Books published by Naval & Military Press Ltd

An updated and expanded 1923 edition of a history of the old Thirtieth Regiment, later the 1st East Lancashire Regiment, from its formation in 1689 down to 1881, first published in 1887. The author draws on newly-available material in the Public Record Office, the British Museum and the Royal United Service Institution to compile this compelling record of one of the British Army's oldest units. Raised in the year after the Glorious Revolution which brought William III to the throne, the 30th first saw service in the wars with France that the King fought in defence of his Duch homeland. It was disbanded, but then promptly raised again as Marines to fight against France in the War of the Spanish Succession, taking part in the successful capture and subsequent defence of the Rock of Gibraltar. It continued to serve in Spain, helping to take Barcelona and Alicante. The 30th helped defeat a French invasion fleet in the Firth of Forth. It was disbanded a second time, but re-formed to meet the Jacobite threat, defended Gibraltar again, and was present at Lord Anson's naval victory off Finisterre. Fighting as Marines, the 30th took part in the expeditions against Rochefort, Cherbourg and St. Malo (twice). In the American War of Independence it took part in the Battle of Eutaw Springs and later helped to put down two risings of the black population of Dominica. In the French Revolutionary Wars, the 30th fought alongside the Navy in the Mediterranean, helping defend Toulon against the young Napoleon Bonaparte, occupying Messina and besieging and capturing Malta's capital Valetta before seeing action in Egypt.. Becoming two battalions, the Regiment saw garrison duty in Ireland and service in the Easat Indies and Macao before taking part in the Peninsula War. It was with Wellington in the lines of Torres Vedras, which blocked the French attempt to drive the Duke from Portugal, and took part in most of the major British victoriies in the Peninsula, includfing Fuentes d'Onoro, Ciudad Roderigo, Badajoz and Salamanca. After the Waterloo camapign , in which it fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo itself, the 30th was reduced to one battalion again and saw service in the Mahratta war in India. It also took part in the Crimean War at Inkerman and Sebastopol, and saw service in various parts of the Empire until becoming the 1st East Lancashire Regiment. Ilustrated with fifteen fine colour plates showing the evolution of the regiment's uniforms, and fifteen sketch maps of actions in which it fought., and accompanied by a roll of its officers from 1689-1881 and an index.

This concise regimental history is prefaced bty half a dozen handsome colour plates showing the regiment's colours and uniforms. Raised in 1678 under Charles II, the Royal Scots saw their first action against their fellow Scots at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. Under William III theyt fought the French at the battles of Walcourt, Steenkirk and Linden. In the War of the Spanish Succession under the Duke of Marlbrough they took part in the victories of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. Aftyer the Treaty of Utrecht ended the war, they helped put down the 1715 Jacobite rebellion at the battle of Sherrifmuir. In 1743, they were again fighting the French at Dettingen - the last battle in which a reigning British king (George II) took part. They later fought in the battle of Fontenoy, in which France defeated the British. In 1745 they were hastily recalled from Flanders to put down Prince Charles Edward Stuart's rebellion, which they helped crush in April 1746 at the battle of Culloden. They were engaged in the American war of Independence, and subsequently fought the French in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean., before returning to America where they took part in the burning of Washington in the War of 1814. After garrison duty in India and Ireland, the Fusiliers took part in the Crimean War, and were present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and the siege of Sebastopol. In 1879 the 2nd Battalion helped defeat the Zulus at the battle of Ulundi.

The first thing that struck me about this history was the number of appendices and the information they contained. There are nine of them and they take up over 100 pages, beginning with the list of battles (in effect battle honours) which are keyed to the campaign medals depicted in colour on a double page spread in the colour plate section at the beginning of the book. Then there is an explanation of guidons and standards (two of these are illustrated in colour).There is a table showing the establishment of the Regiment in 1715 and all the changes up to 1903 with explanatory footnotes. Most useful is the list of the places where the Regiment has been stationed and on active service, with dates, from 1715 to January 1903. Other appendices give details of dress depicted in eight colour plates; succession of Colonels of the Regiment with biographical information, succession of Commanding Officers, Adjutants and Quartermasters; extracts from the Annual Army Lists from 1715; alphabetical list of officers appointed to the Regiment, 1715-1903, showing date of appointment, cause of leaving etc; and finally, and most unusual, a list of Officers attending the annual Regimental Dinner during the period1866 to 1903.The history itself is arranged in chapters, each chapter covering a specific time frame and in the text the year in which the events being described took place is shown in the margin, in effect a chronology. Formed as Major-General Owen Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons in 1715 it was, within a few weeks, in action at Preston against the Jacobite rebel forces of the Old Pretender. The title changed to 9h Dragoons in 1751 and subsequently to Light Dragoons and finally, after Waterloo, to 9th Lancers becoming Queen's Royal (Queen Adelaide)in 1830. It saw action in S America, Walcheren, the Peninsula, the Sikh Wars, the Mutiny, Kabul, Kandahar, Afghanistan and S Africa. Probably its finest achievement was during the Indian Mutiny in which it was engaged between June 1857 and January 1859, losing 5 officers and 143 men and being awarded 13 VCs (one of them an officer of 2nd Dragoon Guards attached to the Regiment) which must be the greatest number of VCs awarded to a unit during the course of a campaign. There is plenty of action in this account but for regimental detail this history takes some beating

The regiment originated in the Troops of Horse engaged in the defence of Tangier from 1661 and was at first designated the Tangier Horse. In 1683 it was redesignated The King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons and a few years later the 'King's Own' was dropped and from 1690 the title became the Royal Regiment of Dragoons. In 1751 the designation changed again, to the 1st (Royal) Dragoons and in May 1961 it became The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons). Finally, in 1969 it joined the Household Cavalry by amalgamating with the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) and becoming The Blues and Royals. This history gives an account of the Regiment from 1661 to October 1886 during which time it served with distinction in many campaigns from Tangier to the Crimea and Egypt (1884-85). At Waterloo the Regiment captured one of the two French Eagles taken that day, the other one was taken by the 2nd Dragoons, The Royal Scots Greys. The Regiment also took part in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava, a very brief but very successful affair though less well known than the charge of the Light Brigade. Although the Royals did not serve in India nor in the East they saw plenty of action at home (the Monmouth Rebellion, the Boyne, the Jacobites) and on the continent - the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the Peninsula; ten battle honours had been awarded by the time this account comes to a close. To finish there are biographical notes of all twenty Colonels of the Regiment followed by a most comprehensive 45-page index.

The regiment was raised in 1689 by Sir Albert Conyngham (Cunningham) after whom it was named; the men came mostly from County Donegal. There is reference to an interesting note among King William III's State papers: 'The Inniskilliners do not care for the English, but they like the Scots, most of their parents being Scotch. It is well therefore not to have too many English in their regiments.' The regiment's first major action was the Battle of the Boyne (11 July 1690). Writing about it in his introduction the author says: "Of the earliest years of the Regiment's existence I have spoken as one walking on thin ice; susceptibilities are on edge in Ireland when the Battle of the Boyne is mentioned........." That was written in 1909 and things haven't changed since. The regiment was in action during the War of The Austrian Succession and was present at Dettingen and Fontenoy. It was again on active service 1758-1763, this time in Germany in the Seven Years War. At Waterloo the regiment was part of the Union Brigade (Royals, Scots Greys and Inniskillings`) and took part in the celebrated charge in which one officer and 85 other ranks were killed (and 164 horses) and six officers and 101 other ranks wounded. It served in the Crimea where it took part in another charge, that of Scarlett's Heavy Brigade, also at Balaklava - more successful but less publicised than that of the Light Brigade. Surgeon James Mouat, attached to the Regiment, won the VC at Balaklava but this does not get a mention in the book though it does say he was awarded the Crimean medal. The Crimea was followed by eight years in India enlivened by the antics of the CO who quite clearly had a screw loose. He had one of his officers courtmartialled and he himself was ordered to prosecute. He placed under close arrest three witnesses for the defence and kept them there, incommunicado, till the so-called trial ended. The whole affair is told in detail and can only be described as mind-boggling. At the end of October 1899 the Regiment embarked for S Africa where it came under General French's command (the C in C of the BEF in 1914), taking part in yet another charge - at Klipfontein. The Regiment served in S Africa throughout the war, returning to the UK after the conclusion of peace negotiations in 1902, and this is where this history ends Forty-one officers and men were killed and forty-one died from other causes. Finally there is an index.