Soldiers of the Queen

Trying to understand the British army of the Boer War era is not an easy task, but I hope this article will shed a little light on the dauntless ‘Soldiers of the Queen’.

Let’s try to unpack the infantry first.

Following the Childers Reforms of 1881, the numbered infantry regiments had – to the dismay of a few Port-addled old buggers – all been twinned, thus forming new regiments of paired battalions. Typically, each of these newly-formed regiments had two regular battalions (designated 1st and 2nd battalions), one or two part-time Militia battalions (designated the 3rd and, if present, the 4th battalions) and several associated part-time volunteer battalions (which continued the numbering sequence).

The theory behind this twinning was that one regular battalion of the regiment would always be at ‘home’, while the other would always be deployed somewhere across the Empire. There was no functional difference between the 1st and 2nd battalions, and they would switch out, swapping these roles every few years. As well as contributing to the garrison of the Motherland, the home-based battalion (which could be either the 1st or 2nd battalion at any given point) would essentially act as a depot for the deployed battalion, recruiting, training, and sending out reinforcements to it as required.

The home-based battalions were – in theory – kept at 80% of full strength (ie. about 800 all ranks), while the deployed battalion would be maintained at full man-power (ie. about 1000 all ranks). In practice, however, many of the home-based battalions were well below 80% strength, and – worse still – their best officers and soldiers tended to be sent out to the deployed battalion. This meant that those home-based battalions which were hastily deployed for service in the Boer War had to be brought up to full strength by recalling hundreds of reservists back to the colours.

Also, it was not the case that one battalion of the regiment would always be at home – in extremis, and not even during a major war, both might end up being deployed overseas at the same time.

Either way, and after the Childers Reforms, there were 72 regiments of Guards and Infantry – plus the West India Regiment.[1]

Of course, this being the British army, there were some exceptions to everything I have already said:

The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders was not paired with another regiment in 1881, and thus only fielded a single battalion for some time. The regiment finally raised a 2nd battalion in 1897.

The two ‘English’ rifle units (ie. the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, and the Rifle Brigade) each had four regular battalions. The Irish and Scottish rifle units had the standard two regular battalions. There was no Welsh rifle unit.

The eight Irish regiments (which included the aforementioned Irish rifle regiment) could have up to three Militia battalions, rather than one or two.

The Guards had not been impacted by the 1881 reforms in the way the Line Infantry had, and the Grenadier Guards and Coldstream Guards each had three regular battalions in 1899, while the Scots Guards had two. The Guards units did not have associated Militia or Volunteer battalions, though – rather confusingly – some of those of other London-based regiments came under the command of the Guards.

The Irish Guards were not in existence prior to the Boer War, and, even after they were raised, did not to deploy as a regular battalion to South Africa. The regiment did, however, send MI companies out to the Boer War during the latter stages of the conflict. The only other infantry regiments not to commit a battalion to South Africa during the war were the West India Regiment – which fielded black soldiers under white officers – and the Royal Garrison Regiment, which was raised on 1901, and which only sent troops there after the war was over.

The purpose of the part-time Militia battalions was to provide additional units in the time of war, and, as and when required, these would be embodied and brought up to strength by recalling reserves (as would the regular battalions). During the Boer War, many of the Militia battalions were embodied to replace regular battalions of the Home Garrison which had been sent to South Africa. Though they could not be compelled to serve overseas, many Militia battalions were asked to volunteer for such service,[2] and the troops were overwhelmingly keen. A number of these units were thus used to replace regular battalions which had been deployed to South Africa from various Imperial garrisons in the Mediterranean.

Additionally, Militia battalions were also deployed to South Africa for service in the war – nine battalions were asked to volunteer to serve overseas very early in the piece, and seven of these[3] arrived in the Cape in late January / early February 1900. They were initially used to replace regular battalions on lines of communication duty, thus freeing up these troops to join Lord Roberts’ counter offensive. Many more followed, and in September 1900, there were no less than 29 Militia battalions in South Africa.[4]

The other part-time component of the army were the volunteer battalions. These were a hangover from the various rifle corps which had been raised in the late 1850s, in response to a perceived threat of invasion by France – remarkable, given that the two nations had been allies in the Crimean War just a couple of years earlier. This rather chaotic hotchpotch of units were – with the authorisation of the Secretary of State for War[5] – raised by the Lord Lieutenants of Counties all over Great Britain, and, initially, were highly autonomous and of varying sizes. While the Militia generally attracted recruits from the working classes, serving under officers of the gentry, the volunteers tended to be middle class / professionals, with the fact that they had to pay for their own uniforms (which each unit could design[6]) and arms dissuading poorer applicants.

From 1872, the volunteer battalions were removed from the control of the various Lord Lieutenants, and placed under the War Office, which began moves to integrate them into the structure of the army. This integration continued under the Childers Reforms of 1881, which – as we have seen – saw them all linked to a regular battalion, in much the same way as the Militia.

And also like the Militia, the volunteer battalions were also only liable for Home Defence duties – theoretically, at least. Keen for a slice of the action, however, many formed Volunteer Active Service Companies which were sent to South Africa to reinforce the regular battalions of their regiments. Where available, these were attached at the ratio of one such company per battalion, and were typically named ‘I’ company – the normal eight companies[7] of a given battalion being named A through H. Thus, some volunteer battalions were awarded the battle honour of ‘South Africa 1900–02’ in recognition of the service of these detachments.

With so much of the regular army and Militia committed to South Africa, and at the suggestion of HM Queen Victoria, there was a move to form ‘Royal Reserve Regiments’ during the Boer War. These were raised from retired soldiers and officers who signed up for a year of Home Defence service, and were used to bolster the denuded garrison of the Motherland. Ultimately, there were no less than 18 battalions[8] of Guards[9] and infantry[10] Royal Reserve Regiments – all of which were disbanded in 1901. None of these served in South Africa.

The Scots Guards raised a 3rd regular battalion during the Boer War. This did not deploy to South Africa.

The Irish Guards were raised in April 1900, bringing the total number of Guards and infantry regiments – including the West India Regiment – up to 74. The Irish Guards only formed one regular battalion at this point, and – as mentioned previously – this did not deploy to South Africa.

To further complicate matters, several Line Infantry regiments raised additional regular battalions during the war: the Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshires, Royal Fusiliers, Lancashire Fusiliers, Worcestershires, Middlesex, and Manchesters all expanded to four regular battalions in 1900, meaning their associated Militia battalions were re-designated as the 5th and 6th battalions, and their associated volunteer battalions were also re-numbered accordingly. It is interesting to note that none of these newly-raised additional regular battalions deployed to South Africa, though some did take over Imperial garrison duties.

All but two of these 3rd and 4th regular battalions were still in existence by the end of 1904,[11] though only those of the Royal Fusiliers, Worcestershires, and Middlesex regiments survived the shake-up that was the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. This Act saw – among other changes – the Militia being formed into a ‘Special Reserve’, and the amalgamation of the yeomanry (ie. mounted volunteers) and the infantry volunteer battalions into new ‘Territorial Force’ units. Shortly after the Great War, the Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921 saw the Territorial Force renamed as the Territorial Army, and the Special Reserve returned to its old title of the Militia.

Hopefully this chart will make all this a little clearer:

† Renamed the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1922
** Disbanded in 1922 – the five Irish regiments which recruited in the south were all disbanded. The three which traditionally recruited in the north remained on strength, and today – after various amalgamations – form the Royal Irish Regiment.

Of course, the notes on the right-hand side only give the reader a ‘snap shot’ of the situation in September 1900,[12] and obviously the deployment of Militia battalions would have been different six months or a year later.

As mentioned above, another, rather short-lived, regular regiment was also formed during the Boer War: the almost completely forgotten Royal Garrison Regiment. It could be argued that it occupied something of a grey area between a regular regiment and a reserve regiment, but we shall include it here for the sake of completeness. In 1901, four battalions were raised and the 1st, 3rd and 4th were sent to Malta, whilst the 2nd was sent to Gibraltar, so as to take over duties in those locations and free up troops to be sent to South Africa. Many of those who joined the Royal Garrison Regiment were ex-soldiers who had already served in one of the even-more-short-lived Royal Reserve Regiments.

In 1904 – ie. after the end of the Boer War – these four battalions were moved to South Africa for garrison duty as other units returned to their normal deployments. The December 1904 Army Lists have these Royal Garrison Regiment battalions based in Pretoria, Standerton, Bloemfontein and Harrismith. Though the initial plan had called for the regiment to field eight battalions, a fifth – and final – battalion was raised in 1902, for service in Canada. This unit garrisoned Halifax, Nova Scotia[13] from October 1902 until 1905, and was the last British garrison to be based in Canada. All five battalions were disbanded in 1906-7, and the regiment itself was disbanded in August 1908.

Clear as mud so far?

Luckily, the situation with the ‘Donkey Wallopers’ was a little simpler. In 1899, there were 31 regiments of cavalry, made up of:

2 regiments of Life Guards
1 regiment of Horse Guards
7 regiments of Dragoon Guards
3 regiments of Dragoons
12 regiments of Hussars
6 regiments of Lancers

The Hussars and Lancers were traditionally considered ‘light cavalry’, with the others considered ‘heavy cavalry’ – though the distinction had become largely meaningless by the time of the Boer War. Perhaps surprisingly, no additional regular cavalry regiments were raised during the war – though obviously many colonial light horse units were. That said, and as with the infantry, four ‘Royal Reserve Regiments’[14] of cavalry were, however, raised from retired soldiers, who signed up for one year.[15] With so much of the regular cavalry deployed to South Africa, these units were raised for Home Defence and Ceremonial duties, and were disbanded in 1901.

Unlike the infantry, the cavalry did not have multiple battalions in each regiment – so 31 regiments meant a total of 31 deployable cavalry regiments (the rough equivalent to an infantry battalion).

At one point, in late 1901 / early 1902, 23 of the 31 regular cavalry regiments (ie. 74%) were in South Africa. Indeed, only five British army cavalry regiments did not deploy to South Africa at some point during the war:

4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards
4th (Queen’s Own) Hussars
11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars
15th (King’s) Hussars
21st (Empress of India’s) Lancers

Obviously, individual officers from these regiments found their way out to the Boer War on attachment or in Staff roles etc.

The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards were stationed in the Indian Punjab at the time.

The 4th (Queen’s Own) Hussars – the unit into which a young Winston Churchill was commissioned – were based out in Bangalore.

The 11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars were stationed in Egypt. A detachment of about 100 men of the 11th Hussars was sent to South Africa, though the men were generally attached to the 5th Dragoon Guards, 5th Lancers, or Imperial Light Horse, and saw service during the Siege of Ladysmith. When it comes to the British army, nothing is straightforward.

The 15th (King’s) Hussars were in Bengal.

The 21st Lancers were stationed in Dublin at the time. Initially formed in India in 1858,[16] the regiment was transferred to the British army in 1862, and had only converted from Hussars to Lancers in 1897. They had only won one battle honour: ‘Khartoum’, where they had famously charged at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. This paucity of service led to wags in other regiments claiming the motto of the 21st was ‘thou shalt not kill’. Remarkably, the 21st Lancers did not serve on the Western Front in the Great War either, seeing out the entirety of that conflict in India.[17] The regiment was amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922, forming the famous 17th/21st Lancers.

As touched on above, the cavalry equivalent of the Militia and Volunteers was known as the Yeomanry, though they were not linked to regular cavalry regiments in the way the infantry were. And – again – these units were not liable for overseas service. Nevertheless, proposals were made to utilise the Yeomanry in South Africa as early as October 1899, and, in the December of that year, sanction for the formation of a new corps called ‘The Imperial Yeomanry’ was given by Royal Warrant. Thousands of troops from the existing Yeomanry volunteered to transfer into the new corps, and the first contingent, which shipped out in early 1900, numbered some 10,000. These men had signed up for a 12-month tour, and thus a second contingent – numbering some 17,000 – shipped out early in 1901, though was regarded to have been of poorer quality than the first batch. After three months of training in the UK, a third and final contingent of about 7,000 shipped out to South Africa at the end of 1901,[18] but arrived too late to see much action.

No single article – or even book – can hope to cover every single deployment, exception, and detail of the British army commitment to the Boer War, but I hope this has at least given something of an overview on the topic.

NOTES:

[1] Unlike other Colonial Regiments, the West India Regiment was reflected on British army strength, and fielded three battalions. In February 1898, two of these were in Sierra Leone, and one was in St Helena

[2] Maurice, The War in South Africa, Vol.1, p.380

[3] 4th Royal Lancasters, 6th Royal Warwickshire, 3rd South Lancashire, 4th Derbyshire, 3rd Durham Light Infantry, 4th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, 9th King’s Royal Rifle Corps – these battalions were all in the region of 700-750 all ranks, and thus considerably under-strength compared to a regular battalion

[4] The Monthly Army List, 1900 September

[5] Jonathan Peel, younger brother of the more famous Sir Robert Peel, who twice served as PM, and founding father of the Metropolitan Police / British police in general

[6] Fancying themselves as continuing the traditions of the Napoleonic Rifle units, most volunteer battalions opted for grey or green uniforms, in contrast to the red which was worn by the regular army and Militia of the period

[7] The switch to a four company battalion set-up only happened just prior to the Great War

[8] This number broke down as 13 in England, 2 in Ireland, 2 in Scotland, and 1 in Wales

[9] The Royal Reserve Regiment of Guards comprised three companies of ex-Grenadiers, three of ex-Coldstreams, and two of ex-Scots Guards. The men wore the uniforms of their old regiments

[10] Like the Guards, these were composite battalions, made up of veterans from several regiments. The 1st battalion, Royal Irish Fusilier Royal Reserve Regiment, for example, comprised men who had previously served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Royal Munster Fusiliers, and Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

[11] The Monthly Army List, 1904 November

[12] The Monthly Army List, 1900 September

[13] The Monthly Army List, 1904 November

[14] One each of Dragoon Guards, Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers. The Dragoon and Hussar Regiments were based in England, and the Dragoon Guard and Lancer Regiments were based in Ireland

[15] There was a bounty of £22 payable at the end of their year of service

[16] Though there is a link to an earlier regiment, the 21st Light Dragoons, which were disbanded in 1820

[17] The regiment did see considerable service during the period though, winning a second battle honour ‘North West Frontier’. Private Charles Hull was awarded the VC in this campaign

[18] Maurice, The War in South Africa, Vol.1, p.414