Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)

Buckingham, Colonel of the regiment 1673–1682 & 1684–1685

The Dutch fight for independence from Spain in the 1568–1648 Eighty Years' War was supported by Protestants across Europe; the origins of the regiment were Thomas Morgan's Company of Foot, a group of 300 volunteers from the London Trained Bands formed in 1572.[1] In 1586, these English and Scottish volunteer units were brought together in the Anglo-Scots Brigade, which in various formats served in the Dutch military until 1782.[2]

When the Second Anglo-Dutch War started in 1665, the Brigade's units were ordered to swear loyalty to the Stadtholder and those who disobeyed were cashiered. Using his own funds, Sir George Downing, the English ambassador to the Netherlands, raised the Holland Regiment from the starving remnants of those who refused to sign.[3] In 1665, it was known as the 4th (The Holland Maritime) Regiment and by 1668 as the 4th (The Holland) Regiment.[3]

Prince George of Denmark, the regiment's patron from 1689–1708

When the Third Anglo-Dutch War began in 1672, the Duke of Buckingham was authorised to recruit an additional eight companies but the two countries made peace in the February 1674 Treaty of Westminster.[4] These men were incorporated into the Anglo-Scots Dutch Brigade and fought in the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War; in November 1688, it accompanied William III to England. It was transferred onto the English military establishment as the "4th The Lord High Admiral's Regiment" and in 1689 became the 3rd (Prince George of Denmark's) Regiment of Foot.[3] During the 1689–1697 Nine Years War, it served in the Low Countries, including the battles of Walcourt, Steenkerque and Landen. It returned to England when the war ended with the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick.[5]

During the War of the Spanish Succession, it served in Marlborough campaigns, including the battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Malplaquet and Oudenarde, before returning to England in August 1714.[6] Until the 1751 reforms, units were commonly named after their current colonel; it reverted to this practice when Prince George of Denmark died in 1708, although it was also referred to as the 'Holland Regiment' or "Buffs" after its coat facings.[7] It was also sometimes called "The Old Buffs", to distinguish it from "The Young Buffs", the 31st Foot.[3]

Apart from the 1719 Vigo expedition, the next 25 years were spent on garrison duty in England and Scotland. It returned to Flanders in 1742 during the War of the Austrian Succession, as Thomas Howard's regiment; to distinguish it from that led by Sir Charles Howard, one became the "Buffs", and the other the Green Howards.[3] It fought at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743[8] and at the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745.[9] With the outbreak of the 1745 Rising, it was sent to Scotland, taking part in the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746[10] and Battle of Culloden in April 1746.[11] It returned to the Netherlands in April 1747 and saw action at the Battle of Lauffeld in July.[12]

Following the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, it spent the next ten years on garrison duty in England; in 1751, it was retitled the 3rd Regiment of Foot, "The Buffs".[3] The Seven Years' War began in 1756; in autumn 1758, the regiment was posted to the West Indies, taking part in the January 1759 attacks on Martinique and Guadeloupe.[13] After returning home, it took part in the capture of Belle Île in June 1761.[14] It then moved to Portugal and fought at the Battle of Valencia de Alcántara in August 1762[15] before returning to England in spring 1771.[16]

Buffs at the Battle of Albuhera in May 1811 by William Barnes Wollen

The regiment was sent to the West Indies in December 1795 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars.[17] It took part in the capture of Grenada in March 1796[18] and of Saint Vincent in June 1796[19] and the capture of Trinidad in February 1797[20] and of various other islands in March 1801[21] before returning home in autumn 1802.[22]

The regiment embarked for Portugal in August 1808 for service in the Peninsular War.[23] The grenadier company of the regiment served under Sir John Moore at the Battle of Corunna in January 1809 before being evacuated to England later that month.[24] The rest of the regiment remained on the Peninsula and fought at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809[25] and the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 before falling back to the Lines of Torres Vedras.[26] It then saw action at Battle of Albuera in May 1811[27] and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813.[28] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813,[29] the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813[30] and the Battle of the Nive in December 1813[31] as well as the Battle of Orthez in February 1814 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814.[32] It became part of the Army of Occupation of France in 1816 before returning home in autumn 1818.[33]

The regiment had a tour of service from 1821 until 1827 in the British colony of New South Wales. For the duration of their service, The Buffs was divided into four detachments. The first was based in Sydney from 1821. The second arrived in Hobart in 1822. The third, entitled "The Buffs' Headquarters", arrived in Sydney in 1823. The fourth, arrived in Sydney in 1824, but variously saw service throughout the colonies, being stationed at Port Dalrymple, Parramatta, Liverpool, Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Bathurst. The regiment reunited and was transferred to Calcutta in 1827. During their service in New South Wales, The Buffs was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W. Stewart and Lieutenant Colonel C. Cameron.[34] The regiment also saw action at the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 during the Crimean War.[3]

In 1858, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Malta. Lieutenant John Cotter, Adjutant of the 2nd Buffs,[35] would shout "Steady, The Buffs!", a shout which has entered common parlance.[3] The 1st Battalion saw action in the Taku Forts action during the Second Opium War as well as in the Perak War[36] while the 2nd Battalion saw action in the Anglo-Zulu War.[37]

The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Canterbury Barracks from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.[38] Under the reforms the regiment became the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) on 1 July 1881.[39] The East Kent Militia became the regiment's 3rd (Militia) Battalion (1881–1953) and its short-lived 4th (Militia) Battalion (1881–1888). At the same time two Kent rifle volunteer corps were redesignated as the 1st Volunteer Battalion and 2nd (The Weald of Kent) Volunteer Battalion of the Buffs.[3]

Memorial to Captain Naunton Henry Vertue of the 2nd Battalion who died at Spion Kop in January 1900

The 1st Battalion saw action in the Anglo-Egyptian War, was from 1885 stationed at Malta, then moved to India where it saw several postings, including in Shwebo in inland Burma until late 1902 when it moved to Poona.[40]

The 2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 1st Volunteer (Militia) Battalion and 2nd Volunteer (Weald of Kent) Battalion all saw action during the Second Boer War[41] with Captain Naunton Henry Vertue of the 2nd Battalion serving as brigade major to the 11th Infantry Brigade under Major General Edward Woodgate at the Battle of Spion Kop where he was mortally wounded in January 1900.[42]

Following the end of the war in South Africa in June 1902, 540 officers and men of the 2nd battalion returned to the United Kingdom on the SS St. Andrew leaving Cape Town in early October, and the battalion was subsequently stationed at Dover.[43]

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[44] the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions.[45][46]

For service in the First World War, ten additional battalions were raised.[47]

The 1st Battalion was based in Fermoy as part of the 16th Brigade in the 6th Division until 12 August 1914 when it moved to Cambridge before landing in France on 8 September 1914.[48] The 2nd Battalion returned from Madras in December 1914 and remained in England as part of the 85th Brigade in the 28th Division; meanwhile the 3rd Battalion remained in Canterbury as a training unit.[47]

The 1/4th Battalion sailed for India in October 1914 while the 1/5th (Weald of Kent) Battalion sailed for India in October 1914 and then transferred to Mesopotamia in November 1915.[47] The 2/4th Battalion, the 2/5th (Weald of Kent) Battalion, the 3/4th Battalion and the 3/5th (Weald of Kent) Battalion all remained in England throughout the war while the 10th (Royal East Kent and West Kent Yeomanry) Battalion was formed in Egypt in February 1917 and then transferred to France as part of the 230th Brigade in the 74th Division.[47]

Memorial to Private A. Webb who died on 8 February 1919

The 6th (Service) Battalion, 7th (Service) Battalion, 8th (Service) Battalion and 9th (Reserve) Battalion were all formed for active service in France.[47] Corporal William Richard Cotter was awarded the VC whilst serving with the 6th (Service) Battalion.[49]

After the end of the First World War, a small number of men from several battalions saw action during the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.[36]

The 1st Battalion served in many different brigades and divisions, mainly with British Indian Army units, and fought in many different battles and campaigns such as the North African Campaign, the Italian Campaign and the Battle of Anzio when they were a part of 18th Infantry Brigade, assigned to the 1st Infantry Division where they were involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The 18th Brigade returned to the 1st Armoured Division in August 1944 but, on 1 January 1945, the division was disbanded and 18th Brigade was broken up and used as replacements for other units. The 1st Buffs spent the rest of the war with the 24th Guards Brigade attached to the 56th (London) Infantry Division. With the 56th Division, the battalion fought in Operation Grapeshot, the final offensive in Italy which effectively ended the campaign in Italy.[50]

The 2nd Battalion was sent to France in 1940 with the 132nd Infantry Brigade attached to the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division to join the British Expeditionary Force and fought in the short but fierce Battle of Dunkirk, after which it was evacuated back to Britain. The 44th Division was sent to fight in the North African Campaign, where it was broken up due to an apparently poor performance in the Battle of Alam el Halfa despite the division having just the 132nd Brigade under command as other brigades had been detached to other divisions. The 132nd Brigade disbanded and 2nd Buffs was then transferred to the Far East with the 26th Indian Infantry Brigade and remained there for the war. In 1944, the brigade was redesignated the 26th British Infantry Brigade, which itself became part of the 36th British Infantry Division and served with the British Fourteenth Army in the Burma Campaign.[51]

The 4th Battalion Buffs was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit that served with the BEF in France 1940. The battalion was transferred to the island of Malta in 1941 and served throughout the siege. The battalion then joined the 234th Infantry Brigade, which took part in the disastrous Battle of Leros in an attempt to capture the Dodecanese Islands in late 1943. The brigade and other Allied forces, mainly Italian, attempted to hold the island from the Germans, but without success. This was due mainly to German air superiority as the Allies had very few planes to cover them. The 234th Brigade Commander, Robert Tilney, ordered the surrender after many days of resistance and hard fighting.[52]

The 5th Battalion was reformed in 1939 as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 4th Battalion when the Territorial Army was doubled in size. Initially, the 5th Buffs was assigned to the 37th Infantry Brigade, part of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division, which was a 2nd Line duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division. However, on 26 October 1939, it was transferred to the Division's 36th Infantry Brigade in exchange for the 2/6th East Surreys.[53][54] The 5th Buffs, along with the 6th and 7th Royal West Kents, remained in the 36th Brigade for the rest of the war. Like the 2nd and 4th Battalions, it served with the BEF in France in 1940 and fought in the Battle of France and was evacuated at Dunkirk. The 12th Division suffered heavy casualties due mainly to most of the men having little training and the division having no artillery or support units. After returning to England, the division was disbanded in July 1940, due to the casualties it had sustained. In 1942, the 36th Brigade was assigned to the newly raised 78th Division and took part in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa, followed by the campaign in Tunisia, where the 78th Division, as part of the British First Army, distinguished itself during the crucial capture of Longstop Hill.[55] The division then fought in the Sicilian Campaign, as part of the British Eighth Army. The 5th Buffs and the rest of 78th Division then took part in the fighting in Italy and served there until the 1945 Offensive.[56]

The Buffs also raised many more battalions during the war, mainly for home defence or as training units. None, save the 7th and 11th Battalions, saw active service overseas. The 7th and 11th Battalions were raised in 1940 and were converted to the 141st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps and the 89th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1941 due to the shortage of armoured troops and artillery in the British Army.[57][58]

Badge of the Buffs as shown on the grave of Private P.M. Godden, who died in 1947, at Stanley Military Cemetery, Hong Kong

When the Territorial Army was reformed in 1947 the 4th and 5th Buffs were merged into a single battalion. In 1956 410 (Kent) Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery, was converted to the infantry role and became 5th Buffs.[59][60][61][62][63]

In 1961, the regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment to form the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, which was later merged, on 31 December 1966, with the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the Queen's Regiment. This, in turn, was amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment, in September 1992, to create the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).[64]