East Surrey Regiment

The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot, the 1st Royal Surrey Militia and the 3rd Royal Surrey Militia.

In 1959, after service in the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, the East Surrey Regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) to form the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, which was, in 1966, merged with the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the Queen's Regiment. The Queen's Regiment was subsequently amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the present Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

History Early history In 1702 a regiment of marines was raised in the West Country by George Villier (not related to the Villiers that became the Duke of Buckingham). It was named Villier's Marines.Frederick, pp. 200–3. Villier was drowned in 1703, and the regiment was taken over by Alexander Luttrell. After Luttrell's death in 1705, the command went to Joshua Churchill until 1711 when it became Goring's Regiment (at this time regiments took the name of their colonel).

In 1715 the regiment was removed from the marines and became the 31st Regiment of Infantry, and in 1751 the designation was changed to the 31st Regiment of Foot. Five years later a second battalion was raised in Scotland, the 2/31st Foot, which was re-designated in 1758, the 70th Regiment of Foot (Glasgow Lowland Regiment).

Further changes were made in 1782. The 31st became known as the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, while the 70th became the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot. They stayed with these titles until 1881 when they became the 1st & 2nd battalions of the East Surrey Regiment.

1881 to 1914

Following amalgamation, The Barracks, Kingston upon Thames became the regimental depot.

The 1st Battalion, on formation, was in England, moving to India in 1884. It remained in India until 1903, its last posting being at Lucknow. It was then recalled to England and was posted at Aldershot, before moving to Jersey in 1905 and to Plymouth in 1909.

The 2nd Battalion was in India when formed, moving to Suez in 1884. It then joined the Suakin Expedition in the Sudan in February 1885, where it saw fighting against the forces of the Mahdist State. The battalion left Suakin when the expedition was withdrawn in May 1885, returning to England. The battalion's next overseas service was in the Second Boer War in South Africa, where it took part in the Battle of Colenso in December 1899, the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900, and the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900. After the end of the war in South Africa, the battalion was shipped from Point Natal to Bombay on the SS Syria in January 1903, where it replaced the 1st battalion at Lucknow. The battalion remained in India until the outbreak of the First World War.

The 3rd (Militia) Battalion, which was formed from the 1st Royal Surrey Militia in 1881, was a reserve battalion. It was embodied for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa on 3 May 1900, disembodied on 15 October 1900, re-embodied on 6 May 1901 and disembodied on 26 July 1902. More than 600 officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS Gaika in July 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at Kingston barracks after having received their service medals.Hay, pp. 334–6.

The 4th (Militia) Battalion, formed from the 3rd Royal Surrey Militia in 1881 was also a reserve battalion. It was embodied for service on 4 December 1899, disembodied on 12 July 1901, and re-embodied again for service during Second Boer War in South Africa. Eight hundred and fifty officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS Tagus in October 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at the Kingston barracks.

Under the 1881 reforms the regiment was also assigned four Volunteer Battalions:Westlake, pp. 228–30.

The 1st Surrey Rifles was based at Camberwell; it did not change its title when affiliated to the East Surreys, and in 1908 it became the 21st (County of London) Battalion in the London Regiment.

The 3rd Surrey Rifle Volunteers at Wimbledon became the 2nd Volunteer Battalion and adopted that as its title in 1887.

The 5th Surrey Rifle Volunteers at Kingston became the 3rd Volunteer Battalion and was also redesignated in 1887.

The 7th Surrey Rifle Volunteers at Southwark became the 4th Volunteer Battalion at Clapham Junction, it later became 23rd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment.

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had two Special Reserve and two Territorial battalions: the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion and the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, both at Kingston Barracks, with the 5th Battalion (TF) at St George's Road in Wimbledon (since demolished) and the 6th Battalion (TF) at Orchard Road in Kingston upon Thames (since demolished).

First World War

Regular Army On 4 August 1914, the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was in Dublin. Eleven days later, mobilization completed and at full war establishment, the 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre in France, and before the end of the month was in action against the Germans. The battalion was assigned to the 14th Brigade, 5th Division, part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF).James, pp. 74–5. During the Retreat from Mons and afterwards, the battalion took part in the great battles of 1914, Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne. In 1915, after the Battle of La Bassée, the 1st East Surreys withstood a most determined attack on Hill 60, near Ypres. In the desperate fighting which ensued, the battalion won three Victoria Crosses and seven Distinguished Conduct Medals. Among the VCs was Lieutenant George Roupell, who later became the last Colonel of the East Surrey Regiment. On 30 December 1915, the 14th Brigade was transferred to the 32nd Division, shortly before the 1st Battalion was transferred to the 95th Brigade, 5th Division, on 12 January 1916. In 1916, the 1st Battalion took part in the great battles of the River Somme, and distinguished itself notably at Morval in September. The battalion took part in many of the great battles of 1917, such as Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres. After a four-month tour on the Italian Front, the battalion was back in France in March 1918, and was engaged in the Battles of Albert and Bapaume, and the subsequent advance to victory.

The 2nd Battalion returned from India at the outbreak of war, but it was not until January 1915 that it arrived in France with the 85th Brigade, 28th Division. It was soon in action to the south of Ypres where it lost many men, some by poison gas: the battalion lost some 800 troops out of about 1,000. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915, and fought valiantly in the defence of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. At a vital stage in this battle, Lieutenant Arthur Fleming-Sandes, though wounded, displayed exceptional courage and leadership, for which he was later awarded the Victoria Cross. The following month the battalion was transferred to the Salonika Expeditionary Force, and spent the remainder of the War on the Struma Valley Front and east of Lake Doiran. The battalion saw action at the Battle of Doiran in January 1918.

Special Reserve The 3rd (Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalions remained in England with the dual role of home defence and of training and preparing reinforcement drafts of reservists, special reservists, recruits and returning wounded for the regular battalions.

Territorial Force The 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions, East Surrey Regiment were not to see service on the Western Front. Both battalions were part of the Surrey Brigade, alongside the 4th and 5th West Surreys, and attached to the Home Counties Division. They embarked for India in October 1914 and were employed on garrison duties in the United Provinces and the Punjab for two years. The 1/5th Battalion then joined the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force in December 1917 and took part in the operations on the Tigris, while the 1/6th Battalion left India in February 1917 for a twelve-month tour of duty with the Aden Field Force.

Hostilities-only battalions After the outbreak of war the East surreys formed nine 'New Army' or 'Kitchener's Army' battalions: The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 37th Brigade in the 12th (Eastern) Division in June 1915 for service on the Western Front. The battalion fought at the battles of Loos, the Somme, Albert and Arras.

The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 55th Brigade in the 18th (Eastern) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The battalion fought at the Battle of Loos and the Battle of the Somme. One particular incident will always be remembered. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, B Company of the 8th Battalion went into the attack dribbling two footballs which the company commander, Captain Wilfred Nevill, had bought for his platoons to kick across no man's land. Captain Nevill and many of his men were killed during the advance, but the 8th East Surreys were one of the few battalions to reach and hold their objective on this day. The "Football Attack" caught the imagination of the country, and illustrations of it are shown in the Regimental Museum, which also contains one of the footballs used. On that day, the 8th Battalion won two DSOs, two MCs, two DCMs and nine MMs, but 446 officers and men were killed or wounded.

The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 72nd Brigade in the 24th Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The battalion saw action at the Battle of the Somme.

The 10th and 11th Battalions were formed as service battalions but converted to reserve battalions, training and preparing reinforcement drafts for the battalions overseas.

When the regimental depots were overwhelmed by volunteers, so-called 'Pals battalions' were formed by mayors and corporations up and down the country; the East Surreys were assigned two of these:

The 12th (Service) Battalion (Bermondsey) landed at Le Havre as part of the 122nd Brigade in the 41st Division in May 1916 also for service on the Western Front. The battalion saw action at the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of Ypres.

The 13th (Service) Battalion (Wandsworth) landed at Le Havre as part of the 120th Brigade in the 40th Division in June 1916 also for service on the Western Front. The battalion saw action at the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Cambrai and the Battle of Arras.

The 14th (Reserve) Battalion was formed at Wimbledon in 1915 to supply reinforcements to the 12th and 13th battalions.

A short-lived 15th (Service) Battalion was formed in 1918, and was used to reconstitute the shattered 13th (Wandsworth) Battalion.

1919 to 1939 Between August and October 1919 the First Battalion were in the Murmansk area of North Russia to help cover the evacuation of the expedition sent to support the White Russian forces against the Bolsheviks. On their return, they served in Ireland in 1920 during the troubles. They were then abroad for the next 18 years, serving in Egypt, Hong Kong, the Sudan and India. Returning to the Sudan in 1938, forty members of the battalion were employed as extras in the filming of The Four Feathers, set during the reconquest of the Sudan in 1898. The 1st Battalion returned to England in February 1939.