The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-08-21 00:00:00

PRESENTATION OF COLOURS.

Previous to the embarkation for India on board the
Malabar, the Ist Battalion of the Royal Welsh
Fusiliers was, on Monday, presented with new colours
by the Prince of Wales at Portsmouth. The cere-
mony took place on the garrison recreation ground,
which has been formed out of the old moats and fortifi-
cations, and which was thrown open to the public, an
enclosure being reserved near the Royal tent for the
use of the district staff, naval and military officers,
and their friends, and such others as were in a posi-
tion to present cards at the gates. The appearance
presented by the ground as the time approached for
the commencement of the proceedings was remarkably
animated and full of colour.

The T.'..,0yal Welsh Regiment, under the oommand of
Lieutenant-Colonel Elgee, arrived by special train
from'Woolwich at about eleven o'clock, and after dis-
embarking at the dockyard the men were marched to
the recreation-ground, headed by their admirable
band, and their no less famous Royal goat "Billy," who
was presented by the Queen in 1872, and is supposed
to have now attained the venerable age of thirteen,
having remained with the battalion for a longer
period than any previous pet The men appeared
in light marching order, with white helmets, and
it was pleasant to look upon their well-knit frames
and seasoned countenances. The battalion consists
of 880 men and the follow,ing officers :—Lieutenant-
Colonel Elgee, Majors Tilly, Williamson, and
Tulloch, Captains Hadden, Hutchinson, Taylor,
Webber, and Mayhew, Lieut. and Adjutant Main-
Waring, Lieutenants Baker, Chapman, Sir R. A. W.
Colleton, Griffith, Walker, Dunn, 0. de B. Carey,
Evans, and Morris, Second Lieutenants Beresford,
Lysons, Lyle, and Knight, Quartermaster M'Cormick
and Paymaster Bampfield. On entering the ground
at ten minutes to twelve they formed single line two
deep along the whole length of the green with their
faces towards the Royal tent, and thus waited the
arrival of his Royal Highness.
There was something strikingly appropriate in the
circumstance that the duty of presenting new colours
to the brave Welsh regiment should have fallen to the
lot of the Prince of Wales, says The Times,—and then
proceeds to give the following brief history of the bril-
liant achievements of the regiment :

"The Royal Welsh Fusiliers were raised in Wales,
and received their title in 1714 in honour of the
Prince of Wales, and their nationality is further be-
tokened by the Prince of 'Wales's plume' with the
motto Ich Dien,' which, together with the Rising
Sun, the Red Dragon, the White Horse, and the
Sphinx, they bear on their colours. The regiment is
one of the oldest and most famous in the Army, and
the proud words nec aspera terrent,' which are
emblazoned on its regimental silk, it has amply justi-
fied by its gallant conduct from the Battle of the
Boyne, in 1690, to the Indian Mutiny, in 1858, in-
cluding Egypt, Corunna, Martinique, Albuera,Badajos,
Salamanca, the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse,
Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and forty-
eight other engagements which are not recorded on its
colours. The mere shreds of silk which were on Mon-
day exchanged for new and garish colours had a
history of their own, and we can well understand the
reluctance of the battalion to part with them so long
as a single officer who had fought under them at the
crowing achievement of the Alma remained with
it. Their dilapidation, which precluded them being
unfurled, was not owing to the effect of moth or
the wear and tear of grand parades. They had, on
the contrary, witnessed heroic deeds in the front of
an enemy, and had served as a rallying point at the
supreme moment when the Great Redoubt capitulated
to British valour. They were presented in 1849 by
the late Prince Consort, the battalion at the same
time receiving from the Queen the first of those
Royal goats which have ever since marched at its
head. _ _ _

" It was in the Crimea, where the successors of the
heroes of the Peninsular and Waterloo proved the
regiment had not degenerated from its high estate
of honourable glory, that the colours received their
first baptism of blood, and a fearful and tragic sacra-
ment it proved. From the disembarcation until the
battle of the. Alma the Royal Welsh had been unfor-
tunate in hiving had no opportunity of distinguishing
themselves in action. But being subsequently sent to
form part of Sir George Brown's right brigade, which
was under the command of General Codrington, they
had soon abundance of fighting, and succeeded in
carrying off some of the chief glories of the campaign.
General Buller was in command of the left brigade of
the Light Division; and as both Generals were per-
mitted to a great extent to follow their own discretion,
the two brigades advanced towards the river which
flowed through the valley. The Russians were strongly
posted, and their batteries swept the advancing forces
before they could find cover beneath the steep bank
on the further side. The river was eventually crossed;
Codrington's Light Division, with the 19th and 95th
Regiments, cleared the bank, and as the Russians re-
treated the Royal Welsh soon found themselves en-
gaged in a desperate attack upon the Great Redoubt.
The slaughter was fearful, the 23rd alone losing 12 of
their officers and half of their rank and file smitten
down before they could reach the guns. The result
is a ?natter of history. Although the victory was
practically won, the retiring Russians maintained
a Parthian fire during the retreat, and many lives
were lost as the troops approached the empty em-
brasures. The Queen's colour of the Royal Welsh—
one of the two rags which were on Monday relegated
to the honourable obscurity of Wrexham church—was
carried by Lieutenant Anstruther. Although nothing
more than a lad fresh from school, he pressed for-
ward before all the others and was the first who gained
the Redoubt. Planting the butt end of the colours in
the centre of the parapet, he has been described as
standing for a moment clutching them in his arms,
breathless and silent, as if surprised at his Swn
audacity. A moment after the slim young figure was
shot, and he fell, dragging the flagstaff with him. No
fewer than seventy-five bullets passed through the
colours, and the pole of one of them was shot in two
and had to be tied together with a cord. There was
no time for tears and regrets. The colours of the
regiment were in danger, and their rescue was the
first impulse with the survivors. Butler, the other
colour officer, had been shot ; but a private, a
Welshman named William Evans, promptly mminted.
the parapet, drew the flagstaff gently from the stiffen-
ing hands, and held it aloft to show that the Royal
Welsh were the first to enter the Great Redoubt.
Evans then handed the colours to Corporal Luby, Who
delivered them over to Sergeant Luke O'Connor, who
carried them till the end of the battle. O'Connor had
been shot in the breach and fell at the same time as
young Anstruther ; but as his wound was not mortal
he soon recovered himself, and refused to go to the
rear.. He received the highest praise from General
Codrington on the field, and was rewarded with a
commission in the Royal Welsh, in which he holds to-
day the proud position of Colonel of the 2nd Batta-
lion. He was also present at the assault upon the
Redan, where he was shot through both thighs, and
at the close of the war he received the Victoria Cross
and the Sardinian War Medal. Corporal Luby also re-
reived the latter decoration.

"At the Alma the Fusiliers had eight officers killed
and five wounded, three sergeants and forty rank and
file killed, nine sergeants and 143 rank and file
wounded, and two missing. The slaughter among the
officers indeed was so great that when Lieutenant
Butler fell the regimental colour was entrusted to Ser-
geant Honey Smith, while the command of the regiment
was entrusted to Captain Bell, who earned the Victoria
Cross for capturing a Russian gun single-handed at the
Alma. There are now no officers in the Ist Battalion
who fought under the colours in the gallant rush
upon the great redoubt, the whole of them having
died, retired, or been transferred to other regiments.
As has already been said, Sergeant O'Connor is now
Colonel of the 2nd Battalion and the last remaining
officer, Quartermaster Knightley, left to join the same
battalion at Plymouth on Friday last. Major
Williamson and Major Tilly served with the old
colours in the Crimea, but were not present at the
Alma. The colours were next carried through the
Indian Mutiny, where Colonel Elgee and a number
of the present officers had the honour of serving
under them."

At twelve o'clock the faint and distant sound of a
salute from the Garrison Saluting Battery announced
the approach of the Prince of Wales in the Osborne
from Cowes and at twenty minutes past the line of
the 23rd ordered arms, and there was a general flutter
among the ladies and a cry of "Here they come ! "
But it was a false alarm, and it was not until half-
past twelve—punctual to the minute—that the Royal
carriage, containing the Prince and Princess of Wales,
the Duke of Edinburgh, and his Serene Highness
Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, drove up to the pavi-
lion, the Royal Standard being "broken" the moment
his Royal Highness alighted on the green. The Prince
of Wales wore the uniform of a British general, and his
brother appeared in the uniform of a Rear-Admiral
of the Royal Navy, while both displayed the blue
sash of the Garter. The Princess was dressed very
simply in a bronze-green dress with yellow spots and
ornamented with yellow satin and white lace. After
being received by the principal staff officers in the
Southern Military District, the Prince of Wales,
the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward of
Saxe-Weimar stepped forward to the saluting flag,
where they were joined by General Lysons, when a
general salute was given by the troops. The Prince of
\Vales, with Colonel Elgee, preceded by the district staff
and followed by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince
of Saxe-Weimar, then marched along both the front and
rear of the line, the band at the same time playing a
slow march. At the end of the inspection the Royal
party again took up !-L positionp;ug athtetchoelosuarlsutwinags flpargo.
ceeded with,
awnhdertehtehecyeril'emreonnyowofjotirnoeod by the Princess of Wales,
and a preliminary to the presentation.
The bands and drums played a slow march from the
right to the left of the line, and on arriving near the
colour they changed front, halted, and ceased play-
ing. The band and drums then played a quick
march from left to right, changed front, halted, and
ceased playing when in front of the right of the line.
After this and a general serenade of the
the
by
the band and fifers playing the "March of the en of
Harlech," the old colours took pleofstt
of
tfhmenitinoe, f
the
escort, which proceeded to
band playing "Auld Lang Syne." After the escort
had returned to its place by the rear the old colours
were cased and sent to the rear, and the actual cere-
mony of the presentation was begun. The regiment
formed three sides of a square, in the centre of which
the drums were piled and the new colours placed
against them (cased), the Queen's colour being on the
right. The senior major and the senior lieutenant
then uncased the Queen's colour, while the junior
major and the junior lieutenant performed the same
duty for the regimental colour, and both having been
replaced against the drums, a form of consecration
was gone through by the Rev. A. Craven, Chaplain
to the Forces, the whole of the distinguished company
moving forward to attend the service. Having re-
ceived the colours from the majors, his Royal High-
ness now presented them separately to the lieutenants,
who went down upon one knee to receive them, after
which, turning o Colonel Elgee,
The Piince of Wales spoke as fo'lows : Colonel
Elgee, officers' and non-commissioned officers and men
of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers,—l consider it a very
great privilege to have been asked to present your
regiment with new colours on the eve of its departure
for India. It occurs to me in presenting these colours
that they are to replace those which were given toyou
about 31 years no by my lamented father, and which

through three campaigns your regiment has carried
with honour and success. You will in a few years
celebrate your 200th anniversary, and during that
time your regiment has served in nearly every
quarter of the globe, and seen as much or more service
than any regiment in the Army. You have served at
Corunna, Salamanca, the Peninsula, Waterloo, Alma,
Inkerman, Sebastopol, Lucknow, and, coming down
to more recent times, Ashantee. I feel sure that there
will always be the same emulation among those who
serve in your ranks as there has been ill the past, and
that the good name of your regiment will always be
maintained as prominently as it is now. You are
now on the eve of departure for India, and nobody
wishes you " God-speed " more sincerely than I do. I
feel sure that, whatever your services may be, they
will be such as will bring credit to your regiment, and
will add additional proofs of the valour for which it is
so justly celebrated.
Colonel Elgee said in reply :—We are all sincerely
obliged to your Royal Highness for having presented
us with colours to-slay. Our regiment, as its name
implies, is connected with the Principality of Wales,
and the memory of this occasion will be handed down
to future generations; while those who are taking part
in the proceedings to-day will preserve the impression
of them for the remainder of their lives. lam sure
that wherever the colours are carried—whether before
an enemy or in the performance of our duties at home
in time of peace—the regiment will always maintain
the high reputation it has won. On the eve of our de-
parture for India, we beg to express our heartiest
wishes for the health and happiness of her Most
Gracious Majesty the Queen, your Royal Highness,
the Princess of Wales, and the remainder of the Royal
Family.
The line having been reformed, his Royal Highness
had the whole of the officers drawn up on each side
of the drums, and as they saluted and passed to their
posts each was individually presented to the Prince
and Princess by the Colonel. A few more movements, and
the ranks were closed, the line broke into columns to
the right, and marched past to the jetty, where they
embarked on board the Malabar, the Royal party at
the same time driving back to the Osborne, where a
large and distinguished company sat down to luncheon,
during which the band of the Royal Marine Light
Infantry played a selection of music on the adjoining
jetty. The whole ceremony of the presentation
concluded at two o'clock. Alter luncheon the whole
party from the Royal yacht, including the Princess
Beatrice, who had arrived in the Alberta to receive
the Empress Eugenie an take her to Osborne on
a visit to the Queen, proceeded on board the Malabar,
where they stayed three-quarters of an hour and
made a thorough inspection of the ship, and where,
it is scarcely necessary to add, they were welcomed
with much enthusiasm. For the previous two hours,
during which the magnificent vessel lay alongside the
jetty, waiting for the tide, the fore and main shrouds, as
well as the bulwarks of the ship, had been crowded with
Fusiliers, who cheered every distinguished person as he
appeared, and addressed facetious remarks to the
crowd. When at length the Malabar drew away into
stream, followed by the Royal yacht Osborne, the
shouting and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs
were of the wildest character. he band of the
Royal Marines ashore played "The March of the Men
of Harlech " and "Cheer, Boys, Cheer !" while the
troops responded by singing "Auld Lang Syne." The
Malabar then steamed straight away, and was
cheered to the echo so long as she remained within
hearing.