Royal Northumberland Fusiliers

Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and became part of the English establishment in 1689.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.Lloyd died in 1694 and replaced as Colonel by Thomas Fairfax; during the 1695 Siege of Namur, it formed part of Vaudémont's screening force.[13] During the Seven Years' War, it was engaged in the 1758 Raid on Cherbourg, the 1760 Battle of Warburg and Kirch Denkern in 1761, where they captured an entire French regiment.[14] Due to the increasing tensions that later resulted in the American Revolutionary War, the regiment was shipped to Boston, Massachusetts in May 1774.[17] They subsequently joined Howe's 1777 campaign against Philadelphia; at Brandywine Creek, they broke the Continental Army's centre and captured five cannon.[18] 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.The French were fairly raw soldiers trained to fight in the classic European style of linear battles.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.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.[41] The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in June 1902, and the 2nd Battalion stayed in South Africa until January 1903, when 357 officers and men left Cape Town for home on theSS Aurania.[42] With the continuation of the war in South Africa, a number of regiments containing large centres of population formed additional regular battalions.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.Although most of them served as divisional machine gun[b] or support[c] battalions, some of them formed motorcycle, searchlight, tank, reconnaissance, ordinary infantry and even deception units.They saw action with the BEF in North-West Europe in 1940 and the 21st Army Group in 1944–45, North Africa 1940–43, Italy 1943–45, the fall of Singapore and the defence of the United Kingdom.[61] 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.