Suffolk Regiment
Encyclopedia
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry
regiment
of the line in the British Army
with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment
as the 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) in 1959. Its lineage is continued today by the Royal Anglian Regiment
.
The "Duke of Norfolk
's Regiment of Foot" raised in 1685 incorporated men from the East Anglia
n counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk
. Until 1751 it was named after ten different colonels and was ranked in 1747 as the 12th Foot regiment. In 1751 it was retitled the 12th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 given a county association as the 12th (the East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot. In 1758 the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Regiment of Foot was redesignated as the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot
. The 63rd Regiment of Foot
(another regiment recruiting in Suffolk) became the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, which would later form the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment
.
(India) 1895, Rangoon and the Andaman Islands
(Burma) 1896 to 1899, Quetta
(North West Frontier) 1899 to 1902, Karachi
and Hyderabad
(Northern India, now Pakistan) 1902 to 1905, Madras (India) 1905 to 1907, Aden
1907, Returning to Southhampton in 1908 after seeing 20 years overseas service as a battalion.
During its service in India the 2nd Battalion became known as a "well officered battalion that compared favourably with the best battalion in the service having the nicest possible feeling amongst all ranks". The 2nd was also regarded as a good shooting battalion with high level of musketry skills.
The spirit of independence and self reliance exhibited by officers and non-commissioned officers led to the 2nd Battalion taking first place in the Quetta Division
of the British Army of India
, from a military effectiveness point of view, in a six-day test. This test saw the men under arms for over 12 hours a day conducting a wide selection of military manoeuvres, including bridge building, retreats under fire, forced marches and defending ground and fixed fortifications.
Almost totally decimated as a fighting unit after over eight hours of incessant fighting, the 2nd Battalion was gradually outflanked but would still not surrender. This was despite the fact that the Germans, knowing the 2nd Battalion had no hope of survival, entreated them to surrender, even ordering the German buglers to sound the British Cease Fire and gesticulating for the men of the 2nd to lay down their arms. At length an overwhelming force rushed the 2nd Battalion from the rear, bringing down all resistance and the 2nd's defence of Le Cateau was at an end. Those remaining alive were taken captive by the Germans, spending the next four years as prisoners of war and not returning home until Christmas Day 1918.
As an example of their valour and the level of training they had been subject to as a peacetime unit, it is noted that 720 men of 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment total roll call of some 1,000, many of whom had been with the battalion since the 1899 posting to Quetta, were killed, wounded or captured. This fight-to-the-last-man defence at Le Cateau was later recognised as a key factor in preventing the German occupation of Paris. (Bell 2007)
(1917).
The 4th and 5th (Territorial Army) Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment fought briefly in the defence of Singapore
, with the 18th East Anglian Division, before British Commonwealth forces on that island surrendered on 15 February 1942. Men from the two battalions suffered great hardship as prisoners of war and only a few would survive the war.
. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons, medals, badges, insignia, photographs, regimental regalia and memorabilia. Admission is free.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the line in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment
Royal Norfolk Regiment
The Royal Norfolk Regiment, originally formed as the Norfolk Regiment, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The Norfolk Regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as the county regiment of Norfolk...
as the 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) in 1959. Its lineage is continued today by the Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
.
History
Duke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
's Regiment of Foot" raised in 1685 incorporated men from the East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
n counties of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Until 1751 it was named after ten different colonels and was ranked in 1747 as the 12th Foot regiment. In 1751 it was retitled the 12th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 given a county association as the 12th (the East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot. In 1758 the 2nd Battalion of the 12th Regiment of Foot was redesignated as the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot
65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot
The 65th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment formed in 1758 from the redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Regiment of Foot...
. The 63rd Regiment of Foot
63rd Regiment of Foot
The 63rd Regiment of Foot known as "The Bloodsuckers", was a British Army regiment in the 18th and 19th centuries.As part of the Childers Reforms, the 63rd and the 96th Regiments of Foot amalgamated in 1881 to form The Manchester Regiment the heritage continuing through to The King's Regiment in...
(another regiment recruiting in Suffolk) became the 63rd (the West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, which would later form the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment
The Manchester Regiment
The Manchester Regiment was a regiment of the British army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 63rd Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot...
.
Boer War
The 1st Battalion served in the Second Boer War.2nd Battalion
By contrast between 1895 and 1914, the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment was not involved in hostilities. It was stationed for the majority of the time in India. Garrison postings during this period include; SecunderabadSecunderabad
Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...
(India) 1895, Rangoon and the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
(Burma) 1896 to 1899, Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
(North West Frontier) 1899 to 1902, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
(Northern India, now Pakistan) 1902 to 1905, Madras (India) 1905 to 1907, Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
1907, Returning to Southhampton in 1908 after seeing 20 years overseas service as a battalion.
During its service in India the 2nd Battalion became known as a "well officered battalion that compared favourably with the best battalion in the service having the nicest possible feeling amongst all ranks". The 2nd was also regarded as a good shooting battalion with high level of musketry skills.
The spirit of independence and self reliance exhibited by officers and non-commissioned officers led to the 2nd Battalion taking first place in the Quetta Division
4th (Quetta) Division
The 4th Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India...
of the British Army of India
Army of India
The Army of India consisted of both the Indian Army and the British Army in India between 1903 and 1947.Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909...
, from a military effectiveness point of view, in a six-day test. This test saw the men under arms for over 12 hours a day conducting a wide selection of military manoeuvres, including bridge building, retreats under fire, forced marches and defending ground and fixed fortifications.
The Battle of Le Cateau
The value of the 2nd Battalion's 20 years of peacetime training was exemplified by their outstanding service to King and country at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914. In this action the 2nd Battalion undertook a fierce rear-guard defence out-manned and out-gunned by superior numbers of enemy. The 2nd held their defensive position despite losing their commanding officer, Lt. Col. C.A.H Brett D.S.O., at the commencement of the action and their second in command, Maj. E.C. Doughty, who was severely wounded after six hours of battle as he went forward to take ammunition to the hard-pressed battalion machine gunners.Almost totally decimated as a fighting unit after over eight hours of incessant fighting, the 2nd Battalion was gradually outflanked but would still not surrender. This was despite the fact that the Germans, knowing the 2nd Battalion had no hope of survival, entreated them to surrender, even ordering the German buglers to sound the British Cease Fire and gesticulating for the men of the 2nd to lay down their arms. At length an overwhelming force rushed the 2nd Battalion from the rear, bringing down all resistance and the 2nd's defence of Le Cateau was at an end. Those remaining alive were taken captive by the Germans, spending the next four years as prisoners of war and not returning home until Christmas Day 1918.
As an example of their valour and the level of training they had been subject to as a peacetime unit, it is noted that 720 men of 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment total roll call of some 1,000, many of whom had been with the battalion since the 1899 posting to Quetta, were killed, wounded or captured. This fight-to-the-last-man defence at Le Cateau was later recognised as a key factor in preventing the German occupation of Paris. (Bell 2007)
Gallipoli
The 1/5th Battalion was a part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and saw action at Gallipoli (1915) and the First Battle of GazaFirst Battle of Gaza
The First Battle of Gaza was fought in and around the town of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast in the southern region of Ottoman Palestine on 26 March 1917, during World War I...
(1917).
Defence of Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
, with the 18th East Anglian Division, before British Commonwealth forces on that island surrendered on 15 February 1942. Men from the two battalions suffered great hardship as prisoners of war and only a few would survive the war.
Battle honours
- DettingenBattle of DettingenThe Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...
, MindenBattle of MindenThe Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
, Gibraltar 1779-83Great Siege of GibraltarThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
, SeringapatamBattle of SeringapatamThe Siege of Seringapatam was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British achieved a decisive victory after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam and storming the citadel. Tippu Sultan, Mysore's...
, South Africa 1851–52–53, New ZealandNew Zealand land warsThe New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
, Afghanistan 1878-80, South Africa 1899-1902Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
- The Great War: MonsBattle of MonsThe Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the...
, Le CateauBattle of Le CateauThe Battle of Le Cateau was fought on 26 August 1914, after the British, French and Belgians retreated from the Battle of Mons and had set up defensive positions in a fighting withdrawal against the German advance at Le Cateau-Cambrésis....
, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres 1915 '17 '18, GravenstafelSecond Battle of YpresThe Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Hooge 1915, LoosBattle of LoosThe Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville WoodDelville WoodThe Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
, PozièresBattle of PozièresThe Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
, Flers-Courcelette, MorvalMorvalMorval is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Morval is situated south of Arras, on the D11 road, completely surrounded by the department of the Somme...
, ThiepvalThiepvalThe Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, PoelcappelleBattle of PoelcappelleThe Battle of Poelcappelle marked the end of highly successful British attacks during the Battle of Passchendaele. Pitting the attacking forces against relatively intact German defences in rain and muddy conditions like those in August, the main attack was a failure and only the diversionary attack...
, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18Battle of Cambrai (1918)The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Lys, Estaires, Messines 1918, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, BéthuneBéthuneBéthune is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department.-Geography:Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated South-East of Calais, West of Lille, and North of Paris.-Landmarks:...
, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Hindenburg LineHindenburg LineThe Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
, ÉpéhyBattle of EpéhyThe Battle of Épehy was a World War I battle fought on 18 September 1918, involving the British Fourth Army against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line.- Prelude :...
, Canal du Nord, Courtrai, Selle, ValenciennesValenciennesValenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Struma, Doiran 1918, Macedonia 1915-18, SuvlaSuvlaSuvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli...
, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-17, GazaBattle of GazaBattle of Gaza may refer to:* Battle of Gaza , fought between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon* Battle of Raphia, also known as Battle of Gaza, fought between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom in 217 BC* Three World War I battles between British...
, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Battle of Megiddo 1918Battle of Megiddo (1918)The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
, Sharon, Palestine 1917-18Sinai and Palestine CampaignThe Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
- The Second World War: Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, OdonOdonOdon may refer to:People* Odon of Greater Poland, duke of Greater Poland* Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights HospitallerPlaces*Odon , a river in France*Odon, Indiana, United StatesOther...
, FalaiseFalaise pocketThe battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
, Venraij, Brinkum, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Singapore Island, Malaya 1942Battle of MalayaThe Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...
, North Arakan, ImphalImphalImphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Kangla Fort used to be the home of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force and on November 2004 it was handed over to state of Manipur by Prime minister Dr....
, Burma 1943-45.
Suffolk Regiment Museum
The Suffolk Regiment Museum is at The Keep, Gibraltar Barracks, Newmarket Road, Bury St Edmunds, SuffolkSuffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Exhibits include uniforms, weapons, medals, badges, insignia, photographs, regimental regalia and memorabilia. Admission is free.