1.
British Army
–
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
2.
Infantry
–
Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
3.
Line infantry
–
Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. For both battle and parade drill it consisted of 2 to 4 ranks of soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regiments of the line as opposed to skirmishers, foot guards, militia. Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles, the line, the square and the column, a line consisted of 2,3 or 4 ranks of soldiers. During the time period that line infantry were prevalent, the object was to cause the formation to rout, which was done by breaking it. The line was considered as the battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry. Line infantry provided an anchor for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat to if threatened, against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow, unlike the pikemen and old-style musketeers square, movement in line formation was very slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was virtually assured, especially in any kind of uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, line was used as a stationary formation, with troops moving in column formations. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks, line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting and manoeuvre. Line tactics required a strict discipline and simple movements, practiced to the point where they became second-nature, during training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries, musketeers and grenadiers, formerly elite troops, gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. In the middle of the 17th century, the muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets. Bayonets were attached to the muzzles of muskets and were used when line troops entered melee combat and they also helped to defend against cavalry. In many countries, the new fusils retained the name musket, both muskets and fusils were smoothbore, which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The bulk of the infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only a small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry
4.
Whittington Barracks
–
Whittington Barracks is a British Army base in Whittington, Staffordshire, near Lichfield in England. It is home to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, the barracks were constructed on Whittington Heath. The heath had been the site of the Lichfield races which had moved from Fradley in 1702, during the 18th century they were one of the largest and well attended race meetings in the Midlands and in 1773 a grandstand was erected near the Lichfield-Tamworth Road. However, during the 19th century the popularity of the races dwindled, the War Office approached the Marquess of Anglesey in 1875 to buy the heath for the building of a barracks. Construction started in 1877 and the handing over of the newly built barracks to the military was recorded in 1881. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces, the barracks were intended to be the depot of the 38th Regiment of Foot and 80th Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms these regiments amalgamated to form the South Staffordshire Regiment with its depot at the barracks in 1881 and they were also intended to be the depot of the 64th Regiment of Foot and the 98th Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms these regiments amalgamated to form the North Staffordshire Regiment with its depot at the barracks in 1881, in 1895 the last race meeting was held after the War Office declared it was undesirable to hold a race meeting at the gate of the barracks. The Lichfield races are remembered in the names of pubs in Freeford called the Horse & Jockey and in Lichfield, the old grandstand became a soldiers home before it was purchased in 1957 by Whittington Heath Golf Course as its clubhouse. During the Second World War the barracks was occupied by the United States Army, the depot was also used as a military prison. Prisoners were beaten with clubs, forced to carry out vigorous physical exercise for seven hours daily, when notice was received of official inspections by visiting officers, prisoners thought likely to make complaints or with visible injuries were temporarily removed from the camp. In 1946 a court martial was convened at Grosvenor Square, London, to inquire into allegations that nine guards, the court martial took ten months to reach its conclusion and grew to include Kilian and Lobuono. Sergeant Judson Smith was sentenced to three years hard labour and a discharge and other enlisted men received prison sentences of lesser length. Lieutenant Granville Cubage, accused of ordering the punishments, pleaded that he was following orders from officers, he was fined $250. In September 1946, at a court convened at Bad Nauheim, Germany, Lobuono was officially reprimanded and fined $250. In 2007 Whittington Barracks became the Regimental Headquarters of the newly formed Mercian Regiment, in July 2008 the Labour Government set in motion the centralisation of all planning and training of the Defence Medical Services at Whittington Barracks. The relocation of the Headquarters of the Surgeon-General and major components of the Joint Medical Command was completed, a new HQ, named Coltman House, has been built and is fully occupied. The single service medical heads, the Army Medical Services, Royal Navy Medical Branch, grade II listed buildings at the barracks are, the keep, the garrison church and the separate World War I war memorials to the North and South Staffordshire Regiments
5.
Lichfield
–
Lichfield /ˈlɪtʃfiːld/ is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. One of eight parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly 16 mi north of Birmingham. At the time of the 2011 Census the population was estimated at 32,219, notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The citys recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his Bishopric in 669 CE, in 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found 5.9 km southwest of Lichfield. Lichfields heyday was in the 18th century when it developed into a thriving coaching city, today, the city still retains its old importance as an ecclesiastical centre, and its industrial and commercial development has been limited. The centre of the city retains an unspoilt charm with over 230 listed buildings in its streets, fine Georgian architecture. Lichfield is also home to sports presenter, Matt Bradbury. The origin of the modern name Lichfield is twofold and this passed into Old English as Lyccid, cf. Old Welsh, Luitcoyt, to which was appended Old English, feld open country. This word Lyccidfeld is the origin of the word Lichfield, popular etymology has it that a thousand Christians were martyred in Lichfield around 300 AD during the reign of Diocletian and that the name Lichfield actually means field of the dead. There is no evidence to support this legend, the earliest evidence of settlement has been the discovery of Mesolithic flints on the high ground of the cemetery at St Michael on Greenhill, which may indicate an early flint industry. Traces of Neolithic settlement have been discovered on the side of the sandstone ridge occupied by Lichfield Cathedral. 2.2 mi southwest of Lichfield, near the point where Icknield Street crosses Watling Street was the site of Etocetum, established in AD50 as a Roman military fortress, it had become a civilian settlement with a bath house and a mansio by the 2nd century. Letocetum fell into decline by the 4th century and the Romans had left by the 5th century, there have been scattered Romano-British finds in Lichfield and it is possible that a burial discovered beneath the cathedral in 1751 was Romano-British. There is no evidence of what happened to Letocetum after the Romans left, a Cair Luit Coyd listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his Historia Brittonum, although these were largely historic remembrances of early Sub-Roman Britain. The early history of Lichfield is obscure, the first authentic record of Lichfield occurs in Bedes history, where it is called Licidfelth and mentioned as the place where St Chad fixed the episcopal see of the Mercians in 669. The first Christian king of Mercia, Wulfhere, donated land at Lichfield for St Chad to build a monastery. It was because of this that the centre of Mercia became settled as the Diocese of Lichfield. The burial in the cathedral of the kings of Mercia, Wulfhere in 674 and Ceolred in 716, in 786 King Offa made the city an archbishopric with authority over all the bishops from the Humber to the River Thames, his appointee was Archbishop Hygeberht
6.
Battle of Passchendaele
–
The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly
7.
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)
–
Please see lieutenant general for other countries which use this rank Lieutenant general, formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank, some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, Lieutenant general is a superior rank to major general, but subordinate to a general. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-8, equivalent to a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and an air marshal in the Royal Air Force, the rank insignia for both the Army and the Royal Marines is a crown over a crossed sabre and baton. Since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the St Edwards Crown, prior to 1953, the Tudor Crown, commonly known as the Kings Crown was used. Ordinarily, lieutenant general is the held by the officer in command of an entire battlefield corps. The General Officer Commanding NATOs Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is a British lieutenant general, historically, I Corps and II Corps were commanded by British lieutenant generals. Additionally, three lieutenant general appointments also exist within the extant British Armys Headquarters and they are the Commander Field Army, the Commander Home Command and the Chief of Materiel in Defence Equipment and Support. Examples include Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Fry, Lieutenant-General Sir James Dutton, from 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of lieutenant general. It was superseded by the rank of air marshal on the following day, although Sir David Henderson was an RAF lieutenant general, the then RAF Chief-of-Staff, Sir Hugh Trenchard never held this rank. Additionally, the retired Royal Navy admiral, John de Mestre Hutchison, the RAF lieutenant general rank insignia was similar to the naval rank insignia for a vice-admiral, with a broad band of gold being worn on the cuff with two narrower bands above it. Unlike the naval insignia the RAF lieutenant general insignia did not have an executive curl
8.
Sir
–
Sir is an honorific address used in a number of situations in many anglophone cultures. The term can be used as a prefix, especially in the Commonwealth, for males who have been given certain honours or titles. The term is commonly used as a respectful way to address a man. Equivalent terms of address to females are maam or madam in most cases, or in the case of a woman, girl, or unmarried woman who prefers to be addressed as such. The equivalent term for a woman or baronetess is Dame. Sir derives from the Middle French honorific title sire, sire developed alongside the word seigneur, also used to refer to a feudal lord. Both derived from the Vulgar Latin senior, sire comes from the nominative case declension senior and seigneur, the prefix is used with the holders given name or full name, but never with the surname alone. For example, whilst Sir Alexander and Sir Alexander Fleming would be correct, the equivalent for a female who holds a knighthood or baronetcy in her own right is Dame, and follows the same usage customs as Sir. For example, while Lady Fiennes is correct, Lady Virginia, the widows of knights retain the style of wives of knights, however widows of baronets are either referred to as dowager, or use their forename before their courtesy style. For example, the widow of Sir Thomas Herbert Cochrane Troubridge, 4th Baronet, would either be known as Dowager Lady Troubridge or Laura, Lady Troubridge. Examples include, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser, GCB, KBE Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED This is also the case with academic titles, such as professor. For example, Patrick Bateson is both a professor and a bachelor, his correct title would be Professor Sir Patrick Bateson. The title of Doctor, however, is not used in combination with sir, knighted doctors are addressed as knights, though they may still use any post-nominal letters associated with their degrees. Church of England clergy who receive knighthoods do not use the title Sir, for example, the Reverend Dr John Polkinghorne, KBE is never referred to as Sir John Polkinghorne. Clergy of other denominations may use different conventions, peers who have been knighted are not addressed as Sir in the formal sense of the style, as their titles of nobility take precedence. Other male heirs of an earl who lack courtesy titles, and the heirs of a viscount or baron, do however use the style of Sir if knighted. Dual nationals holding a Commonwealth citizenship that recognise the British monarch as head of state are entitled to use the styling, the permissibility of using the style of Sir varies. Regular creation of new knights of the order ended in 1921 upon the formation of the Irish Free State, with the death of the last knight in 1974, the Order became dormant
9.
Brian Horrocks
–
He also served in the First World War and the Russian Civil War, was taken prisoner twice, and competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Later he was a presenter, authored books on military history. In 1940 Horrocks commanded a battalion during the Battle of France, the first time he served under Bernard Montgomery, Montgomery later identified Horrocks as one of his most able officers, appointing him to corps commands in both North Africa and Europe. In 1943, Horrocks was seriously wounded and took more than a year to recover before returning to command a corps in Europe, Horrocks wound caused continuing health problems and led to his early retirement from the army after the war. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in Western Europe, brian Horrocks was the only son of Colonel Sir William Horrocks, a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps. An unpromising student, he not have received a commission at all. Horrocks was commissioned as a lieutenant into the Middlesex Regiment on 8 August 1914. Horrocks was assigned to No.16 Platoon, with Captain Gibbons as his company commander, the battalion was part of the 19th Independent Brigade, which was not assigned to a division. On 21 October, at the Battle of Armentières, his platoon was surrounded, incarcerated in a military hospital, he was repeatedly interrogated by his German captors, who believed that the British were using expanding bullets in contravention of the 1899 Hague Convention. Horrocks captors refused to change his clothes or sheets, and denied him, both had temporarily lost the use of their legs, and were forced to crawl to the toilet, which caused Horrocks wounds to become infected. Conditions improved after his discharge and transfer to a prisoner of war camp, on his way to the camp, Horrocks befriended his German escort—he attributed their rapport to the mutual respect that front-line troops share. He was promoted to lieutenant on 18 December 1914, despite being in enemy hands and he was eventually placed in a compound for Russian officers, in the hope that the language barrier would hinder his escape attempts, Horrocks used the time to learn the Russian language. Years later, working in the House of Commons, he surprised Nikita Khrushchev, in the latter part of the war he was held in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp. His resistance in captivity would earn him the Military Cross, awarded in 1920, repatriated at the end of the war, Horrocks had difficulty adapting to a peace-time routine. He went on sprees in London, spending four years of accumulated back-pay in six weeks and he returned to active service in 1919 when the War Office called for volunteers who knew Russian. In 1919 Horrocks was posted to Russia as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, after landing at Vladivostok on 19 April, he was briefed at British headquarters. The White Army under Admiral Kolchak, with the help of released Czechoslovak Legion prisoners, had driven the Red Army out of Siberia, however, Kolchaks Czech troops were returning home, and the British military contingent was urgently trying to replace them with Russians. The journey took more than a month, and as the party member fluent in Russian
10.
Regiment
–
A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
11.
Devonshire Regiment
–
In June,1667, Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, was granted a commission to raise a regiment of foot, The Marquess of Worcesters Regiment of Foot. The regiment remained in existence for only a few months and was disbanded in the same year and it was re-raised in January 1673 and again disbanded in 1674. The regiment was not required to fight at the time of its formation since the Duke of Monmouth was drawn away from Bristol. Its first action came in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, after the war, it garrisoned the island of Minorca. The regiment served under the name of its various Colonels until it was numbered as the 11th Regiment of Foot when the system of regimental designation was adopted in 1751. It was given the county title of 11th Regiment of Foot in 1782. The 11th Regiment spent the years of the French Revolutionary Wars serving as detachments in the Mediterranean with the Royal Navy. It also took part in a raid on the port of Ostend in 1798. It was deployed to the West Indies in 1801 where it captured Saint Barthélemy, a 2nd Battalion was formed in 1809 and took part in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign. The 1st battalion returned to Europe in July 1809 to fight in the Peninsular War and it took part in the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 and then fell back to the Lines of Torres Vedras. It took part in the Siege of Badajoz in April 1811, in the 19th century, the regiment spent most of the 19th Century on garrison duty throughout the Empire. Under the reforms the regiment became the Devonshire Regiment on 1 July 1881, at the same time it merged with the militia and rifle volunteer units of the county of Devon. It took part in the Tirah Campaign in 1897 and the Second Boer War in 1899, the 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the Anglo-Ashanti wars and the Second Boer War. The 8th Battalion, part of 29th Brigade reserve, was committed within 3 hours of the beginning of the attack, the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment was a Regular Army unit, joined the 8th Brigade, 3rd Division and then transferred to the 14th Brigade, 5th Division. The 1st Battalion was serving in British India when the Second World War broke out, the brigade was part of the British 36th Infantry Division. In July 1943 the battalion, together with the 231st Brigade, fought in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and, briefly, in the Allied invasion of Italy in September. On D-Day, June 6,1944, it was intended that the battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cosmo Nevill, should land at Le Hamel, on Gold Beach, of the four company commanders, two were wounded and one was killed. The battalion continued to fight throughout the Battle of Normandy
12.
British Empire
–
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
13.
World War I
–
World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
14.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
15.
Mahdist War
–
Eighteen years of war resulted in the joint-rule state of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the British Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt. Following the invasion by Muhammad Ali in 1819, Sudan was governed by an Egyptian administration, because of the heavy taxes it imposed and because of the bloody start of the Turkish-Egyptian rule in Sudan, this colonial system was resented by the Sudanese people. Throughout the period of Turco-Egyptian rule, many segments of the Sudanese population suffered extreme hardship because of the system of taxation imposed by the central government. Under this system, a tax was imposed on farmers and small traders. In bad years, and especially during times of drought and famine, fearing the brutal and unjust methods of the Shaiqiyya, many farmers fled their villages in the fertile Nile Valley to the remote areas of Kordofan and Darfur. The jallaba were also known to be slave trading tribes, by the middle 19th century the Ottoman Imperial subject administration in Egypt was in the hands of Khedive Ismail. Thus an ever increasing British role in Egyptian affairs seemed necessary and this commission eventually forced Khedive Ismail to abdicate in favor of his son Tawfiq in 1877, leading to a period of political turmoil. Also in 1873, Ismail had appointed General Charles Chinese Gordon Governor of the Equatorial Provinces of Sudan, for the next three years, General Gordon fought against a native chieftain of Darfur, Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur. Upon Ismails abdication in 1877, Gordon found himself with dramatically decreased support, exhausted by years of work, he resigned his post in 1880 and left early the next year. His policies were soon abandoned by the new governors, but the anger, another widely reported potential source of frustration was the Turco-Egyptian abolition of the slave trade, one of the main sources of income in Sudan at the time. In the 1870s, a Muslim cleric named Muhammad Ahmad preached renewal of the faith and liberation of the land, soon in open revolt against the Egyptians, Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi, the promised redeemer of the Islamic world. In August 1881 the then-governor of the Sudan, Raouf Pasha, the captains of the two companies were each promised promotion if their soldiers were the ones to return the Mahdi to the governor. Both companies disembarked from the steamer that had brought them up the Nile to Aba Island, arriving simultaneously, each force began to fire blindly on the other, allowing the Mahdis scant followers to attack and destroy each force in turn at the Battle of Aba. The Mahdi then began a retreat to Kordofan, where he was at a distance from the seat of government in Khartoum. This movement, couched as a progress, incited many of the Arab tribes to rise in support of the Jihad the Mahdi had declared against the Turkish oppressors. Another Egyptian expedition dispatched from Fashoda was ambushed and slaughtered on the night of 9 December 1881, the Mahdi also legitimized his movement by drawing deliberate parallels to the life of the Prophet Muhammad. He called his followers Ansar, after the people who greeted the Prophet in Medina, and he called his flight from the British, the hijrah, after the Prophets flight from the Quraysh. The Egyptian administration in the Sudan, now thoroughly concerned by the scale of the uprising and this force approached the Mahdist gathering, whose members were poorly clothed, half starving, and armed only with sticks and stones
16.
Second Boer War
–
The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
17.
Irish War of Independence
–
The Irish War of Independence or Anglo-Irish War or the Tan War was a guerrilla war fought from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army and the British security forces in Ireland. It was an escalation of the Irish revolutionary period into armed conflict, in the December 1918 election, the Irish republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland. On 21 January 1919 they formed a government and declared independence from Britain. Later that day, two members of the British-organized armed police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, were dead in County Tipperary by IRA members acting on their own initiative. This is often seen as the beginning of the conflict, for much of 1919, IRA activity primarily involved capturing weapons and freeing republican prisoners. In September that year the British government outlawed the Dáil and Sinn Féin, the IRA began ambushing RIC and British Army patrols, attacking their barracks and forcing isolated barracks to be abandoned. The British government bolstered the RIC with recruits from Britain—the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries—who became notorious for ill-discipline, the conflict as a result is often referred to as the Black and Tan War or simply the Tan War. While around 300 people had killed in the conflict up to late 1920. A week later, seventeen Auxiliaries were killed by the IRA in an ambush at Kilmichael in County Cork, the British government declared martial law in much of southern Ireland. The centre of Cork City was burnt out by British forces in December 1920, violence continued to escalate over the next seven months, when 1,000 people were killed and 4,500 republicans were interned. The fighting was concentrated in Munster, Dublin and Belfast. These three locations saw over 75% of the conflicts fatalities, violence in Ulster, especially Belfast, was notable for its sectarian character and its high number of Catholic civilian victims. Both sides agreed to a truce on 11 July 1921, the post-ceasefire talks led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. However, six counties remained within the United Kingdom. After the ceasefire, political and sectarian violence between republicans and loyalists continued in Northern Ireland for many months, in June 1922, disagreement among republicans over the Anglo-Irish Treaty led to an eleven-month civil war. The Irish Free State awarded 62,868 medals for service during the War of Independence, since the 1880s, Irish nationalists in the Irish Parliamentary Party had been demanding Home Rule, or self-government, from Britain. Fringe organisations, such as Arthur Griffiths Sinn Féin instead argued for some form of Irish independence, in turn, nationalists formed their own paramilitary organisation, the Irish Volunteers. But a significant minority of the Irish Volunteers opposed Irelands involvement in the war, the Volunteer movement split, a majority leaving to form the National Volunteers under Redmond
18.
Third Anglo-Afghan War
–
The Third Anglo-Afghan War, also referred to as the Third Afghan War, began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. The Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own affairs as a fully independent state. The root cause of the Third Anglo-Afghan War lies many years before the fighting commenced. For the British in India, Afghanistan was long seen as a source of threat. For a long time the British worried about Russian intentions in the region and this period became known as the Great Game. Ostensibly, the country remained independent, however under the Treaty of Gandamak it accepted that in external matters it would. have no windows looking on the outside world, the death in 1901 of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan led indirectly to the war that began 18 years later. His successor, Habibullah, was a leader who sided with Britain or Russia. Notwithstanding these outbreaks, the frontier generally remained settled at a time when Britain could ill afford trouble, a Turco-German mission left Kabul in 1916. By that time, however, it had successfully convinced Habibullah that Afghanistan was an independent nation, with the end of the First World War, Habibullah sought to gain reward from the British government for his assistance during the war. Looking for British recognition of Afghanistans independence in foreign affairs, he demanded a seat at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 and this request was denied by the Viceroy, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, on the grounds that attendance at the conference was confined to the belligerents. Further negotiations were scheduled, but before they could begin Habibullah was assassinated on 19 February 1919 and this resulted in a power struggle as Habibullahs brother Nasrullah Khan proclaimed himself as Habibullahs successor, while in Kabul Amanullah, Habibullahs third son, had also proclaimed himself Amir. However, the Afghan army suspected Amanullahs complicity in the death of his father, needing a way of cementing his power, upon seizing the throne in April 1919 Amanullah posed as a man of democratic ideals, promising reforms in the system of government. He stated that there should be no forced labour, tyranny or oppression, upon seizing the throne, Amanullah had his uncle Nasrullah arrested for Habibullahs murder and had him sentenced to life imprisonment. Nasrullah had been the leader of a conservative element in Afghanistan. By April 1919 he realised that if he could not find a way to placate the conservatives he would be unlikely to maintain his hold on power. In 1919 the Afghan regular army was not a formidable force. These men were organised into 21 cavalry regiments and 75 infantry battalions, with about 280 modern artillery pieces, organised into 70 batteries, in reality, the Afghan regular army was not ready for war. As in past years, the levels of the officer corps were riddled with political intrigue
19.
South Staffordshire Regiment
–
The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot, the regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. Militia and Rifle Volunteers of south Staffordshire were also incorporated in the new regiment, 2nd Battalion, the 80th Regiment of Foot, raised in 1793 by Lord William Henry Paget from members of the Staffordshire Militia. The 1st Battalion was sent to Egypt in 1882 as part of the British invasion of the country, on landing in Alexandria, it carried its colours through the city - this was the last occasion on which a British Army unit carried colours on active service. In 1885, the battalion travelled up the River Nile to Sudan in an attempt to lift the Siege of Khartoum. The battalion was involved in the defeat of Arab forces at Kirbekan. The 1st Battalion then entered a period of garrison duty in Gibraltar, Egypt. They arrived home from Gibraltar in early February 1900, with the outbreak of the Second Boer War the previous year, the regiment was ordered to South Africa, arriving as part of the 8th Division in 1900. The battalion was involved in minor skirmishes with the Boers. In 1904, the 1st South Staffords returned to the United Kingdom, being stationed in Ireland and England until 1911, while in Gibraltar, new colours were presented to the battalion by King George V on 31 January 1912. The battalion returned to South Africa in 1913, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in British India in 1881, soon moving to Tralee in Ireland, where it was involved in actions against Irish nationalists. It returned to England in 1883 and it was then posted to The Curragh from 1889 to 1891, before travelling to Egypt, via Aldershot, in 1893. The battalion subsequently served in southern India and Burma until 1907, the battalion returned to England in 1911. The 3rd, Militia battalion, was embodied in May 1900 and they were again embodied in May 1901, and the following month 500 men embarked for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. The battalion returned in July 1902, the 4th, Militia battalion, was embodied in December 1899, and 650 men embarked in February 1900 for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. They returned in August 1901, when they disembodied, the 1st Battalion landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 22nd Brigade in 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 6th Brigade in the 2nd Division in August 1914 also for service on the Western Front. The 4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 7th Brigade in the 25th Division in October 1917 also for service on the Western Front
20.
Staffordshire Regiment
–
The Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales Division. In 2014, the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment was merged with the 1st and 2nd battalions, to create the 1st and 2nd battalions, the mascot of the Staffordshire Regiment was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Each successive mascot holding the name Watchman, the current serving mascot is called Sgt Watchman V, who carries out his duties as part of the Staffordshire Regimental Association. The regiment was formed on 31 January 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire Regiment, in 1962 the regiment undertook a six-month exercise in Kenya, followed by a year in Colchester and then a return to Kenya for a further two years. On the tour the regiment had to deal with a mutiny by the Ugandan Army, returning home the regiment was the last unit of the British Army to serve in East Africa. A home tour in Dover followed in 1964, then came a two-year posting to Berlin in 1968 followed by a tour in Sharjah in the Persian Gulf where the regiment again recorded a last unit distinction being the last unit to serve in Sharjah. The regiment undertook a tour in Northern Ireland during the Troubles in 1972 before moving to Quebec Barracks in Osnabrück in 1973, further tours in Northern Ireland were undertaken in 1974 and 1976. The regiment moved to Hyderabad Barracks in Colchester Garrison later in 1976 before undertaking another tour in Northern Ireland in 1979, the regiment moved to Gibraltar in 1981 and to Roman Barracks at Colchester in 1983 before undertaking another tour in Northern Ireland in 1984. It then moved to Fallingbostel in 1986, in October 1990 The Staffordshire Regiment was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of 7th Armoured Brigade. The deployment was in response to the dictator Saddam Husseins invasion of the territory of Kuwait. The regiment moved to Dale Barracks in Chester in 1991, to Abercorn Barracks in Ballykinler in 1994, the regiment moved to Mooltan Barracks in Tidworth Camp in 2000. Following a deployment to Kosovo in 2002 and a first deployment to Iraq on Operation Telic 6 in 2005, the regiment also undertook a second deployment to Iraq during Operation Telic 9 in 2006 where they lead the raid on the Al Jamiat police station. On 1 September 2007 the Staffordshire Regiment became the 3rd Battalion, quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Canal du Nord, St. Alec Wilfred Lee, CB, MC 1961–1966, Brig, gerald Ernest Thubron, DSO, OBE 1966–1971, Brig. John Conway Commings, CBE 1971–1977, Brig, robert Louis Hargroves, CBE 1977–1985, Col. Jeremy Charles Angelo Swynnerton, OBE 1985–1990, Lt-Gen. Sir Derek Boorman, KCB 1990–1995, Maj-Gen, ian Lennox Freer, CB, CBE 1995–2002, Col. Timothy Richard Cottis, MBE 2002–2005, Brig. Simon James Knapper, CBE, MC 2005–2007, Col. The exhibits focus on the history of the regiment and its forebears, outdoors is a replica trench from World War I, and several armoured fighting vehicles. Gulf War Photographs of the Staffordshire Regiment at the United States Army Center of Military History
21.
Cheshire Regiment
–
The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. The regiment was expanded in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot, the title 22nd Regiment continued to be used within the regiment. In 1689, Henry Howard, Duke of Norfolk, raised a regiment on the little Roodee at Chester, for the early part of its formation, the regiment was known by the name of the current colonel. The regiment fought at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, at the Battle of Aughrim in July 1691 and at the Siege of Limerick in August 1691. The regiment continued to serve as a garrison in Ireland from this point until 1695, when it was sent to the Low Countries for a short time before returning to its duties in Ireland. In 1702, the regiment sailed to Jamaica under the colonelcy of William Selwyn, spending the next years in combat duties against the French and native population. By 1751, the regiment had become the 22nd Regiment of Foot, in 1758, it took part in the Siege of Louisbourg in French Canada. The regiment also took part in General Wolfes victory over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759, the regiment received two battle honours for taking part in the capture of Martinique and the British expedition against Cuba during 1762. The regiment was sent to North America for service in the American Revolutionary War in 1775, the regiment later evacuated from Boston to Halifax and then took part in the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776. The Battalion Companies participated in the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778 and then returned to New York City in 1779, although the County designation existed as early as 1772, the regiment was retitled the 22nd Regiment of Foot in 1782. It was deployed to the West Indies in September 1793, taking part in expeditions against Martinique, Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, in January 1800, the regiment was posted to South Africa, before moving to India where it suffered heavy losses during the assault on Bhurtpore in 1805. In 1810, the regiment took part in the occupation of Mauritius, the regiment took part in the Battle of Miani in February 1843, the Battle of Hyderabad in March 1843 and the conquest of Sindh in summer 1843 during further Indian service. Under the reforms the regiment became The Cheshire Regiment on 1 July 1881 and its recruiting area was confirmed as being the County of Cheshire. Both battalions of the regiment served in Burma between 1887 and 1891, while the 2nd Battalion saw active service in South Africa in 1900. The 1st battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 15th Brigade in the 5th Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and it also saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 and the Battle of Hill 60 also in April 1915. In 1917 they fought at the Battle of Arras in April 1917 and it then took part in the Battle of the Lys in April 1918 and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy later in the year. The 1/5th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 14th Brigade in the 5th Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front
22.
Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment
–
The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales Division. The regiment served as the county regiment for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, the regiment was formed in 1970 through the amalgamation of the Worcestershire Regiment and the Sherwood Foresters. The regiment was based at Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster and undertook a tour in Northern Ireland in 1972 during the Troubles and it moved to Berlin later that year and to Shackleton Barracks at Ballykelly in 1974 before returning to Meanee Barracks in Colchester in 1976. After a further tour in Northern Ireland in 1977 the regiment moved to Peninsula Barracks at Hemer in 1979. After a deployment to Cyprus in 1991, the regiment moved to Lucknow Barracks at Tidworth in 1993 from where elements of the regiment were deployed to Bosnia in 1996 and 1998. The regiment undertook a tour in Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick in 2004 and then moved to Cavalry Barracks. In August 2007, the regiment became the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, the regimental ram was known as Corporal Derby. The ram was the 28th ram to act as mascot for the regiment, the first ram was captured by the 95th Regiment of Foot at the Siege of Kotah in 1858. Since 1912 successive Dukes of Devonshire have traditionally selected a Swaledale Ram from their Chatsworth Park flock, the ram had its own regimental number, was paid £3.75 per day, and drew his own rations. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012
23.
Mercian Regiment
–
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as The Heart of Englands Infantry, it was formed on 1 September 2007 by the amalgamation of three existing regiments, the Regiment has deployed on eight operational deployments since its formation, making it one of the most operationally experienced regiments in the British Army. The antecedent Regiments were, The 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, The 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, the reserve West Midlands Regiment, with elements of the Kings and Cheshire Regiment and the East of England Regiment formed the 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment. The regiment originally had three regular battalions and one Army Reserve battalion, though the 3rd Battalion was disbanded as part of the restructuring of the British Army. The Regiment has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, the 1st Battalion has deployed on three operational tours since its formation in 2007, one to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. It is an infantry battalion, part of the 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade based at Bulford Camp. The 2nd Battalion deployed on three tours to Afghanistan. It is a Light Infantry battalion, part of 42 Infantry Brigade, the 3rd Battalion was an armoured infantry battalion, part of the 7th Armoured Brigade based in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany. It was disbanded in July 2014 as part of the Army 2020 defence review, the 4th Battalion is the regiments Army Reserve Light Infantry battalion. The battalion, whose HQ is based in Wolverhampton and Kidderminster, England, has five companies, a HQ Company. The regiments cap badge is a double headed Mercian Eagle with Saxon crown, in 2005, this badge was rejected by the Army Dress Committee on the grounds that it had been the badge of a territorial unit, The Mercian Volunteers, which was junior to the amalgamating regiments. Accordingly, a modified design featuring two colours of metal was adopted. In July 2014, this proposal was approved, and the regiment was renamed as The Mercian Regiment, Derby, a Swaledale ram, is the regimental mascot, inherited from the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. The 30th iteration of the Mascot was known as Lance Corporal Derby XXX, a regimental pattern with twists of cerise, buff and green was worn by those who were extra-regimentally employed, this multi-coloured lanyard is now worn by all in the regiment. Tactical Recognition Flashes, The regiments TRF is a 3 vertical striped diamond with cerise on the left, buff in the middle and Lincoln green on the right. Each Battalion also has their own, the 1st and 2nd Battalions use their antecedent regiments flashes, buff and cerise for the 1st and cerise and Lincoln green for the 2nd. The 3rd battalion has a diamond with the Stafford knot. Regimental Side Hat, black with buff inner crease and green piping, the cap badge is in silver and gold wire embroidery
24.
Militia (United Kingdom)
–
The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland. The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the Territorial, for the period before the creation of the United Kingdom, in the home countries and their colonies, see Militia. 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 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 arriving in Bordeaux on 12 April 1814, although muster rolls were prepared as late as 1820, the element of compulsion was abandoned, and the militia was transformed into a volunteer force. It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army, men would volunteer and undertake basic training for several months at an army depot. Thereafter, they would return to life, but report for regular periods of military training. In return, they would receive pay and a financial retainer. Of course, many saw the camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations, until 1861 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but in that year a number of county regiments were converted to artillery. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to engineers, typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions and Irish regiments three. The militia must not be confused with the 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, 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 battalions were redesignated as reserve and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Numbered Territorial Force battalions, ranking after the Special Reserve, were formed from the units at the same time. Altogether,101 infantry battalions,33 artillery regiments and two regiments of special reservists were formed. Upon mobilisation, the reserve units would be formed at the depot. The original militiamen soon disappeared, and the battalions became training units pure, 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
25.
Volunteer Force
–
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. During the Crimean War, the War Office had been forced to send militia, the situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair, an attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have the bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire, and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of the Volunteer Act 1804, alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting, Corps were only to be formed on the recommendation of the county’s lord-lieutenant. The force was liable to be called out “in case of invasion, or of appearance of an enemy in force on the coast, or in case of rebellion arising in either of these emergencies. ”While under arms volunteers were subject to military law and were entitled to be billeted. Members were not permitted to quit the force during actual military service, members were to be returned as “effective” if they had attended eight days drill and exercise in four months, or 24 days within a year. The members of the corps were to provide their own arms and equipment, Volunteers were also permitted to choose the design of their uniforms, subject to the lord-lieutenant’s approval. Although volunteers were to pay for their own firearms, they were to be provided under the superintendence of the War Office, the number of officers and private men in each county and corps was to be settled by the war office, based on the lord-lieutenant’s recommendation. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, the purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy’s flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the letter, engineer corps were also formed. Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps, in a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force and these were the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers and the Victoria Rifles who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on August 2,1859, some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of the Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army
26.
West Indies
–
Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the West Indies. In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands, after the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia. In the late century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began their operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping. These African slaves wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco would eventually carry the struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and these interconnected commercial and diplomatic relations made up the Western Caribbean Zone which was in place in the early eighteenth century. In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US$25 million in gold, the Danish West Indies became an insular area of the US, called the United States Virgin Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom re-organised all their West Indies island territories into the West Indies Federation and they hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. West Indian is the term used by the U. S. government to refer to people of the West Indies. Tulane University professor Rosanne Adderly says he phrase West Indies distinguished the territories encountered by Columbus, … The term West Indies was eventually used by all European nations to describe their own acquired territories in the Americas. Despite the collapse of the Federation … the West Indies continues to field a joint cricket team for international competition, the West Indies cricket team includes participants from Guyana, which is geographically located in South America. More than Slaves and Sugar, Recent Historiography of the Trans-imperial Caribbean, a Concise History of the Caribbean. Martin, Tony, Caribbean History, From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present
27.
Seven Years' War
–
The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
28.
American Revolutionary War
–
From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
29.
Napoleonic Wars
–
The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, then Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe. Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
30.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
–
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major, but ultimately unsuccessful, uprising in India in 1857–58 against British rule. For nearly 100 years, that rule had been presided over by the British East India Company, the rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Companys army in the garrison town of Meerut,40 miles northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a threat to British power in that region. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities formally to have ended until 8 July 1859. The rebellion is known by names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection. Many Indians did rise against the British, however, very many also fought for the British, after the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the rebels very quickly reached Delhi, whose 81-year-old Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, they declared the Emperor of Hindustan. Soon, the rebels had captured large tracts of the North-Western Provinces. The East India Companys response came rapidly as well, with help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July 1857, and Delhi by the end of September. However, it took the remainder of 1857 and the better part of 1858 for the rebellion to be suppressed in Jhansi, Lucknow. Other regions of Company controlled India—Bengal province, the Bombay Presidency, in the Punjab, the Sikh princes crucially helped the British by providing both soldiers and support. In some regions, most notably in Awadh, the took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. However, the rebel leaders proclaimed no articles of faith that presaged a new political system, even so, the rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian- and British Empire history. India was thereafter administered directly by the British government in the new British Raj, on 1 November 1858, Queen Victoria issued a proclamation to Indians, which while lacking the authority of a constitutional provision, promised rights similar to those of other British subjects. In the following decades, when admission to these rights was not always forthcoming, the victory was consolidated in 1764 at the Battle of Buxar, when the East India Company army defeated Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. After his defeat, the granted the Company the right to the collection of Revenue in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar. The Company soon expanded its territories around its bases in Bombay and Madras, later, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, in 1806, the Vellore Mutiny was sparked by new uniform regulations that created resentment amongst both Hindu and Muslim sepoys. After the turn of the 19th century, Governor-General Wellesley began what became two decades of accelerated expansion of Company territories and this was achieved either by subsidiary alliances between the Company and local rulers or by direct military annexation
31.
Chichester
–
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, in South-East England. It is the city in West Sussex and is its county town. It has a history as a settlement from Roman times and was important in Anglo-Saxon times. It is the seat of a bishopric, with a 12th-century cathedral, Chichester has three tiers of local government. It is a hub, and a centre for culture in the county, with a theatre, museum. Chichester Harbour and the South Downs provide opportunities for outdoor pursuits, the city centre stands on the foundations of the Romano-British city of Noviomagus Reginorum, capital of the Civitas Reginorum. The Roman road of Stane Street, connecting the city with London, started at the east gate, the plan of the city is inherited from the Romans, the North, South, East and West shopping streets radiate from the central market cross dating from medieval times. The original Roman city wall was over 6½ feet thick with a steep ditch and it survived for over one and a half thousand years but was then replaced by a thinner Georgian wall. The city was home to some Roman baths, found down Tower Street when preparation for a new car park was under way. A museum, the Novium, preserving the baths was opened on 8 July 2012, an amphitheatre was built outside the city walls, close to the East Gate, in around 80 AD. The area is now a park, but the site of the amphitheatre is discernible as a bank approximately oval in shape. In January 2017, archaeologists using underground radar reported the discovery of the relatively untouched ground floor of a Roman townhouse, the exceptional preservation is due to the fact the site, Priory Park, belonged to a monastery and has never been built upon since Roman times. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it was captured towards the close of the century, by Ælle. It was the city of the Kingdom of Sussex. The cathedral for the South Saxons was founded in 681 at Selsey, Chichester was one of the burhs established by Alfred the Great, probably in 878-9, making use of the remaining Roman walls. The system was supported by a network based on hilltop beacons to provide early warning. It has been suggested that one such link ran from Chichester to London, when the Domesday Book was compiled, Chichester consisted of 300 dwellings which held a population of 1,500 people. There was a mill named Kings Mill that would have been rented to local slaves and villeins
32.
First Opium War
–
European silver flowed into China when the Canton System, instituted in the mid-18th century, confined the sea trade to Canton and to the Chinese merchants of the Thirteen Factories. The British East India Company had a monopoly of British trade. The British East India Company began to auction opium grown on its plantations in India to independent foreign traders in exchange for silver, the opium was then transported to the Chinese coast and sold to local middlemen who retailed the drug inside China. This reverse flow of silver and the numbers of opium addicts alarmed Chinese officials. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor, rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, Lin confiscated around 20,000 chests of opium without offering compensation, blockaded trade, and confined foreign merchants to their quarters. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade, in China, the war is considered the beginning of modern Chinese history. Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese leased an outpost at Macau, after the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, the exchange of goods between China and western Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the annual Manila Galleon brought in enormous amounts of silver to the Asian trade network, from 1700–1842, Guangzhou came to dominate maritime trade with China, and this period became known as the Canton System. Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company, the British East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India. From the inception of the Canton System in 1757, trade in goods from China was extremely lucrative for European, however, foreign traders were only permitted to do business through a body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were restricted to Canton. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories, near Shameen Island, while silk and porcelain drove trade through their popularity in the west, an insatiable demand for tea existed in Britain. However, only silver was accepted in payment by China, which resulted in a trade deficit. From the mid-17th century around 28 million kilograms of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, Britain had been on the gold standard since the 18th century, so it had to purchase silver from continental Europe and Mexico to supply the Chinese appetite for silver. Attempts by a British embassy, a Dutch mission, Russias Golovkin in 1805, by 1817, the British realized they could reduce the trade deficit as well as turn the Indian colony profitable by counter-trading in narcotic Indian opium. Opium was produced in traditionally cotton-growing regions of India under British East India Company monopoly, both areas had been hard hit by the introduction of factory-produced cotton cloth, which used cotton grown in Egypt. The opium was auctioned in Calcutta on the condition that it be shipped by British traders to China, Opium as a medicinal ingredient was documented in texts as early as the Tang dynasty but its recreational use was limited and there were laws against its abuse. British sales of opium began in 1781, and sales increased fivefold between 1821 and 1837, by 1820, just when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of rebellions, the flow of silver had reversed, Chinese merchants were now exporting it to pay for opium. The imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade, Napier was instructed to obey Chinese regulations, communicate directly with Chinese authorities, superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium, and to survey Chinas coastline
33.
Military history of the North-West Frontier
–
The North-West Frontier region of the British Indian Empire was the most difficult area to conquer in South Asia, strategically and militarily. The borderline between is known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan. The two main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes, since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia in the century, stability of the Frontier. Much of the Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in the First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim. In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar, Kabul, and Peshawar and he went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan, and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus. On his death in 1773, the Afghan domain included Baluchistan, Sindh, the Punjab, Ahmad Shah was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani, whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and the resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years, during this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh, Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from the Punjab crossed the Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock, in 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later the capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul and he defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833, however the Sikhs seized all of Peshawar the following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from the East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help, maharaja Ranjit Singh, also called Sher-e-Punjab was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan and he then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied a significant number of tribes, the civil war in Afghanistan coupled with a British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent, the Compagnie des Indes, by 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the Companys control
34.
Stafford
–
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands of England. It lies approximately 16 miles north of Wolverhampton,18 miles south of Stoke-on-Trent and 24 miles north-west of Birmingham. The population in 2001 was 63,681 and that of the borough of Stafford 122,000. Stafford means ford by a staithe, the original settlement was on dry sand and gravel peninsula that provided a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent. There is still an area of marshland northwest of the town. It is thought Stafford was founded in about 700 AD by a Mercian prince called Bertelin who, according to legend, the tree-trunk coffin may have been placed there as an object of commemoration or veneration of St Bertelin. This new burh was fortified and provided with an area for the centralised production of Roman-style pottery which was supplied to the chain of West Midlands burhs. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society, Æthelflæds death effectively ended the independence of Mercia. Edward the Elder of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth and accepted the submission of all who were living in Mercia, in late 918 Aelfwynn, Æthelflæds daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project for the unification of England took another step forward, the Lady of Mercia, Æthelflæd, ruled Mercia for five years after the death of her father and husband, dying in Tamworth in 918. At around this time the county of Staffordshire was formed, Stafford lay within the Pirehill hundred. In 1069, a rebellion by Eadric the Wild against the Norman conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford, two years later another rebellion, this time led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia, culminated in Edwins assassination. This meant his lands were distributed amongst the followers of William the Conqueror, robert de Tonei was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the kings rents in Stafford. Stafford Castle was built by the Normans on the hilltop to the west in about 1090. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone and it has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle on the earthworks incorporate much of the original stonework. A motte was constructed on the side of the peninsula, overlooking a ford. In 1206 King John granted a Royal Charter which created the borough of Stafford, in the Middle Ages Stafford was a market town, mainly dealing in cloth and wool. In spite of being the town, Stafford required successive surges of external investment from the time of Æthelflæd to that of Queen Elizabeth I
35.
Newcastle-under-Lyme
–
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal settlement in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of North Staffordshire, in the 2011 census the town had a population of 75,125. The Newcastle part of the name derives from being the location of a new castle in the 12th century, the Lyme section could refer to the Lyme Brook or the extensive Forest of Lyme that covered the area with lime trees in the mediaeval period. The new castle was built to supersede an older fortress at Chesterton about 2 miles to the north, in 1235 Henry III constituted it a free borough, granting a guild merchant and other privileges. In 1251 he leased it at fee-farm to the burgesses, in 1265 Newcastle was granted by the Crown to Simon de Montfort, and subsequently to Edmund Crouchback, through whom it passed to Henry IV. In John Lelands time the castle had disappeared save one great Toure, Newcastle did not feature much in the English Civil War, save a Royalist plundering. However, it was the hometown of Major General Thomas Harrison a Cromwellian army officer and leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men, Newcastle sent two members to parliament from 1355 to 1885, when it lost one representative. When Stoke-on-Trent was formed by the 1910 amalgamation of the six towns Newcastle remained separate. 4%, although passed by the House of Commons, the Bill was rejected by the House of Lords. Following the Local Government Act 1972 it became the settlement of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Like neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastles early economy was based around the trade, silk. Later coal mining, brick manufacture, iron casting and engineering rose to prominence, very fine red earthenware and also soft-paste porcelain tableware was produced in Newcastle at Samuel Bells factory in Lower Street between 1724 and 1754 when all production ceased. With the exception of a failed enterprise between 1790 and 1797, which switched to brewing, there was no further commercial production of pottery within the town of Newcastle. Production of earthenware tiles however continued at locations within the borough. Manufacture of fine bone china was re-established in the borough in 1963 by Mayfair Pottery at Chesterton, the manufacture in the borough of clay tobacco smoking pipes started about 1637 and grew rapidly and was second only to hatting within the borough. Nationally, the town was ranked with Chester, York and Hull as the four major pipe producers and this industry continued until the mid-19th century when decline set in rapidly and by 1881 only one tobacco pipe maker was left. In 1944, the Rolls-Royce Derwent engine for the Gloster Meteor fighter was made in the borough, Newcastles 20th century industries include, iron working, construction materials, clothing, computers, publishing, electric motors and machinery. Various business centres in the town offices for companies that operate in the service sector. The town has been the birthplace of notable politicians and activists
36.
Stoke-on-Trent
–
Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles. Together with the boroughs of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands, it is part of North Staffordshire. Stoke is polycentric, having formed by a federation of six towns in the early 20th century. It took its name from Stoke-upon-Trent, where the town hall, Hanley is the primary commercial centre. The four other towns are Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and is commonly known as the Potteries. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries, the name Stoke is taken from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent, the original ancient parish, with other settlements being chapelries. Stoke derives from the Old English stoc, a word that at first meant little more than place and these variant meanings included dairy farm, secondary or dependent place or farm, summer pasture, crossing place, meeting place and place of worship. It is not known which of these was intended here, because Stoke was such a common name for a settlement, some kind of distinguishing affix was usually added later, in this case the name of the river. The motto of Stoke-on-Trent is Vis Unita Fortior which can be translated as, United Strength is Stronger, or Strength United is the More Powerful and it was not until 1 April 1910 that the Six Towns were brought together. The county borough of Hanley, the boroughs of Burslem, Longton. The combined borough took the town of Stoke. In 1919, the borough proposed to further and annex the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. This never took place, due to objections from Newcastle Corporation. A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill, ultimately, Wolstanton was instead added to Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1932. The borough was granted city status in 1925, with a Lord Mayor from 1928. The decision was overturned, however, when an approach was made to King George V. The public announcement of the elevation to city status was made by the King during a visit to Stoke on 4 June 1925, the county borough was abolished in 1974, and Stoke became a non-metropolitan district of Staffordshire. Its status as a unitary authority was restored on 1 April 1997, for Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS3 region
37.
Burton upon Trent
–
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town on the River Trent in East Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299, the demonym for residents of the town is Burtonian. The town originally grew up around Burton Abbey, Burton Bridge was also the site of two battles, in 1322 when Edward II defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and 1643 when royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. William Lord Paget and his descendants were responsible for extending the house within the abbey grounds. Burton grew into a market town by the early modern period. The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station, Ryknild Street, a Roman road, ran north-east through what later became the parish of Burton, linking camps at Letocetum, near Lichfield, and Derventio, near Derby. Burton was almost certainly one of the sites, the name Andresey given to an island in the river Trent near the church means Andrews isle. The island is associated with the legend of St Modwen or Modwenna and it is likely that any surviving religious house would have been destroyed during the Danish incursion into the area in 874. Place names indicate Scandinavian influence, and several names of Scandinavian origin were still used in the area in the early 12th century. In 1003 a Benedictine abbey was established on a new site on the west bank of the Trent at Burton by Wulfric Spott and he is known to have been buried in the abbey cloister in 1010, alongside his wife. The monastery was the most important in Staffordshire and by the 1530s had the highest revenue and it is known that there were frequent Royal visits to the abbey, including those by William I, Henry II and Edward I. In the 12th and 13th centuries streets were laid out off the west side of High Street, the earliest being New Street, Horninglow Street at the north end of High Street was part of a major east-west route using the bridge over the river. A royal charter was granted on 12 April 1200 by King John to the Abbot to hold a market in Burton every Thursday. The bridge was the site of two battles, first in 1322 when Edward III defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and also in 1643 when the Royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. Under Henry VIII the abbey was dissolved in 1539, to be refounded in 1541 as a church for a dean. It was again dissolved in 1545 and granted to Sir William Paget, Paget began planning to expand the Manor House within the abbey precincts, known to have existed since at least 1514, into a grand mansion. To provide the materials for this project, the old buildings were to be cannibalised. There were major alterations to the house over the three centuries
38.
Staffordshire Brigade
–
The Staffordshire Brigade was a volunteer infantry brigade formation of the British Army from 1888 to 1936. The Staffordshire Brigade had its origin in the Stanhope Memorandum of 1888 and this proposed a Mobilisation Scheme for units of the Volunteer Force, which would assemble by brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime the brigades provided a structure for collective training, under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment and the Prince of Waless would assemble at Wolverhampton. The brigade commander and his Aide-de-Camp were retired Regular officers on the Reserve list and he had seen active service in the Crimea, Indian Mutiny, China War and Ashanti War. Col Hon Francis Charles Bridgeman, MP, retired officer in the Scots Guards. Under the Haldane Reforms, the former Volunteers were subsumed into the Territorial Force in 1908, the Staffordshire Brigade was assigned to the North Midland Division of the TF. On the outbreak of World War I, the North Midland Division mobilised immediately and this was accepted by the majority, and the division moved to Luton to train for deployment overseas. It began landing in France in late February 1915 and by 8 March had completed its concentration – the first complete TF formation to arrive on the Western Front. Shortly afterwards the TF formations were numbered, the North Midland Division becoming the 46th Division, the 137th Brigade served on the Western Front for the whole of the war, with the exception of a few weeks in Egypt. This was an attempt to restart the failed Battle of Loos, the British bombardment had been ineffective while the German artillery brought down a barrage on the divisions jumping-off trenches. The attacking battalions came under fire and lost hundreds of casualties within a few yards of their own line. Only a handful of 1/5th North Staffs got as far as Big Willie, the British attack was hurriedly called off. In December 1915 the division was ordered to Egypt, and 137th Brigade arrived there by 13 January, a week later the move was countermanded and the troops re-embarked for France, concentrating near Amiens by mid-February. The only result of this move was an outbreak of disease that weakened units. The 46th Division went back into the line in the Vimy sector, in May, however, it began to move south to take part in the forthcoming offensive on the Somme. The division was ordered to assault the north side of the Gommecourt Salient on 1 July 1916, but the attack was another disaster, the first wave being cut down almost on the start line. The jumping-off and communication trenches were inadequate, and the following waves were badly delayed, completely mixed up. Early 1917 saw the 46th Division still holding the line in the Gommecourt area, however, at the beginning of March, patrols found that the Germans were beginning to retreat from the Gommecourt defences
39.
Wolverhampton
–
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 249,470, the demonym for people from the city is Wulfrunian. Historically part of Staffordshire, the city is named after Wulfrun, prior to the Norman Conquest, the areas name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun, the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its name from Wulfereēantūn after the Mercian King. The variation Wolveren Hampton is seen in records, e. g. in 1381. The city grew initially as a market town specialising in the woollen trade, in the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making and the manufacture of cars and motorcycles. The economy of the city is based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry. A local tradition states that King Wulfhere of Mercia founded an abbey of St Mary at Wolverhampton in 659, the Mercians and West Saxons claimed a decisive victory and the field of Woden is recognised by numerous place names in Wednesfield. In 985, King Ethelred the Unready granted lands at a place referred to as Heantun to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter and this became the site for the current St. Peters Church. A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by Sir Charles Wheeler, Wolverhampton is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being in the Hundred of Seisdon and the county of Staffordshire. The lords of the manor are listed as the canons of St Mary, with the tenant-in-chief being Samson, Wolverhampton at this date is a large settlement of fifty households. In 1179, there is mention of a market held in the town and this charter for a weekly market held on a Wednesday was eventually granted on 4 February 1258 by Henry III. From the 16th century onwards, Wolverhampton became home to a number of industries including lock and key making and iron. Wolverhampton suffered two Great Fires, the first in April 1590, and the second in September 1696, both fires started in todays Salop Street. The first fire lasted for five days and left nearly 700 people homeless and this second fire led to the purchase of the first fire engine within the city in September 1703. There is also evidence that Wolverhampton may have been the location of the first working Newcomen Steam Engine in 1712. In Victorian times, Wolverhampton grew to be a town mainly due to the huge amount of industry that occurred as a result of the abundance of coal. The remains of this wealth can be seen in houses such as Wightwick Manor and The Mount
40.
46th (North Midland) Division
–
The 46th Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in World War I. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E. J, originally called the North Midland Division, it was redesignated as the 46th Division in May 1915. The Staffordshire Brigade was composed of battalions of the South Staffordshire Regiment, artillery, engineer, medical and other support services for the division either came from the Volunteers of these counties, or were newly raised in the TF. The North Midland Division was sent to France in February 1915, on 12 May 1915 the division was numbered 46th Division and the brigades were also numbered. During the Battle of Loos the 46th Division was decimated in an attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 and it was reformed as the Territorial Army in the 1920s as was the 46th Division. However, the 46th Division was disbanded in 1936, the headquarters being converted into 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division, most of the remainder of 46th Divisions units were sent to other divisions, mainly the 49th and the 55th Infantry Divisions. A new 46th Infantry Division was formed in October 1939, a month after the outbreak of World War II, a 59th Infantry Division was also raised as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 55th Division, and contained many units that served with 46th Division. Borrett, May 1931 – December 1932 Major-General Maurice G. Taylor, December 1932 – April 1934 Major-General Sir Hereward Wake, Bt. April 1934 –1937 List of British divisions in World War I Maj A. F. Lt-Col H. F. Alan MacDonald, the 46th Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916, West Wickham, Iona Books,2008, ISBN 978-0-9558119-0-6. Breaking the Hindenburg Line, the story of the 46th Division, /Uckfield, Naval & Military Press,2002, ISBN 978-1-843422-66-2. The British Army in the Great War British Military History 46 Infantry Division
41.
Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907
–
This reorganisation formed a major part of the Haldane Reforms, named after the creator of the Act, Richard Haldane. A number of attempts at reform under the Conservative government of 1901-1905 had failed to any lasting changes to the system. With the Liberal victory in December 1905, Haldane was appointed as Secretary of State for War and he decided on a regular Expeditionary Force and an auxiliary Territorial Force, which would be liable for home defence, with an expanded reserve for the Regular Army. After some examination of the best way to implement this, Haldane put forward a bill in the winter of 1906. It was put before the Commons on 4 March, then debated in late March and throughout April, in 1899, with the outbreak of the South African War, the British Army was committed to its first large-scale overseas deployment since the 1850s. The intervening period had seen extensive redevelopments of the Regular Army, in the early 1880s, the next step was taken by the Childers Reforms, which formally amalgamated the regiments into a single two-battalion unit along with the militia and volunteers. The regular units were supported by their own reserves, discussed above, thirty to forty percent of recruits were young men who passed into the Regular Army, and only twenty percent served their full six-year service. Recruits to the force were usually personally wealthy, providing their own horses and uniforms, training requirements were low, with an annual eight-day camp. The third arm was the Volunteers, mainly drawn from small businessmen, artisans, there were some engineer and medical units, but no service corps. The reforms had ensured that a force of regular troops was based in the United Kingdom for service as an expeditionary force, over. However, once the decision was taken to send a corps-size field force to fight in the South African War, the system began to show a strain. In some units, this meant reservists made up over 50% of the battalion strength and this was the end of the planned mobilisation, no thought had been given pre-war to mobilising the Militia, Yeomanry or Volunteers as formed units for foreign service. 43,000 reservists had been sent overseas with the regular forces—out of a total of 80, on 16 December, the first request was sent from South Africa for auxiliary troops, and a commitment was made to send a considerable force of militia and picked yeomanry and volunteers. In early January, the reinforcements to be sent out included one company of volunteers for each regular battalion, one complete volunteer battalion. Sir Ian Hamilton commented that the men from the Militia Reserve who were in regular battalions were quite excellent, every commanding officer I asked about them said they were first class men. The Militia battalions that had come out, had lost many of their officers and they had also been somewhat short of officers to start with. That was what they were best suited for under the circumstances and they were employed as integral companies of the regular battalions, and were well regarded in the field. The Yeomanry, likewise, were not employed as complete units, whilst the initial request for auxiliaries had called for 8,000 irregulars
42.
Hanley, Staffordshire
–
Hanley, in Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. Hanley was the one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger. Hanley was incorporated as a borough in 1857 and became a county borough with the passage of the Local Government Act 1888. It is now the main shopping centre, the Potteries Shopping Centre containing many high street chain stores. The name Hanley comes from haer lea, meaning high meadow”, at one time, there were many coal mines in North Staffordshire. Hanley Deep Pit was opened in 1854 and it was the deepest pit in the North Staffordshire coalfield, reaching a depth of 1500 feet. At its peak in the 1930s it employed some 2000 men, the pit was closed in 1962 but much of the headgear and spoilheaps were left in situ. Then, in the 1980s, the site was cleared, landscaped and converted into Hanley Forest Park. Coal miners in the Hanley and Longton area ignited the 1842 General Strike, the 1986 Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival led to the reclamation of large areas of land west of the city centre area – including the former Shelton steelworks, which had been derelict since 1978. Ironically, when the Garden Festival closed, the land remained derelict for some time, before being re-developed partly into public parkland and partly for retail, in 2013, a brand new and modern bus station opened in Hanley. This replaced the bus station, on Lichfield Street. The new bus station is the first stage in the project which will see the previous bus station demolished, and replaced with a new centre consisting of shops, restaurants. The new bus station is smaller than its predecessor, and has various routes in. Access to the station is controlled by doors, at both the pedestrian entrance and coach bays. The new bus station links Hanley with towns in North Staffordshire, as well as Buxton, Crewe, most services are run by First Potteries, though there are a number of smaller independent operators, such as Wardle Transport, BakerBus, and Arriva Midlands. In addition, National Express Coaches connect Hanley with destinations including London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, the station survived for 100 years – it was closed in 1964, as part of the Beeching Axe, and the land is now a car park. Hanley is also connected to the network, it meets the Trent and Mersey Canal at Festival Park. On 1 April 1910, the town was federated into the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent, by 1925 the area was granted city status
United Kingdom
British Army
