The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

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 Royal Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army which existed from 1959 to 1966. In 1966, it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Re ...

, the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment and the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

to form the

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

. 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 57th Regiment of Foot (West Middlesex), which later became the 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. The 57th gained the name during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

when, at the Battle of Albuera on 16 May 1811 their commander Colonel Inglis had his horse shot from under him. Severely wounded and outnumbered by the French he called to his men "Die hard, 57th. Die hard!" "Albuhera" was the principal battle honour on the Middlesex Regiment's colours.

History

Formation

The regiment was formed on 1 July 1881 with two regular, two militia and four volunteer battalions: * 1st Battalion ''formerly the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (raised 1755)'' * 2nd Battalion ''formerly the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) (raised 1787)'' * 3rd Battalion ''formerly the Royal Elthorne Light Infantry Militia'' * 4th Battalion ''formerly the Royal East Middlesex Militia'' * 1st Volunteer Battalion ''formerly The 3rd Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps'' * 2nd Volunteer Battalion ''formerly The 8th Middlesex (South West Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps'' * 3rd Volunteer Battalion ''formerly The 11th (Railway) Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps – transferred to Royal Fusiliers 1890'' * 4th Volunteer Battalion (3rd VB from 1890) ''formerly the 17th Middlesex (North Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps'' In 1900 the number of regular battalions was doubled with the formation of new 3rd and 4th battalions, and the militia battalions were renumbered as the 5th and 6th battalions. In 1908, with the formation of the Special Reserve from the Militia and the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

(TF) from the Volunteers, the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions became the 7th and 8th (TF) Battalions, while the 3rd (formerly 4th) Volunteer Battalion transferred to the London Regiment, becoming the 19th Battalion (St Pancras). The 4th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (formerly the 5th (West Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps), joined the Middlesex Regiment as the 9th Battalion. The 10th Battalion was formed by a nucleus of 300 officers and men from the disbanded 2nd (South Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps. The regiment now had two Special Reserve and four Territorial battalions. The four TF battalions constituted the Middlesex Brigade in the Home Counties Division.

Duke of Cambridge's Own

On formation in 1881 the regimental title was The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). The regiment inherited the designation ''"Duke of Cambridge's Own"'' from the 77th Foot, to which regiment it had been awarded in 1876. The regiment was also permitted to bear the coronet and cypher of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge on its colours and badges. The regiment had earlier been granted the plumes and motto of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in 1810 for twenty years service in India. In 1921, in common with many other regiments, the regimental title was effectively reversed to The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own). The Duke was colonel-in-chief of the regiment from 1898 to his death in 1904. Its regimental marches were 'Sir Manley Power' and 'Paddy's Resource' (quick), and 'Caledonian' and 'Garb of old Gaul' (slow). The regiment relocated from Hounslow Barracks to the newly built Inglis Barracks in 1905.

Early service

The 1st and 2nd battalions both saw turns in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the late 19th century. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in 1899, the 2nd battalion embarked for active service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in December 1899 and took part in the storming of Alleman's Nek in June 1900. The 5th and 6th (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) battalions were also embodied for active service during the Second Boer War. 760 men of the 5th battalion (formerly the Royal Elthorne Light Infantry) was reported to return home on the SS ''Assaye'' in September 1902, after the war had ended. The 6th battalion (formerly the Royal East Middlesex Militia) was embodied in December 1899 (when it was still the 4th Battalion), and 530 officers and men left for service in South Africa in February 1900.

First World War

Regular army

The 1st Battalion landed at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, as line of communication troops, in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 23rd Brigade in the 8th Division in November 1914 also for service on the Western Front. The 3rd Battalion landed at Le Havre aspart of the 85th Brigade in the 28th Division in January 1915 for service on the Western Front before moving to Egypt in October 1915 and to Salonika in December 1915. The 4th Battalion land at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

as part of the 8th Brigade in 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. Some 400 men of the 4th Battalion were killed at the

Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...

later that month.

Territorial force

At the start of the First World War the four territorial battalions were sent off to their war stations: the 1/7th and 1/8th, who went to France to serve on the Western Front, and the 1/9th and 1/10th, who went to

to relieve regular troops. Late in 1917 the 1/9th Bn was assigned to the 18th Indian Division and served in the Mesopotamian Campaign in 1918. However, there was a surplus of volunteers who had sought to enlist; these men had joined the Territorial Battalions, and although the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

wanted them to transfer to the Regular Army or the New ( Kitchener's Army), the majority elected to remain with the Territorial Battalions which had enlisted them. General Kitchener was not in favour of the Territorials although he and other critics were silenced after the Territorials fought so well with the BEF after

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. It became obvious that the First Line battalions that had gone overseas would need reinforcements almost at once and the War Office gave permission to raise Second Line Territorial Battalions and in this way the 2/7th and 2/8th were formed for service with the Western Frontier Force and the 2/10th was formed for service in the Gallipoli Campaign. A Third Line battalion, the 3/10th, also landed at Le Havre for service on the Western Front.

New armies

Additional war-formed "service" battalions were the 11th to 34th and 51st to 53rd. Two of these Battalions (17th and 23rd) were recruited from footballers and were known as the Football Battalions. In October 1966 the regiment paid a then record sum of £900 for the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

awarded to Private Robert Edward Ryder, of the 12th (Service) Battalion, for bravery during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

Labour units

The 1916 introduction of conscription saw the 30th and 31st (Works) battalions raised to accommodate British citizens who were the sons of enemy aliens. These were non-combatant units that provided labour to support the British war effort. From 1917 to 1918 eight independent companies of the Middlesex Regiment were additionally raised to provide labourers for service in France.

Inter-war period

In the early 1920s the 3rd and 4th battalions were disbanded, leaving two regular battalions. The 7th and 8th territorial battalions continued in existence, while the 9th was converted to a searchlight unit, transferring to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1940 as 60th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, and the 10th became a unit of the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

as 44th (Home Counties) Divisional Signals. In 1916, the Post Office Rifles, the Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment and 19th Battalion, London Regiment (St Pancras) had been attached to the Middlesex Regiment from the territorial London Regiment, but retained their original titles and distinctions. In 1935 the Post Office Rifles and 19th Londons became searchlight regiments, and in 1937 The Kensingtons formally became a territorial battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.

Second World War

In 1938 the two territorial battalions formed duplicates, thus forming the 1/7th, 2/7th, 1/8th and 2/8th battalions. Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Middlesex Regiment was chosen as one of four other infantry regiments to be converted to a machine gun regiment. The 1/7th Battalion served with the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H11868

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H11868

In 1943, the 1/8th officially became the 8th Battalion as part of the MG Battalion attached to the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division during the Normandy Campaign during which they fought in the Battle for Caen. The 1st Battalion was part of an allied force which held out against overwhelming odds for 17 days during the Battle of Hong Kong before surrendering to the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

in December 1941.

Post-war to amalgamation

The regiment was reduced to a single regular battalion (the 1st) in 1948, and two territorial battalions (the 7th and 8th). The Kensington Regiment amalgamated with the Middlesex Yeomanry to form the 31st (Greater London) Signal Regiment (V). In 1948, the 1st battalion became part of the Home Counties Brigade, along with the regular battalions of other regiments in southeast England. From August 1950 to April 1951, the 1st battalion saw action in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

as part of 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, being one of the first British units to be deployed there. In 1961 the Territorial Army was reduced in size and a new 5th Battalion was formed by the amalgamation of the 7th and 8th with the 571st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (the successor to the 9th Battalion). In 1966 the four battalions of the Home Counties Brigade were amalgamated to form a "

large regiment A large regiment is a multi-battalion infantry formation of the British Army. First formed in the 1960s, large regiments are the result of the amalgamation of a number of existing single-battalion regiments, and perpetuate the traditions of each o ...

", the

. Accordingly, the 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment was redesignated as 4th Battalion the Queen's Regiment (Middlesex), with the other regular battalions being formed by the

, Queen's Own Buffs and

. In 1968 the 'Middlesex' suffix was dropped, and in June 1970 the 4th Battalion was disbanded, with its members distributed among the regiment's three remaining regular battalions.

Regimental museum

The Middlesex Regiment Museum, formerly in Bruce Castle, closed in 1992 and was absorbed into the National Army Museum.

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: * ''Earlier wars'' ** Mysore, South Africa 1879, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1900–02 * ''The Great War'' ** Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 '18, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914 '17 '18, Armentières 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres 1915 '17 '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Hooge 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Bapaume 1917 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Italy1917-18, Struma, Doiran 1918, Macedonia 1915–18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1915–17, Gaza, Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan, Tell 'Asur, Palestine 1917–18, Mesopotamia 1917–18, Murman 1919, Dukhovskaya, Siberia 1918–19 * ''The Second World War'': ** Dyle, Defence of Escaut, Ypres-Comines Canal, Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, Cambes, Breville, Odon, Caen, Orne, Hill 112, Bourguébus Ridge, Troarn, Mont Pincon, Falaise, Seine 1944, Nederrijn, Le Havre, Lower Maas, Venraij, Meijel, Geilenkirchen, Venlo Pocket, Rhineland, Reichswald, Goch, Rhine, Lingen, Brinkum, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940 '44–45, El Alamein, Advance on Tripoli, Mareth, Akarit, Djebel Roumana, North Africa 1942–43, Francofonte, Sferro, Sferro Hills, Sicily 1943, Anzio, Carroceto, Gothic Line, Monte Grande, Italy 1944–45, Hong Kong, South-East Asia 1941 * ''Later wars'' ** Naktong Bridgehead, Chongju, Chongchon II Chuam-Ni, Kapyong-chon, Kapyong, Korea 1950–51, 7th, 8th, 9th Battal

Colonels-in-chief

* 1898–1904: F.M. HRH George William Frederick Charles, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, VD, TD (Commander in Chief) * 1921–: F.M. HM

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

Regimental colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: ; The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) * 1881 (1st Battalion): Gen. Sir Edward Alan Holdich, GCB ''(ex 57th Foot)'' * 1881 (2nd Battalion): Gen. Henry Hope Graham, CB ''(ex

77th Foot The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line regiment of the British Army, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Ca ...

)'' * 1897–1900: Gen. Sir George Harry Smith Willis, GCB * 1900–1921: Lt-Gen. Henry Kent ; The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) (1921) * 1921–1932: Gen. Sir Ivor Maxse, KCB, CVO, DSO * 1932–1942: Brig-Gen. Ronald Macclesfield Heath, CMG, DSO * 1942–1952: Col. Maurice Browne, MC * 1952–1959: Lt-Gen. Gerard Corfield Bucknall, CB, MC * 1959–1965: Maj-Gen. Sir John Edward Francis Willoughby, KBE, CB * 1965–1966: Maj-Gen. Christopher Mark Morrice Man, CB, OBE, MC * ''1966: Regiment amalgamated with The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment and

The Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

to form The Queen's Regiment''

Freedoms

The regiment was awarded the Freedom of

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

on 22 October 1955.

Uniforms

The regimental facings were yellow lapels and cuffs on the standard infantry red coats of the period, from the establishment of the 59th Regiment of Foot in 1755 and its renumbering as the 57th two years later. When linked with the 77th Regiment in 1881, white facings were adopted by the two battalions now making up the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middleex Regiment. Coincidentally the 77th had also worn yellow facings until the merger. In 1902 the entire regiment adopted lemon-yellow of a distinctive shade associated with the 77th until 1820. The remaining features of the Middlesex Regiment's uniform followed the normal British infantry changes from red coats, to scarlet tunics, to khaki service dress and battle dress. Braid, badges, and buttons were gold or bronze.

Alliances

* – The Taranaki Regiment (1913-1948) * – The Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment (1948-1966)

References

Sources

* *

External links

Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own)
– National Army Museum
Land Forces of Britain, The Empire and Commonwealth
– Regiments.org
British Military History
{{British Infantry Regiments World War I Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War Regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1881 Military units and formations disestablished in 1966 Queen's Regiment 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations in Middlesex Military units and formations in Hounslow Mill Hill