, the pursuing French found themselves checked by "two hundred men of the 38th, who had been kept well in hand by Colonel Nugent," and who, after a fierce volley, charged with the bayonet. They fought at Salamanca and Burgos under Graham, the conquered at Vittoria, they shared in the ghastly victory at San Sebastian, forced the passage of the Bidassoa, and fought in the conquering ranks at the Nive. They were not at Waterloo, but joined the army of occupation after it was won. In 1818 they served in South America, and in 1822 repaired to India and were engaged in the first Burmese War, gaining the distinction of "Ava" for their colours.
Returning to England in 1836, the following fifteen years were spent in various places, including Central America. In the Crimea the 38th were in Sir Richard England's (Third) Division, and-for we must needs leave much untold-bear "Alma," "Inkerman," and "Sevastopol" on their heavily emblazoned colours. From the Crimea they were ordered to India, where they arrived in November 1857, and after fighting valiantly at Lucknow, took part in the subsequent campaign in Oude. They returned to England in 1872, and enjoyed a peaceful interval between that date and 1882, when they were ordered to Egypt.
Few regiments can boast a better record than the South Staffordshire during the campaigns in 1882, and 1884-85. The 38th, with the 3rd battalion of the 60th, were the first regiments to land in Egypt after Sir Beauchamp Seymour's ultimatum, and on the 22nd of July took part in the first skirmish of the war in connection with the destruction of the Ramleh Isthmus. In the final arrangement of the forces they were in the 4th brigade (Second Division), and took part, under Colonel Thackwell, in the reconnaissance at Mahalla, where they had one man wounded. During all of the operations they ably carried out their part in the various duties, which devolved upon the Second Division, duties none less important, because they did not include the more familiarly known of the engagements. They formed part of the force under General Earle, and at Kirbekan they highly distinguished themselves. Early in the day their gallant Colonel Eyre, leading his men against a ridge held by an overwhelming force of fierce fanatics; "the Arabs fought at the bay with the courage of desperation, having the vantage-ground everywhere. And thus, against desperate odds our gallant soldiers, in spite of a withering fire all round, gained rock after rock, fastness after fastness, behind which the well-directed aim of the Arabs dealt death at every shot. Inch by inch, with fearful odds against them, do the Highlanders on the left and the South Staffordshire men on the right press forward and gain ground." After General Earle had fallen the 38th were ordered by General Brackenbury to storm "a steep and rocky hill four hundred feet high, held by a body of the Sudanese," a difficult task which they brilliantly accomplished after incredible toil and severe fighting. And so, with the freshly added lustre shed by the latest Egyptian War, ends the recordof the services of the brave South Staffordshire.
The 2nd battalion of the South Staffordshire, the 80th Regiment, dates from 1793, when lord Paget raised it. The following year, the Staffordshire volunteers, as the regiment was then called, joined the Duke of York's army in Flanders, and during their sojourn there lost more than half their number. A few years later they formed part of Baird's army, which, with a view to joining Abercrombie, made the march across the desert, which has before been referred to, and by this participation in the campaign gained the Sphinx and "Egypt" for their colours. After this they were for several years in India, gaining warriors' craft in the many battles by which the British rule was consolidated, and thus missed participation in any of the Peninsular battles, as they did not return to England before 1818. After a stay here of some sixteen years or so, they were ordered to Australia, and during the years 1836-1844, were more or less busily employed in the not very congenial task of suppressing convict riots. Their next station was in India, during their voyage to which occurred a most extraordinary incident. "Part of the corps," says Colonel Archer, "during the voyage was shipwrecked under very remarkable circumstances, being cast high and dry by a storm wave in the deal of night on the top of a wood or jungle in the Little Andamans." Arriving in India, they were fortunate enough to participate in some of the most important events, which the stirring history of British arms in India has to chronicle.
They fought at Moodkee, where night alone saved the foe from total destruction. At Ferozeshah they earned a reputation for courage and discipline of which any regiment might be proud. "About twelve o'clock at night, the Sikhs finding that Sir Harry Smith had been forced to retire from the village, and that their batteries were not occupied, brought some guns to bear upon the column, the fire from which was very destructive. The Governor-General mounted his horse and called to the 80th Regiment, which was at the head of the column, "my lads, we shall have no sleep until we have those guns.' The regiment deployed immediately, advanced, supported by the 1st Bengal Europeans, and drove a large body of Sikhs from three guns, which they spiked. The regiment then retired, and took up its position again at the head of the column as steadily as if on a parade, much to the admiration of the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, the former of whom exclaimed, as they passed him, "Plucky dogs" we cannot fail to win with such men as these.'" To the brilliant victory of Sobraon they contributed not a little, and it was at that head of the 80th that the gallant Sir Robert Dick received his death wound.
They bore a brilliant part in the second Burmese War in 1852. In the attack on the Grand Pagoda four companies of the 80th under Major Montgomery formed the advance, driving the enemy steadily before them, while in the attack on the eastern entrance the assaulting force comprised a wing of the 80th under Major Lockhart. In the attack on Pegu, Captain Ormsby commanded the one company of the 80th that were present, and ably performed their part in the singularly easy and bloodless victory achieved by our troops. After the war in Burmah, the next fighting in which the 80th shared was in India, where they gained "Central India" as a distinction. Those familiar with the military history of that time know how much severe and splendid fighting those words commemorate. They assisted at the capture of Calpee, shared in the arduous tasks of the pacification of Oude, and a few years later took part in the Bhotan Expedition, which was found so much more difficult than had at first been anticipated. The regiment returned home in 1886, and were represented nine years later in the expedition to Perak.
The next important was in which they were engaged was that in South Africa of 1878-79. They were in garrison at Luneburg under Major Charles Tucker, and in March 1879, a company under Captain Moriarty was ordered to meet some supplies, which were being forwarded. Owing to some delay the Intombe River, which had to be crossed, grew swollen with the rains, and some question seems to have been raised as to the judgment with which the encampment was laid. However that may be, in the early morning of the 12th some four thousand Zulus, led by the Chief Umbelini, swept down upon the little band of seventy-one. Across the river, Lieutenant Harward had been posted with some thirty men; in a few moments all that remained of the entire company scarcely numbered more. Captain Moriarty was killed the moment he left his tent; in some cases his men were assuaged before they could leave theirs. Lieutenant Harward's party opened a brisk fire on the Zulus, but naturally it could have no effect on such a mass, and at least two hundred of them crossed the river. Lieutenant Harward ordered his men to fall back upon a farmhouse, and then he did a thing, which, fortunately, is without a parallel in military history - rode off him to obtain succour from Luneburg! Probably the severest critics of this infatuated action would acquit Lieutenant Harward of anything approaching cowardice, but the error was none the less a terrible one. Fortunately, dark though the Hour was, with it came the man. "Sergeant Booth, the senior non-commissioned officer present, now assumed command, rallied the small group of men, and endeavoured to cover the retreat of the few soldiers upon the opposite bank, who were trying to escape across the river towards him. The little band, to avoid being assuaged at close quarters, was compelled to fall back. This small knot of gallant men fought the Zulus for three miles in retreat, but Sergeant Booth and his men showed a bold front on every side. They kept close together firing volleys at their pursuers as they prepared to rush upon them. The party gallantly checked the Zulus, The Gazette informed his countrymen "that had it not been for the coolness displayed by this non-commissioned officer, not one man would have escaped."
The observations made by Lord Chelmford in commenting on the decision of the Court Martial held on Lieutenant Harward included some remarks, which deserve a place in any record of British regiments. After referring to the "monstrous theory that a regimental officer, who is the only officer present with a party of soldiers actually and seriously engaged with the enemy, can, under any pretext, be justified in deserting them," his Lordship went on to say: -"The more helpless the position in which an officer finds his men, the more it is bounden duty to stay and share their fortune, whether for good or ill. It is because the British officer has always done so, that he occupies the position in which he is held in the estimation of the world, and that he possesses the influence he does in the ranks of our army. The soldier has learned to feel that come what may, he can in the direst moment of danger look with implicit faith to his officer, knowing that he will never desert him under any possible circumstances. It is to this faith of the British soldier in his officer that we owe of the gallant deed recorded in our annals." On another a previous occasion had a man of the 80th gained a V.C. in this savage African warfare. "On the 22nd January, 1879, when the camp at Isandhlwana was taken by the enemy, Private Wassall, 80th Foot, retreated towards the Buffalo River, in which he saw a comrade, Private Westwood of the same regiment, struggling and apparently drowning. He rode to the bank, dismounted, leaving his horse on the Zulu side, rescued the man from the stream, and again mounted his horse, dragging Private Westwood across the river under a heavy shower of bullets." Some five companies of the 80th were at Ulundi, where they led the advance, and subsequently the regiment was represented in Colonel Clarke's column. In the operations against Sekukuni, Major Creagh did valuable service, and in the final attack upon the chief's stronghold, the 80th were in the centre column. The regiment returned home in 1880, and have not since then been engaged in any important warfare.
The Prince Of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment)
The 11th Foot, in 1758, was deprived of its 2nd battalion, which was numbered the 64th, after two years service under the former number. It was named the "2nd Staffordshire" in 1782, a title it bore until the amalgamation of 1882 when, however, the regiment was first designated the South Staffordshire, altered shortly after to its present name.
The year after it first had an independent existence it was despatched to the West Indies to take part in the capture of Martinique and Guadaloupe; sent home after that, it returned to the American continent at the outbreak of the war of Independence, served first at Nova Scotia, and then at Boston until the evacuation of the city, fighting also at Staten Island, Brooklyn, Ridgeway, Hill of Campo, Brandywine, the Acushusat River Expedition, Charleston, and Eutaw Springs, where the 64th did not "give ground until over powered by numbers and severe slaughter." After general duty it once more appeared before Martinique and Guadaloupe in 1794, to help in their reduction and to suffer heavy loss; and after an interlude in Ireland, where the regiment defeated the French at Ballinamuck, it returned to the west Indies and saw the surrender of St. Martin, St. Lucia, Demerara, Essequibo, and Surinam; coming home in 1815 to form part of the Army of Occupation of France. Embarking for India in 1849, the 64th was employed in garrison duty there until 1856, when the Persians attacked Heart, and war consequently broke out between Great Britain and Persia. The regiment formed part of the expedition, was at the storming of the Fort of Reshire, the surrender of Bushire, and the battle of Kooshab; after which, with Mohumra as a "base of operations," the army prepared to march on Ispahan. But the war was virtually over. The Persian forces, some seven thousand strong, took up a position at Ahwaz, but evacuated it without firing a shot on the approach of three hundred British soldiers. On returning to India, the outbreak of the Mutiny called for the service of the Staffordshire men. The enemy was met with at Futtehpore, Aong, Pandoo Nuddee, Kalee Nuddee, Kerkeroulie, Bareilly, and Cawnpore, when some of the 64th were left to garrison the place, and the remainder served with Outram and Havelock in the advance on Lucknow. The Cawnpore garrison had meanwhile had severe work to do against the attacks of Tantia Topee; and the regiment also took part in the Rohilcund campaign, and in most of the operations that attended the suppression of the Mutiny. During the campaign Drummer Thomas Flynn won the Cross for Valour for "conspicuous gallantry." Since that campaign the gallant 64th have seen no active but much foreign service.
The present 2nd battalion of the regiment first appears in 1824, and was entitled the "Prince of Wales's Regiment of Foot" in 1876, from its having acted as guard to his Royal Highness during his visit to Malta. On this occasion new colours were presented to the regiment, and the Prince requested that the old should be entrusted to his care. The title and the badge of His Royal Highness's Plume date from this event, but five other battalions have borne the number. The first served from 1760 to 1765, and fought at Havannah in 1762; the second from 1780 to 1783; the third, raised in 1796, became the 91st; the fourth, formed in 1804, was disbanded in 1818 as the 97th; and the fifth, enlisted in 1804 as the 99th, disappeared as "the Prince of Wales's Tipperary Regiment" in 1818.
The late 98th Foot was recruited at Chichester and sailed for the Cape in 1824; it underwent varied foreign and home service until 1841, when the regiment, with Sir Colin Campbell, shared in the operations on the Yangtse, after which it was transferred to Hong Kong and left the "far East" for India in 1846, and was present on the operations in the Punjab. Four years later the flank companies served under Sir Colin Campbell in the Afridi War, and came home in 1855; but returned again to India two years later, when one wing is sent with the Euzosffzie Expedition.
Transferred to Quettah in 1884, the regiment formed part of the Zhob Valley Expedition, seeing the "affair" of Doulatzai. Out of its total service more than fifty years have been spent abroad.
The black facings of the 64th were changed to white-the colour of those of the 98th-in 1881. The Prince of Wale's Plume was inherited as a badge from the 2nd battalion; the dragon was also won by the 98th for its services in 1841 in China, and used to be on the forage-caps; the Staffordshire knot was worn by the 64th and the Militia. The knot is on the button (with the regimental name, a laural branch, a scroll with "Prince of Wale's," and the Plume), on the tunic collar, and on the forage-cap, with the Plume and motto. The plume appears also, with the name, on the helmet-plate and waist-plate. The 2nd and the 3rd battalions are formed by the 2nd and 3rd King's Own Staffordshire battalions, raised in 1797 and 1798. The Volunteer battalions are the 2nd Staffordshire, Stoke-upon-Trent (scarlet and white), and the 5th Staffordshire, Burton-on-Trent (scarlet and blue). The depot was based in Lichfield.
