Glorious Glosters The Soldiers of Gloucester, City and County
by Russell Grant
At the end of World War One the Gloucestershire Regiment comprised of six battalions. Three of these the 1 st , 2 nd and 5 th were known as pals' Regiments as they consisted entirely of County and City men, very often from the same streets and villages, who fought and died together in the carnage of the hell-hole called the Great War.
These brave soldiers entered the most murderous war in human history under their new names, the 1 st and 2 nd battalions known originally as the 28 th (raised in 1694) and 61 st (raised in 1758) Regiments of Foot. The 1 st Battalion was in the thick of the fight from the very beginnings of battle almost to its close. The 2 nd battalion was in China on the eve of war in August 1914, but was in action on the Western Front before the year was out.
Many changes occurred between the Wars so when the Second World War broke out, the 1 st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars remained on the home front as a Training and Home Defence Regiment. In 1945 they were ordered to prepare to fight in the Far East theatre, against the Japanese. However the Pacific war ended in the August and in 1946 they were sent to Austria as a part of the occupying force.
In 1941, The Second Regiment, as part of 22 Armoured Brigade, embarked for Egypt to join the 8th Army. During the desert campaign against Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the Regiment distinguished itself on many occasions but suffered heavy losses. General Norrie, in writing to the Brigade Commander, said, "I always told you that you had the best Brigade in the Army. The 11th Hussars which has been in all the campaigns out here say they have never seen men fight like yours".
On June 6th 1942 the Regiment fought its final battles as 2 nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars at an area called The Cauldron, south of Tobruk. During these actions they won no less than ten Battle Honours. Individuals had won over twenty decorations for gallantry, with several NCOs being commissioned in the field.
But where did all this Gloucester military history begin? I don't want to go through all the battles and wars the Gloucesters have taken part in, as that would distract you from visiting the fine museum dedicated to the Soldiers of Gloucestershire. There is so much for you to discover and enjoy doing it. So here is a potted history:
Since they were first formed three hundred years ago the Gloucesters have a singularly distinguished record and one of the longest list of Battle Honours of all County Regiments , fourteen alone were won in the Peninsula War when the British and their Spanish and Portuguese allies took on Napoleon in Iberia . The Duke of Wellington made special mention of the 28 th (he only named four commendations all told!) due to their gallantry at Quatre Bras. Two days before Waterloo the 28 th had to hold back wave-upon-wave of French cavalry at their defence position on the Charleroi road, known as Quatre Bras. At about 5 o'clock in the afternoon the 28th braced itself for one huge headlong massive charge of dextrous Polish Lancers and cuirassier veterans led by the famous Marshal Ney, and the Gloucesters successfully resisted the onslaught.
The 61 st was nicknamed the Flowers of Toulouse, for bravery displayed and heavy losses endured at the Battle of Toulouse in 1814. I n a violent and vicious attack against the French commanded by Marshal Soult, Napoleon's most able Marshal, drove the Frenchies back to the suburbs of Toulouse . Due to the great number of dead soldiers scattered in their scarlet tunics on the field of battle they became known as the Flowers of Toulouse: a tribute to their bravery.
The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars aka the Yeomanry appeared on the scene in 1795 along with another volunteer cavalry regiment in 1795; both were ready to repel a possible French invasion which the Government was sure was on the cards. Men from the City of Gloucester were part and parcel of the recruitment but it was a false call to arms so they were all stood down in 1802 and disbanded. But when the cards were reversed and Britain declared war on Napoleon in 1803 they were reformed along with four additional Troops. The Gloucester City Troop was commanded by a rich and influential banker, Robert Morris, who lived at Barnwood Court and was MP for the City; the election was said to have cost him a cool fifty grand!
By 1813 two years before Waterloo there were eleven battalions in Gloucestershire with a total of 582 officers and their men. By 1834 they were combined into a single regiment and on April 21 st the Marquis of Worcester was gazetted Lieutenant Colonel Commandant of the Gloucestershire Yeomanry Cavalry. Like other Yeomanry they had been enrolled for home guard duty only. In 1810 they were called out to quell riots in Gloucester city itself. Hardly the kind of training to cope with what fate had in store.
The 5 th Battalion was a Territorial Unit, directly descended from the several Volunteer Corps raised in different parts of the county in 1859 and enrolled as the County Corps in 1860. Under the Cardwell scheme they were given the title, The Second Volunteer Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1881 and the 5 th under the Haldane Scheme in 1908. Gloucester was the HQ. Although formed for home duties the Battalion was awarded the South African Battle Honour for services rendered in the Boer War.
Now here are a couple of battles that I think show the true grit of the Gloucesters:
In 1801, the 28th Foot (North Gloucestershire) under the Command of General Sir Ralph Abercromby landed in Egypt and prepared to fight the French at the port city of Alexandria .
The Regiment took up a defensive position on a line of low sand hills. To their right an old Roman fort standing on a slight rise close to the shore; to the front an unfinished redoubt, manned by the good old boys of 28th. Between them, the fort and the redoubt formed the key position for if either was taken then the British flank could be turned.
Under the cover of early morning darkness and sand dunes, two columns of French infantry headed straight for the British right. Heavy fighting ensued and as more French columns joined the attack the 28 th was cut off. British rifles drove off the French barrage but a brigade of French infantry moved through the gap between the 28th and the rest of the British line.
A counter attack by the 42nd Foot, the Black Watch Royal Highlanders, drove off the attack but they went too far and were now also in danger from French cavalry. The battle raged all along the line, but nowhere as fiercely as on the right, with the 28th fighting to their front and flanks. More French cavalry joined in, supported by even more infantry. Some of the cavalry broke through the 42nd and formed up to charge the 28th in the rear. With no reserves available at this critical point in the battle, Lt. Col. Chambers, who had taken over command following the serious wounding of the C.O. Col. Paget, gave the now legendary order "Rear rank, 28th! Right about face!"
The rear ranks turned and with amazing discipline waited until the French cavalry were a few horse strides away. They then fired a devastating volley, causing heavy casualties amongst the cavalry and forcing the enemy to retreat and withdraw. For their gallantry in fighting back to back, the Regiment was given the unique honour of wearing a badge at the back of their caps. This honour prevails: The Battle Honour ' Egypt ' with the Sphinx together with the laurel leaves of victory are also on the Regimental Colour. Back Badge Day is celebrated every March 21 st .
One other of many extraordinary events occurred in the Korean war in the 1950s, a hundred and thirty-six years after their commendation by no other than Hooky Nose himself, the Duke of Wellington, the Regiment was about to win their most famous nickname. It began when they were ordered to hold Hill 235 above the Imjin River in Korea .
In 1951 the Chinese Army swarmed like ants across the Korean border to take on the fledgling United Nations Army. But the UN troops, led by the USA , were soon retreating south. The Gloucesters were to hold a line above the Imjin River to give time for the other brigades to pass by, sacrificing themselves if need be. An endless stream of Chinese soldiers appeared on the horizon, homing in on the Gloucesters and fired up by a constant cacophony of bugles. On Hill 235 the guns grew so hot they seized up and stalled, but the enemy never stopped coming at the Gloucester boys hurling themselves into the fray. It didn't matter that they were an untrained rag-bag army just their sheer weight of numbers was terrifying enough.
To counter the fearful noise of the Chinese bugles, one fine Lieutenant ordered the Drum-Major to reply with regimental tunes and trumpet calls. Only 39 young Gloucester men survived on the hill that day. And the name that resounded across and around the world THE GLORIOUS GLOSTERS, that says it all. Enough said.
A postscript to heroic stand at the Battle of Imjin River: One Colonel JP Carne was captured in December 1951 and during his imprisonment in Korea he carved a stone cross, it is beautiful in its simplicity and is in its rightful place in the North Ambulatory of Gloucester Cathedral.
On 27 April 1994 it was the end of an honourable era; a new Regiment entered the Order of Battle of the British Army when the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire & Wiltshire) merged. They are stationed in my own dear home County of Middlesex at Hounslow, itself the regimental town of the Middlesex Regiment - and proud we are indeed to have such illustrious guests on our soil as the Glorious Glosters.
Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
http://www.glosters.org.uk/
HOW TO FIND US
By Road:
Follow the brown signs to the Historic Docks
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For enquiries and archives:
regimental-secretary@rgbw.army.mod.uk
Soldiers of Gloucestershire
Gloucester Docks, Gloucester , GL1 2HE
Tel: 01452 522682
Registered Charity No. 801218
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