| Royal Sussex Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Royal Sussex Regiment. | |
| Active | 1881–1966 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line infantry |
| Size | 1–2Regular battalions 1–2Militia andSpecial Reserve battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Roussillon Barracks,Chichester |
| Nicknames | The Prince of Orange's Own The Orange Lilies The Haddocks The Iron Regiment |
| Mottos | Honi soit qui mal y pense (unofficial)Nothing succeeds like Sussex |
| March | The Royal Sussex (unofficial)Sussex by the Sea |
| Anniversaries | 13 September –Quebec 30 June (1916) –The Day Sussex Died |
| Engagements | Egyptian Expedition Second Boer War World War I World War II |
TheRoyal Sussex Regiment was aline infantryregiment of theBritish Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of theChilders Reforms by the amalgamation of the35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot and the107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry). The regiment saw service in theSecond Boer War, and bothWorld War I andWorld War II.
On 31 December 1966, the Royal Sussex Regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of theHome Counties Brigade – theQueen's Royal Surrey Regiment, theQueen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, and theMiddlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) – to form theQueen's Regiment; which was later, on 9 September 1992, amalgamated with theRoyal Hampshire Regiment to form the presentPrincess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).
The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of theChilders Reforms by the amalgamation of the35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot and the107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry),[1] together with theRoyal Sussex Light Infantry Militia and theCinque Ports and Sussex units of theVolunteer Force.[2] The 1st Battalion was sent toEgypt as part of GeneralGarnet Wolseley's expedition to crush the‘Urabi Revolt and conquer Egypt in the name of the Khedive. The 1st battalion was also part of theNile Expedition, an unsuccessful attempt to save GeneralCharles Gordon and his garrison atKhartoum during theMahdist War. Twenty men of the regiment, led by Lieutenant Lionel Trafford, constituted the advanced party which marched towards Khartoum.[3] The battalion took part in theBattle of Abu Klea in January 1885 whenMuhammad Ahmad was defeated.[4] After a couple of years back in England, the battalion was stationed in Ireland from 1891 to 1896, then atMalta in 1899.[5]
The 2nd Battalion was stationed at Malta from 1882, then moved toIndia in 1885 and took part in theHazara Expedition in 1888 and theNorth-West Frontier campaign 1897–1898.[4] The battalion stayed in India until late 1902, when it returned home after more than 20 years′ foreign service.[6][7]
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When theSecond Boer War required more troops to reinforce British forces in South Africa, the 1st Battalion was sent there in February 1900, and fought at the Battle ofDoornkop in May 1900.[8] A memorial to the fallen of the Second Boer War, incorporating a sculpture byCharles Leonard Hartwell titled "The Bugler", is atRegency Square, Brighton. The Sergeant Bugler sounded the charge of The Royal Sussex that swept The Boers from their formidable position at Doornkop.[9] A smaller bronze casting of The Bugler is held by theNational Army Museum.[10] A silver reduction copy is also held by The 2nd BattalionPrincess of Wales's Royal Regiment Officers' Mess.[11]
TheRoyal Sussex Light Infantry Militia formed the 3rd Battalion.[2] It was embodied in December 1899 and embarked forSouth Africa to take part in theSecond Boer War in March 1901.[5] Most of the officers and men returned home on theSS Dominion in August 1902, after the war had ended two months earlier.[12] The three Volunteer Battalions contributed to a service company that reinforced the 1st Battalion, and gained them theBattle honour.[13]
Following the end of the war in South Africa, the 1st battalion transferred to India, where they were stationed atSitapur inBengal Presidency.[14]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force (TF) and the latter theSpecial Reserve (SR);[2][15] the regiment now had one Reserve battalion and three Territorial battalions. These were the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion (SR), with the4th Battalion (TF) at Park Street inHorsham (since demolished), the 5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion (TF) at Middle Street inHastings (since demolished) and the6th (Cyclist) Battalion (TF) at Montpelier Place inBrighton (since demolished)[2][16][13]
The 1st Battalion, which formed part of the1st (Peshawar) Brigade in the1st (Peshawar) Division, was one of the few infantry battalions that remained inIndia throughout the whole war, being stationed atPeshawar.[17] However, it served in theThird Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.[18]
The 2nd Battalion landed in France as part of2nd Brigade in the1st Division in August 1914 and fought through the war on theWestern Front.[17] It took part in theBattle of Mons in August 1914, theBattle of the Marne in September 1914, theBattle of the Aisne in September 1914 and theFirst Battle of Ypres in November 1914 as well as theBattle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915.[19] During theBattle of Loos in September 1915 SergeantHarry Wells was awarded a posthumousVictoria Cross, when the battalion took part in an attack.[20] The battalion took part in theBattle of the Somme in Autumn 1916, the British pursuit to theHindenburg Line in Spring 1917, theBattle of Passchendaele in October 1917, theBattle of the Lys in April 1918 and theSecond Battle of Arras in August 1918.[19]
Before the war the 4th and 5th battalions were Army Troops attached to theHome Counties Division. However, the division went toIndia without them. The1/4th Battalion joined160th Brigade in53rd (Welsh) Division and landed atSuvla Bay in August 1915. After theGallipoli campaign it was evacuated to Egypt and later served inPalestine, where it saw action at the battles of Gaza and Jerusalem. It moved to France in May 1918 for service on the Western Front in34th Division.[17] The1/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion landed in France as Army Troops in early 1915, seeing action from theBattle of Aubers Ridge with1st Division in May 1915. It later joined48th (South Midland) Division as divisional pioneers, seeing action at theSomme andYpres[17][21] before moving toItaly in November 1917.[17] The1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion remained on coast defence duties in England and Ireland for the whole war, but the 2/6th was converted to infantry and saw action with16th Indian Division inWaziristan in 1917–19.[17][22]
The 7th (Service) Battalion was formed in September 1914 by men volunteering forLord Kitchener'sNew Armies and landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of the36th Brigade in the12th (Eastern) Division in June 1915 for service on the Western Front.[17] The 8th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the54th Brigade in the18th (Eastern) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[17] The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the73rd Brigade in the24th Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[17]
The 11th, 12th and 13th (Southdowns) Battalions were all raised in late 1914 as part of the116th Brigade of the39th Division. All three battalions landed at Le Havre, France in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.[17] All three battalions took part in theBattle of the Boar's Head in June 1916. After a bombardment of the German trenches the 12th and 13th Battalions went over the top (most for the first time) and, under heavy fire, attacked the enemy trenches, bombing and bayoneting their way in. The 11th Battalion supplied carrying parties. They succeeded in taking the German front line trench, holding it for some four hours, and even briefly took the second line trench for about half an hour, beating off repeated counterattacks, and only withdrew from the shortage of ammunition and mounting casualties.[23] In regimental history this is known asThe Day Sussex Died.[24]Edmund Blunden, asecond lieutenant in the 11th Battalion, wrote an excellent account of his experiences in his memoirs,Undertones of War (1928).[4]
After the war, St George's Chapel, inChichester Cathedral, was restored and furnished as a memorial to the fallen of the Royal Sussex Regiment. It now has all their names recorded on the panels that are attached to the chapel walls.[25]
The 1st Battalion was based inEgypt at the outbreak of theSecond World War, having been sent toPalestine in 1938. The battalion was initially part of the23rd Infantry Brigade. In October 1940, the battalion was transferred to the7th Indian Infantry Brigade in the4th Indian Infantry Division, with whom it remained for the rest of the war.[26] The battalion, briefly commanded byGeoffrey Charles Evans,[27] took part in theWestern Desert campaign and theItalian Campaign, where it had a terrible time and was involved in the bloodyBattle of Monte Cassino.[4] In late 1944 the battalion was shipped across toGreece withLieutenant-GeneralRonald Scobie and hisIII Corps, remaining there until 1946 to help calm theGreek Civil War after the German withdrawal.[28]
The 2nd Battalion was aRegular Army unit that was based inNorthern Ireland at the outbreak of war. The battalion, under the command ofLieutenant ColonelManley James, were joined with the 4th and5th Battalions of the regiment in the133rd (Royal Sussex) Infantry Brigade as part of the44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division.[29] The 4th Royal Sussex Regiment was then commanded by Lieutenant ColonelLashmer Whistler. The 2nd Battalion was sent to France in April 1940, to join theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF), taking part in theBattle of France and the subsequentretreat to Dunkirk where they were evacuated to England in theDunkirk evacuation.[4] The brigade was sent toNorth Africa in May 1942, where they fought in theBattle of Alam el Halfa in September 1942 and theBattle of El Alamein in October 1942.[4]
In 1943, the 2nd Battalion and volunteers from the 4th and 5th Royal Sussex were formed into the10th Parachute Battalion of theParachute Regiment, which was a part of the4th Parachute Brigade, serving with the1st Airborne Division. The brigade participated inOperation Slapstick, anamphibious landing on the Italian port ofTaranto, as part of theAllied invasion of Italy. Then returning to England, the battalion then fought atArnhem during the disastrousOperation Market Garden in September 1944 with the rest of the 1st Airborne Division.[4]CaptainLionel Queripel, from the Royal Sussex was awarded theVictoria Cross posthumously, during theBattle of Arnhem.[30] The 10th Parachute Battalion was disbanded in November 1945.[31]
The 2nd Battalion was reraised, after the old one became the 10th Para, and joined the 4th and 5th Battalions in 133rd Brigade of 44th (Home Counties) Division. They were sent to Egypt and fought at the battles ofAlam el Hamza andAlamein. Afterwards the brigade was sent to the forgotten theatre of war inIraq andPersia in 1943 with the6th Indian Infantry Division where they remained for the rest of the war, the 2nd Battalion joining the24th Indian Infantry Brigade, and the merged 4th/5th Battalion joining the27th Indian Infantry Brigade.[32]
The regiment also raised the 6th and 7th battalions (both 2nd LineTerritorial Army duplicates of the 4th and 5th Battalions) which were both in the37th (Royal Sussex) Infantry Brigade, part of the12th (Eastern) Infantry Division.[33] They also served inFrance with the BEF in 1940 but suffered heavy casualties during the fighting and wereevacuated from Dunkirk. The 12th Division was disbanded in July 1940 due to the heavy number of casualties suffered. The main reason for such heavy casualties was because most of the men had had very little training and few had even fired a rifle. After the return to England, the 6th Battalion served as a home defence unit for the rest of the war and was disbanded after the war in 1946. The 7th Battalion defendedAmiens against air raids and the German1st Panzer Division, which captured the town on 20 May. The battalion was transferred to theRoyal Artillery and converted into the 109th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery.[34]
The 8th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised in 1939, presumably from theNational Defence Companies. The battalion was mainly composed of older and less fit men and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war. The battalion was redesignated as the 30th Battalion in 1941 and it was disbanded in 1943.[16]
The 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment was created in July 1940. It was originally commanded by 41-year-oldLieutenant ColonelGerald Templer.[35] The battalion formed part of the212th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home).[36] In October 1942, the battalion was converted to armour as the160th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps and joined the267th Indian Armoured Brigade, which included other infantry units converted to armour.[37] As with all infantry units converted in this way, they would still have worn their infantry capbadge on the black beret of the RAC.[38] However, it returned to the infantry role in April 1943[16] and was sent with the72nd Infantry Brigade to fight in theBurma Campaign with theBritish 36th Infantry Division, previously 36th Indian.[39] The battalion saw action in theArakan, was airlifted intoMyitkyina and fought its way toMandalay by April 1945.[40]
The 10th Battalion was another hostilities-only battalion also raised in 1940 and joined the219th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), later the203rd Brigade.[41]
On 31 December 1966 the regiment was amalgamated with theQueen's Royal Surrey Regiment, theQueen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment and theMiddlesex Regiment to form theQueen's Regiment.[42]
The Royal Sussex Regiment Museum and that of theQueen's Royal Irish Hussars is based atEastbourne Redoubt inSussex.[43]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[16]
The colonel-in-chief was as follows:[16]
The regimental colonels were as follows:[16]
In the filmAtonement (2007), Robbie Turner's unit during theBattle of France is identified as the 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment: in fact, the 1st Battalion never served in France.[44]
From 1942 to 1946Peter Ustinov served as a private soldier with the Royal Sussex Regiment. He was batman forDavid Niven and the two became lifelong friends. Ustinov spent most of his service working with the Army Cinema Unit, where he was involved in making recruitment films, wrote plays and appeared in three films as an actor. At that time he co-wrote and acted inThe Way Ahead (1944) (akaImmortal Battalion).[45][46]
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