Isle of Wight Rifles

[rmr]

Princess Beatrice's Own Isle of Wight Rifles a little known territorial unit,sealskin busby dated 1914 some insignia including some pre 1906 territorial force insignia and the former owners ID discs showing his Hampshire's number and his IOW number.Roger

[rmr]

Princess Beatrice's Own Isle of Wight Rifles a little known territorial unit,sealskin busby dated 1914 some insignia including some pre 1906 territorial force insignia and the former owners ID discs showing his Hampshire's number and his IOW number.Roger

[rmr]

[rmr]

[rmr]

bullion insignia

[rmr]

gold bullion

[rmr]

I.D.discs

[Mike Dwyer]

Wow! Very nice busby, I like it! :jumping:

[Thomas Symmonds]

"Wow! Very nice busby, I like it!" - agreed!

Could we get a close up of the badge ?

Welcome to the forum rmr.

regards

Thomas

[Mervyn Mitton]

Roger - you're turning 'up' some lovely items. I can see the I.O.W. and the Needles from the Bournemouth flat - if I ever come back will come and have a look at your auctions !!! Seal was not unknown for headress - but, is certainly not common - to have the extra pieces makes it even more interesting. Tell us a little more about the IOW contingent ?

[rmr]

Here you go Mervyn by the way i have no auction just a small collection

The Isle of Wight Rifles were formed in 1859. It was a part-time volunteer unit, echoing the centuries old tradition of the Island militia. From 1885 to 1896 their enthusiastic Colonel was Prince Henry of Battenburg who had married Queen Victoria?s youngest, Princess Beatrice, which is how the unit came to be named after her. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 they were the Eighth Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. However on mobilisation they were sent for training at Bury St Edmunds where they were combined with the 163rd Brigade of the ?East Anglian? 54th division. They were trained for action on the Western Front, but at the end of July 1915 found themselves setting sail from Liverpool aboard the Aquitania for Turkey. On the 6th August they disembarked at the Greek port of Mudros on the Isle of Lemnos, a short distance from the roaring battle of Gallipoli. On the 10th of August they landed The position at Sulva was starting to resemble the other two beachheads. The IX Corps had to make one last attempt to break out. On August 12th the 163rd received orders to attack that afternoon. They had no maps and no clear military objectives except for the hazy Anafarta Hills, three miles inland. When Captain Clayton Ratsey was told the orders he exclaimed ?My God. We will all be killed!? Both he and his brother died that afternoon. At 4.45pm Bugle Major Peachey sounded the advance to the IW Rifles and was promptly shot and wounded by the waiting Turks. The Brigade advanced in broad daylight across an open plain of flat scrub and dry pasture scattered with single trees and ditches that provided excellent cover for the waiting Turkish infantry. On the right of the Islanders the 5th Norfolks mistakenly turned right, further confusing the attack. The awaiting Turks were toughened by years of fighting. They were dedicated to die for their country and armed with modern Mauser rifles, machine guns and artillery, which set the dry vegetation alight, adding to the confusion.Within a thousand yards the Battalion had suffered 50% casualties and over 300 of the Island?s best lay scattered dead, the battalion was effectively finished. Their casualties were so heavy that they had broken into little groups and these were forced to take cover and pull back as the Turkish attacks began. At the end of the short battle the IW Rifles had lost eight officers and over three hundred men killed and missing. Thirty two residents of Newport were among the dead. Four of them were from tiny Orchard Street.On December 3rd the remnant of less than 200 men of the IW Rifles were withdrawn to Mudros. In January 1917 the first Battalion of the Rifles was again ready and carried out an epic march of 145 miles in twelve days across the Sinai for the invasion of Palestine On the 19th April they were ordered into the Battle of Gaza, attacking with tanks against powerful Turkish defenses. It was another massacre, on an even greater scale than the slaughter of 1915. ?The Isle of Wight Rifles went into battle eight hundred strong, at the roll call on that same evening only two officers and ninety men were there to answer.?

This is a composite of other peoples writings.Roger

Edited July 4, 2009 by rmr

[rmr]

and some photos of the badges for Thomas service cap badge

[rmr]

Busby badge

[Graham Stewart]

Sorry to pedantic, but it isn't a busby. 'Rifle' caps come in either Astrakan wool(officers) or sealskin(other ranks), as you point out and so are more commonly called a sealskin cap..

Guards wear bearskins

Fusiliers wear bearskins(officers) and racoon skin caps(other ranks).

Hussars, Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Engineer Bands wear busbies, which are adorned with a 'busby bag'.

At the same time it's still a beautiful example of a Rifles cap. I take it they were also dressed in affiliation to the Rifle Brigade hence the cloth badges in apple green worsted Had they been dressed as Kings Royal Rifles the badges would have been in red worsted.

Edited July 5, 2009 by Graham Stewart

[Mike Dwyer]

Sorry to pedantic, but it isn't a busby.

You are , of course, absolutely correct, and I knew that when I called it a busby, but I couldn't think of what else to call it. :speechless:

[rmr]

You are , of course, absolutely correct, and I knew that when I called it a busby, but I couldn't think of what else to call it.

Hi Graham whilst I am sure you are correct in general in the standing orders book of the Isle of Wight Rifles the hat is refered to as a Busby with plume. :rolleyes:

[Timothy]

It's also called a busby in dress regulations for the army, 1891 and 1900 - I don't think there is a more official authority than this!

[Thomas Symmonds]

And now it gets exciting -

I am generally only partially read on most of these forum topics, so I enjoy a good discussion where "facts" are compared.

(Timothy, welcome on board - to a Gentlemen's club ...)

regards

Thomas

[Mike Dwyer]

It's also called a busby in dress regulations for the army, 1891 and 1900 - I don't think there is a more official authority than this!

So, I wasn't as wrong as I thought I was! :rolleyes: