In 1751, it became the 5th Regiment of Foot, with the regional title 'Northumberland' added in 1782; in 1836, it was designated a Fusilier unit and became the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot.
Although briefly designated as 'Irish' when raised in January 1675, the regiment was listed as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, a mercenary formation whose origins went back to 1586. During the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War, it took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Maastricht and the battles of Cassel and Saint-Denis.[2] It accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, before transferring onto the English establishment in 1689.[3]
Like most regiments, until 1751, when it was designated the 5th Regiment of Foot, it was named after the current colonel.[4] Founded by Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare, it began life as Viscount Clare's Regiment, then Sir John Fenwick's, followed by Patrick Westley in 1676.[5] When transferred onto the English establishment, it was commanded by Thomas Tollemache who was replaced in May 1689 by Edward Lloyd.[6]
The regiment remained in Ireland for the first part of the War of the Spanish Succession, before being sent to Portugal in 1707 as part of the army under the Earl of Galway. Its first serious action was the May 1709 Battle of La Gudina; a disastrous defeat, where the Allies lost over 4,000 prisoners, the regiment took part in a rearguard action that enabled the rest of the army to withdraw.[10]
This ended offensive operations and when the war ended in 1713, the regiment was posted to Gibraltar, where it spent the next 15 years.[11] It was part of the garrison during the 1727 Anglo-Spanish War, when the Spanish besieged Gibraltar for over four months.[12]
Soldier of the 5th Regiment of Foot in 1742
On 1 July 1751, a royal warrant provided that in future regiments would not be known by their colonels' names, but by their "number or rank" and it became the 5th Regiment of Foot.[13]
In November 1778, they left New York for last time and were transported to the French West Indies, where on 13 December 1778, they landed on Saint Lucia.[19] The 5th was engaged with a small force of French and captured a four-cannon battery. On 18 December 1778, a force of 9,000 French troops landed on St. Lucia. The small British force of 1,400 men occupied a hill located on the neck of a peninsula. The French were fairly raw soldiers trained to fight in the classic European style of linear battles. The French advanced on the British force several times. The British, veterans of colonial fighting, inflicted a stinging defeat on the French. The French lost 400 killed and 1100 wounded to the British losses of ten killed and 130 wounded, which included two officers from the 5th Foot.[20]
After two years in the West Indies, the 5th Foot was sent to Ireland in December 1780. They were still in Ireland when hostilities between Great Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and the former Colonies officially ended in 1783.[21]
On 1 August 1782, all those regiments of the line that did not have a special title were given a county designation. The primary purpose was to improve recruiting, but no links were actually formed with the counties after which the regiments were named. The 5th became the "5th (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot": the county being chosen as a compliment to the colonel, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland.[22]
19th century
The regiment embarked for Portugal in July 1808 for service in the Peninsular War.[23] The regiment fought in the Battle of Roliça and the Battle of Vimeiro in August 1808,[24] the Battle of Corunna in January 1809[25] and the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810.[26] It earned the nicknames the "Old and Bold", "The Fighting Fifth" and also "Lord Wellington's Bodyguard". It formed part of a small force which beat off an overwhelming body of the enemy at El Boden in 1811, a performance which Wellington notified to the Army as a memorable example of what can be done by steadiness, discipline, and confidence.[27] The regiment was in the 3rd Division, 2nd Brigade under command of Major General Charles Colville, consisting of the 1st/5th Regiment of Foot, 2nd/83rd Regiment of Foot, 2nd/87th Regiment of Foot and the 94th Regiment of Foot.[28]
The 1st Battalion served on the Canadian frontier in 1814, during the War of 1812. It then returned to Europe but arrived too late to take part in the battle of Waterloo, though it did serve in the army of occupation in France.[34]
On 4 May 1836, the 5th became a fusilier regiment and was redesignated as the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot:
The King has been pleased to command, that the 5th, or Northumberland, Regiment of Foot shall in future be equipped as a Fusilier Regiment, and be styled the 5th Regiment of Foot, or Northumberland Fusiliers.[35]
With the continuation of the war in South Africa, a number of regiments containing large centres of population formed additional regular battalions. The Northumberland Fusiliers formed 3rd and 4th regular Battalions in February 1900,[41] when the militia battalion was relabeled as the 5th battalion. The 3rd was stationed in South Africa, and in 1902 some of the men were in Antigua to guard the Boer prisoners of war placed there.[42] The 4th formed part of the garrison in Ireland. Both were disbanded in 1907.[38]
The 5th (militia) battalion (known as the 3rd battalion until February 1900) was embodied in December 1899, and from February 1900 to July 1901 was stationed at Malta.[43]
In 1908 a reorganisation of reserve forces was carried out under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. The militia were transferred to a new "Special Reserve" while the Volunteer Force was reorganised to become the Territorial Force.[44] The "Volunteer Battalion" designation was discarded, and territorial battalions were numbered on after those of the regular army and special reserve. The new organisation was thus:[38]
1st Battalion
2nd Battalion
3rd Battalion (Special Reserve)
4th Battalion (T.F.) (HQ at Hencotes in Hexham, from bulk of 1st Volunteer Battalion)
5th Battalion (T.F.) (HQ at Church Street in Walker (since demolished), redesignation of 2nd Volunteer Battalion)
6th (City) Battalion (T.F.) (HQ at Northumberland Road in Newcastle, redesignation of 3rd Volunteer Battalion)
7th Battalion (T.F.) (HQ at Fenkle Street in Alnwick, from part of 1st Volunteer Battalion)
The increase in strength was done partly by forming duplicates of existing T.F. battalions, and partly by the creation of new "Service" battalions. An example of the first instance was the 4th Battalion which was renumbered as the 1/4th in August 1914 on forming a duplicate 2/4th Battalion. A 3/4th Battalion followed in June 1915.[47]
In June 1935 George V celebrated his silver jubilee. This opportunity was taken of granting royal status to four regiments, principally in recognition of their service in the previous war.
On the occasion of His Majesty's Birthday and in commemoration of the completion of the twenty-fifth year of his reign, the King has been graciously pleased... to approve that the following regiments shall in future enjoy the distinction "Royal" and shall henceforth be designated:—
In 1936, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was one of four line infantry regiments selected for conversion to specialised Divisional (Machine Gun) or Divisional (Support) Battalions. The other regiments selected were the Cheshire Regiment, the Manchester Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment.[50]
The 1st Battalion was attached to the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade, which had been sent to Korea to reinforce the Allied effort there. When it arrived in Korea in December 1950, the Brigade comprised:[55]
The 5th Regiment of Foot was one of the 'Six Old Corps' entitled to use their 'ancient badge' (St George killing the Dragon) on Regimental Colours, drums and other devices rather than the typical GR cipher as used by normal Regiments of the Line, a distinction first officially recorded in 1747.[58]
In the centre of their colours was an image of St. George killing the dragon, this being their ancient badge, and in the three corners of their second colour, the rose and crown.[58]
The regiment wore a distinctively-coloured hackle or plume on the fusilier cap and later on the beret. The hackle was red over white, and was authorised in June 1829.[59] This replaced the white feather plume the regiment had adopted following the Battle of St Lucia in 1778, supposedly taken from the headgear of fallen French troops. The 5th Foot was the only line regiment, since the introduction of the shako in 1800, to wear the white plume (other regiments having white over red) although the right to wear it was only officially granted in 1824.[60] In 1829 a new model of shako was introduced and all infantry regiments were to wear a white plume, with the 5th Foot given a unique plume of red over white.[61] This became a red over white 'ball tuft' in 1835 and later became a hackle in the same colours.[60][61]
Victoria Cross
The following members of the regiment were recipients of the Victoria Cross.
On 23 April 1968, following the publication of the following notice in the London Gazette:
By virtue of the provisions of the Royal Warrant dated 5th April, 1968 (published in Army Order 18 of 1968) all officers of the Land Forces belonging to The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (5th), The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (6th), The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (7th), and The Lancashire Fusiliers (20th) are transferred to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers with effect from 23rd April, 1968.[64]
↑ Battalions that served overseas during the war were the 1st and 2nd (Regular), 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th, 2/7th (Territorial), 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th (Service), 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd (Service, 1st – 4th Tyneside Scottish), 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th (Service, 1st – 4th Tyneside Irish), 36th (Territorial), 1st Garrison and 2nd Garrison.[45]
↑ Divisional machine gun battalions were originally organized into four companies, each of three platoons of four Vickers machine guns (so 12 per company, 48 per battalion). From 1943, one of the MG companies was replaced by a mortar company (16 4.2" mortars in four platoons).[51]
↑ Divisional support battalions had a more brigade-centric organization: three groups (one per divisional brigade) each with an MG company (three platoons of four Vickers each), an AA company (four platoons of four 20mm Polsten or Hispano-Suiza[52] light AA guns each) and a mortar company (two platoons of four 4.2" mortars each).[53]
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References
1 2 Burnham, Robert; McGuigan, Ron (2010). The British Army against Napoleon. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. p.124. ISBN978-1-84832-562-3.
↑ Ede-Borrett, Stephen (2011). "Casualties in the Anglo-Dutch Brigade at St Denis, 1678". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 81 (237): 279. JSTOR44230964.
↑ Royal Warrant 1 July 1751 (PRO/WO/26/21) reproduced in Edwards, T J (1953). Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Commonwealth Forces. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. pp.194–200.
↑ "Training Depots 1873–1881". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) The depot was the 1st Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 5th Regimental District depot thereafter
1 2 3 Chris Baker. "The Northumberland Fusiliers". The Long, Long Trail, The British Army of 1914-1918 for family historians. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
1 2 "In the centre of their Colours St. George killing the Dragon, being their ancient Badge; and in the three corners of their Second Colour the Rose and Crown. On their Grenadier Caps St. George as on the Colours" Regulation for the Uniform Cloathing of the Marching Regiments of Foot, their Colours, Drums, Bells of Arms and Camp Colours, 1747. Reproduced in: Edwards, T J (1953). Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Commonwealth Forces. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. pp.191–192.
↑ Carman, W Y (1958). "The Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers c. 1846". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. XXXVI (47): 1.
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