Public Schools Battalions
The Public Schools Battalions were a group of Pals battalions of the British Army during World War I. They were raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army and were originally recruited exclusively from former public schoolboys. When the battalions were taken over by the British Army they became variously the 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools) of the Middlesex Regiment and the 18th–21st (Service) Battalions (1st–4th Public Schools) of the Royal Fusiliers. However, Kitchener's Army was faced with a dire shortage of officers and so 'young gentlemen'— public schoolboys and university graduates, including many of those who had enlisted in the Public Schools Battalions — were encouraged to apply for commissions. The battalions' depleted ranks were made up with ordinary volunteers (and later conscripts) and although they retained the Public Schools titles, their exclusive nature was doomed. Two battalions remained to serve on the Western Front: the original battalion was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pals Battalion
The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and colleagues, rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions. While initially popular as a means to appeal to volunteers, heavy casualties to several pals battalions would devastate local communities throughout Britain; this became particularly apparent during the Battle of the Somme. With the introduction of Conscription in the United Kingdom, conscription in 1916, the remaining pals battalions were either dissolved, reorganized with other forces, or reinforced by a regionally diverse group of conscripts, ending their local character. Establishment At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 Herbert Kitchener, Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, believed that overwhelming manpower was the key to winning the war, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Major (United Kingdom)
Major (Maj) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank is superior to Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), captain and subordinate to Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), lieutenant colonel. The insignia for a major is a Crown (headgear), crown. The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy), lieutenant commander, and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. History By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic wars, an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and the "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more company (military unit), companies split from the main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major. File:British-Army-Maj(1856-1867)-Collar Insignia.svg, 1856 to 1867 major's collar rank insignia File:British-Army-Maj(1867-1880)-Collar Insignia.svg, 18 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including people watching from the Epsom Downs, an area freely open to the public. The course is best known for hosting the Derby Stakes, which has come to be widely referred to as Epsom Derby, The Derby or as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and fillies, over a mile and a half (2400 m). It also hosts the Oaks Stakes (also widely referred to as Epsom Oaks, The Oaks) for three-year-old fillies, and the Coronation Cup for horses aged four years and upwards. All three races are Group 1 races and run over the same course and distance. The Chairman of the course since 2022 is Brian Finch. The course is owned by the Jockey Club. Queen Elizabeth II attend ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a Shepperton Branch Line, branch line from London Waterloo railway station, London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction railway station, Clapham Junction. It has adjoining inner and outer courses for flat and National Hunt racing, National Hunt racing. Among its races, the King George VI Chase takes place on Boxing Day, a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. History The racecourse was the idea of 19th-century businessman and Conservative Party (UK), Cons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Waterloo Station
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London railway terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of the same name and is adjacent to Waterloo East station on the South Eastern Main Line. The station is the terminus of the South West Main Line to via Southampton, the West of England main line to Exeter via , the Portsmouth Direct line to which connects with ferry services to the Isle of Wight, and several commuter services around west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irish Wolfhound
The Irish Wolfhound ( Irish: ''Cú Faoil'') is a breed of large sighthound that has, by its presence and substantial size, inspired literature, poetry and mythology. One of the largest of all breeds of dog, the breed is used by coursing hunters who have prized it for its ability to dispatch game caught by other, swifter sighthounds. In 1902, the Irish Wolfhound was declared the regimental mascot of the Irish Guards. History Pre-19th century In 391, there is a reference to large dogs by Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, a Roman consul who got seven "''canes Scotici''" as a gift to be used for fighting lions and bears, and who wrote "all Rome viewed (them) with wonder". Scoti is a Latin name for the Gaels (ancient Irish). Dansey, the early 19th century translator of the first complete version of Arrian's work in English, ''On Coursing'', suggested the Irish and Scottish "greyhounds" were derived from the same ancestor, the ''vertragus'', and had expanded with the Scoti from Ireland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pipe Band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a section of snare drummers (often referred to as 'side drummers'), several tenor drummers and usually one, though occasionally two, bass drummers. The tenor drummers and bass drummer are referred to collectively as the 'bass section' (or in North America as the 'midsection'), and the entire drum section is collectively known as the drum corps. The band follows the direction of the pipe major; when on parade the band may be led by a drum major, who directs the band with a mace. Standard instrumentation for a pipe band involves 6 to 25 pipers, 3 to 10 side drummers, 1 to 6 tenor drummers and 1 bass drummer. Occasionally this instrumentation is augmented to include additional instruments (such as additional percussion instruments or keyboar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Middlesex Regiment (Duke Of Cambridge's Own)
The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th (West Middlesex) and 77th (East Middlesex) Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units. On 31 December 1966 the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Home Counties Brigade, the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment and the Royal Sussex Regiment to form the Queen's Regiment. The latter merged on 9 September 1992 with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). The Middlesex Regiment was one of the principal home counties based regiments with a long tradition. They inherited their nickname, the "Die-hards", from the 5 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular field called a Football pitch, pitch. The objective of the game is to Scoring in association football, score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed Goal (sport), goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport. Association football is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the International Football Association Board, IFAB since 1886. The game is pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rugby Union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an Rugby ball, oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped Goal (sports)#Structure, goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people regardless of gender, age or size. In 2023, there were more than 10 million people playing worldwide, of whom 8.4 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Private (rank)
A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest Military rank, rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of private may be conscription, conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers. The term derives from the term "private soldier". "Private" comes from the Latin word ''privus'' or perhaps ''privo'' that meant an individual person and later an individual without an Official (other), office. Asia Indonesia In Indonesia, this rank is referred to as ''Tamtama'' (specifically ''Prajurit'' which means soldier), which is the lowest rank in the Indonesian National Armed Forces. In the Indonesian Army, Indonesian Marine Corps, and Indonesian Air Force, "Private" has three levels, which are: Private (''Prajurit Dua''), Private First Class (''Prajurit Satu''), and Chief Private (''Prajurit Kepala''). After this rank, the next promotion is to Corporal. File:prada pdh ad.png, Private (''Prajurit Dua'') File:pratu pdh ad.png, Private First Class (''Prajurit Satu'') ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Officer (armed Forces)
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent contextual qualification, the term typically refers only to a force's ''commissioned officers'', the more senior members who derive their authority from a Commission (document), commission from the head of state. Numbers The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13.7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, and about 17.2% of the United States armed forces. Historically armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |