Steady the Buffs!: A Regiment, a Region, and the Great War

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A similar but unrelated expression, “stand buff,” means “to stand firm, not to flinch; to endure,” according to the OED. 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). [65] Regimental museum [ edit ] Training Depots 1873–1881". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006 . Retrieved 16 October 2016. The depot was the 45th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 3rd Regimental District depot thereafter

On 29th Oct 1940 the 4th Battalion set sail from Liverpool on the SS Pasteur for Gibraltar, and then on to Malta aboard the battleship HMS Barham. There they endured the Italian air raids and food shortages, filled in holes in the airfields, constructed blast pens to protect aircraft, unloaded bomb-damaged ships etc. On 6th Sep 1943 they sailed for Alexandria but in October they sailed to Leros.Welcome to Steady The Buffs Militaria, for British, Colonial & Commonwealth Cap Badges, Collar Badges, Shoulder Titles and Cloth Insignia. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, it was known as the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and later, on 3 June 1935, was renamed the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)….Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) Royal East Kent Regiment (“The Buffs”); 3rd Regiment of Foot The Buffs had to return to Flanders for the battle of Lauffeld near Maastricht which was almost a repeat of Fontenoy, fought between the French under Marshal Saxe, and the Pragmatic Army under the Prince of Orange with the British and Hanoverians commanded once more by the Duke of Cumberland. It was predominantly a cavalry battle and again the Dutch let them down, especially when their cavalry retreated by riding through the allied infantry. The British, Hanoverians and Hessians fought bravely but were driven out of the village of Lauffeld and would have been annihilated but for the intervention of General John Ligonier who led the cavalry and rescued Cumberland from being captured, and was himself captured in the process. The Buffs lost many officers and men, perhaps more than 165, although there were no exact figures.

a b c Edwards, T J (1953). Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Commonwealth Forces. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. pp.192, 195, 204. When Oliver Cromwell died in September 1658 the nation invited Charles II to return to England and take the throne. Before leaving the continent in 1660 Charles spent a short time in the Hague and was met by the English regiments. But a few years after the King's return there was, in 1664, an outbreak of hostilities between England and the Netherlands. Now, let’s look at the more obscure of the two expressions you asked about—“Stiffen the Prussian Guard (or Guards).”The Duke of Parma was reinforced with troops from Germany and laid siege to Sluys in the spring of 1587. Around 800 English troops were able to get into the town to help defend it. The Spanish forced a breach 250 paces wide and stormed it several times. The defence of the breach was a desperate and heroic struggle, led by Sir Roger Williams and Captain Francis de Vere. When the garrison had been reduced from 1,600 to 700 men the officers held a consultation and agreed to surrender, but on the condition that they be permitted to march out with their baggage, drums beating and Colours flying, to embark for Zealand. They took an oath that if this was not allowed they would fight to the death. Parma saw how determined they were and let them march out of Sluys on 4th Aug 1587. Sir Francis Doyle: Moyse, the Private of the Buffs". The Heretical Press . Retrieved 30 December 2015. Spinola switched his attention to Rhineberg which was defended by an English regiment under Sir Edward Cecil and a Scots regiment commanded by Sir William Edmonds, an officer who had risen from the ranks and was a well respected leader. He, unfortunately was killed in the siege. Prince Maurice was unable to reach Rhineberg in time and they were forced to surrender on 1st Oct 1606.

The battle of Albuhera was catastrophic for the Buffs and for other regiments, including the 57th (Middlesex) which earned the name 'Die-Hards'. Both regiments subsequently celebrated 16th May as Albuhera Day. After spending the autumn in the snowy Pyrenees Wellington's army moved forward in November, with the 2nd Division on the right, to the Nivelle where they drove the French from beyond the river and established themselves on the far bank. For the Buffs it was an easy battle honour. The Netherlands were originally a group of sovereignties that had once been part of the empire of Charlemagne. But by marriage, inheritance and conquest within the French, German and Spanish monarchies the region came under the control of Philip II of Spain. The Protestant Flemish and Dutch people were disunited and oppressed by their Catholic Spanish overlords, so they sought the help of their fellow Protestants in England. Hart, Lieut.-Col. H.T. (1858) The New Army List and Militia List, No. LXXIX, 1st July 1858. London: John Murray. p. 76

First World War

The Freemasons Are the Oldest Fraternal Organization in the World. Freemasons belong to the oldest fraternal organization in the world, a group begun during the Middle Ages in Europe as a guild of skilled builders. The Dutch authorities decided to honourably discharge the English and Scots troops serving in the regiments and replace them with Netherlanders. Those Englishmen and Scotsmen who were prepared to swear the oath of allegiance to The Dutch republic would be re-admitted into the regiments. The discharged officers and men were given no assistance from the English government for their repatriation, so the English envoy Sir George Downing paid for their passage to England and gave them letters of recommendation. Robert Sidney died in 1668 and was replaced by another ex-Dutch service officer, Sir Walter Vane, who had recently held a commission in a guards regiment. The regiment was not stationed in one place but distributed by company in various locations: Defence of Escaut, St. Omer-La Bassée, Withdrawal to Seine, North-West Europe 1940, Sidi Suleiman, Alem Hamza, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein, El Agheila, Advance on Tripoli, Tebaga Gap, El Hamma, Akarit, Djebel Azzag 1943, Robaa Valley, Djebel Bech Chekaoui, Heidous, Medjez Plain, Longstop Hill 1943, North Africa 1941–43, Centuripe, Monte Rivoglia, Sicily 1943, Termoli, Trigno, Sangro, Anzio, Cassino I, Liri Valley, Aquino, Rome, Trasimene Line, Coriano, Monte Spaduro, Senio, Argenta Gap, Italy 1943–45, Leros, Middle East 1943, Malta 1940–42, Shweli, Myitson, Burma 1945 The 6th (Service) Battalion, 7th (Service) Battalion, 8th (Service) Battalion and 9th (Reserve) Battalion were all formed for active service in France. [48] Corporal William Richard Cotter was awarded the VC whilst serving with the 6th (Service) Battalion. [50]