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Regiments / Re: The Northumberland Fusillers "The Fighting Fifth" [Recruiting NA]
« on: March 30, 2014, 06:31:15 pm »History of the Regiment
Origins
The regiment was originally part of the Dutch service and known as the Irish Regiment, or Viscount Clare's Regiment, under the command of Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare. In the following year the colonelcy passed to John Fenwick and the "Irish" designation was discontinued and the regiment was referred to as a "Holland Regiment".[1] The regiment was transferred to the British Service on 5 June 1685, establishing its order of precedence as the 5th Regiment of the Line. Until 1751, like most other regiments, it was known successively by the names of the colonels who commanded them at the time.
Battle Honors
American Revolution
The 5th left Monkstown, Ireland on 7 May 1774, for Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their presence was necessary because of strong civil unrest in the area. Arriving in July, 1774 the 5th camped on Boston Common.
On 19 April 1775, the Light Infantry and Grenadier Companies participated in the march to Concord, and the resulting fighting at Lexington, Concord, and the march back to Boston. Casualties were five men killed, three officers and 15 men wounded, and one man captured. On 17 June 1775, after being under siege by American forces for two months, the regiment participated in the attack on the fortifications at Breed's Hill (the Battle of Bunker Hill). The American forces were finally driven off after intense fighting. The regiment was heavily engaged and suffered 24 dead, 137 wounded.
After spending two months on board ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 5th sailed to New York to participate in the effort to capture the city from the Americans. They took part in the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of White Plains, the capture of Fort Washington, New York, the capture of Fort Lee, New Jersey. They then spent the winter of 1776-1777 quartered near New York City and were involved in skirmishes with the American forces. They were then part of Howe's campaign to capture Philadelphia, being engaged in the Battle of Brandywine Creek, where they broke the Continental Army's center at Chadds Ford, capturing 5 cannon. On the retreat through New Jersey, on 28 June 1778, the regiment was involved in the fighting at Monmouth Court House. While in New York, the 5th participated in several raids and skirmishes, including a raid on Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The Americans had been using the harbour for privateering, and this raid succeeded in destroying many buildings and boats.
They then embarked from New York on 3 November 1778, for the French West Indies, landing on 13 December 1778, on the island of Saint Lucia. 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 were 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 10 killed and 130 wounded, which included two officers from the 5th Foot. As a result of the defeat, the French force abandoned the island. Regimental tradition states that after the battle men of the 5th Foot took white hat plumes from fallen French soldiers and placed them as trophies in their own hats.
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.
Peninsula War
Whilst in the Peninsula the regiment 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." [3] The Regiment was in the 3rd Division, 2nd Brigade under command of Major General Charles Colville, the formation was:
1st/5th Regiment of Foot, 2nd/83rd Regiment of Foot, 2nd/87th Regiment of Foot, 94th Regiment of Foot. The regiment fought in the;Battle of Roliça, Battle of Vimeiro, Battle of Corunna, Battle of Bussaco, Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810, Battle of Badajoz, Battle of Salamanca, Battle of Vitoria, Battle of Nivelle, Battle of Orthez, Battle of Toulouse (1814)
Sir Charles Broke [or Brooke, subsequently Vere) was in Lower Canada with his regiment, the 5th (Northumberland)Regiment of Foot, which was at the Battle of Plattsburg in 1814. Later he was with the Army of Occupation in France, receiving the Waterloo medal despite arrivin too latefor the battle (from Manasek).(from a note on A. Arrowsmith's map of North America in the David Rumsey Map Collection).
The Second Boer War
The 1st Battalion formed part of the 9th Brigade together with the 2nd Northamptonshire Regiment, 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, and part of the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment). While the 2nd Battalion sailed as corps troops, and was then brigaded with the 1st Royal Scots, and 1st Sherwood Foresters, under General Sir William Gatacre.[5] The battalions fought in the following battles:
Battle of Belmont, Battle of Graspan, Battle of Modder River, Battle of Magersfontein, Battle of Stormberg, Battle of Reddersberg, Battle of Sanna's Post, Battle of Nooitgedacht
The regiment received two battle honours for the conflict: "Modder River" and "South Africa, 1899–1902".
World War I
During World War I the Northumberland Fusiliers raised 52 battalions and 29 of them served overseas.
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 the 1/4th in August 1914 on forming a duplicate 2/4th Battalion. A 3/4th Battalion followed in June 1915.
Among the Service Battalions were the Tyneside Scottish (20th - 23rd Battalions) and the Tyneside Irish (24th - 27th Battalions), while the 17th (Service) Battalion was formed by staff of the North Eastern Railway, and was involved in railway construction.
The regiment was awarded the following battle honours: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne, 1914,'18, La Basée 1914, Messines 1914, '17, '18, Ypres 1914, '15, '17, '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenburg, Bellewaarde, Loos, Somme, 1916, '18, Albert, 1915, '16, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre, 1916, Arras, 1917, '18, Scarpe, 1917, '18, Arleux, Pilckem, Langemarck, 1917, Menin Road, Broodseinde, Passchendaele, Cambrai, 1917, St. Quentin, Bapaume, 1918, Rosieres, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleuil, Kemmel, Scharpenberg, Dracourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Epéhy, Canal du Nord
Beaurevoi, Courtrai, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders, 1914–1918, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy, 1917–18, Struma, Macedonia, 1915–18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli, 1915, Egypt, 1916–17
Korean War
The 1st Battalion was attached to the 29th 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: 1st Battalion, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, 1st Battalion, the Royal Ulster Rifles, 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, C Squadron, 7th Royal Tank Regiment, with specialised armour, 45 Field Regiment RA, 11 LAA Battery RA, 170 Mortar Battery RA plus supporting units.
In July 1951, it was re-organized as 29th British Infantry Brigade and absorbed into the 1st Commonwealth Division.
In August 1958, the Regiment was awarded the following battle honours: Imjin, Seoul, Kowang-San, Korea 1950-51.
