Lancashire Fusiliers Recruiting Poster.

[leigh kitchen]

A recent acquisition  - a small recruiting poster (measuring 15" x 10",) printed by "The Bury Times & exhorting men to join their local regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers.

The town of Bury in Lancashire had a long association with the Lancashire Fusiliers, the TF being well entrenched & supported by the community although an author has stated that the Gallipoli & Somme generation of Fusiliers encouraged their sons to join other corps come WWII.

The losses at Gallipoli & the Somme had made them only too well aware of the realities of hard won glory earned storming beaches & trenches.

The town still has strong links with their Fusiliers via the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers into which the LF were amalgamated in 1968.

The insignia shown, a primrose coloured hackle over the white on red grenade/ LF patch is that worn on the left side of the sun helmet & later the GS cap & beret.

The LF wore their berets with the insignia over the left temple rather than over the left eye as they considered that was the proper placing for the hackle which was a battle honour.

On the GS cap & beret they would have been worn from WWII - about 1958 when the regulars adopted the anodised Fusilier Brigade badge worn with hackle, the TA would have continued wearing LF insignia for longer.

The "XX" refers to the pre 1881 number of the regiment as "infantry of the line" - the 20th.

The  regiment makes reference to the "modern streamlined army" - the army's been "modernised" & "streamlined" a number of times since the end of WWI, I'm guessing that this poster dates from the late 1940's - 1960's, but probably the 1950's?

 

[Mervyn Mitton]

Nice background to the Regiment, Leigh.   Mervyn   

[leigh kitchen]

Recognise the beret Mervyn?

[jf42]

Leigh, a very atmospheric memento. Presumably, it dates from the early 'sixties  after National Service had ended  (so they tell me....) and before the "Join The Professionals" campaign.

I was interested in the notion of the LF's hackle being a battle honour-  which would properly would belong on the colours, would it not?. Which action was it asscociated with? I believe the Lancashire Fusiliers  earned  two battle honours between 1881 and 1914- Sudan and Ladysmith, is that correct?

I am wondering whether, if it was connected with field service,  it  would be more likely to be a commemorative distinction- which is a different thing.  The yellow of the Lancashire Fusiliers hackle,  I believe,  comes originally from the facing colour of the former XX regiment which became the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1881. I am not sure that the new Fusilier regiment wore a primrose brush plume on their Fusilier caps from  the very first. I  have a feeling that initially the only Fuslier regimet to wear such a distinction was the Northumberland Fusiliers, whose bicoloured hackle plume, as we know,  derived from the defence of St Lucia in 1778. A number of headgear distinctions worn by British regiments were claimed as awards for specific actions:  the Black Watch, the Glosters, and the Northumberland Fusiliers, to name but three, but in each case they were  commemorative emblems or trophies adopted  autonomously by the regiments  in  times of weak central authority and then authorised or recognised retrospectively by the powers that be ( in 1822, 1824 and 1824  respectively in the case of the 42nd, 28th and 5th).

From 1914 until after the Second World War, there would have been no fusilier plume (except  for officers wearing Levee Dress and perhaps in the Wolseley helmet on tropical stations). The small hackle  feather  plume was an innovation adopted for the beret post war, which appears to have been borrowed from the Scots regiments, who in emulation of the Black Watch had begun to wear cut-down version of the C19 hackle in their blue Balmorals and khaki  Tam o'  Shanters. The wearing of the Lancashire Fusilier hackle to the left  side of the head might be more to do with the position of the regiment''s Fusilier distinction as had been worn on the Full Dress  racoon skin cap cap.

Edited July 3, 2015 by jf42
typo

[leigh kitchen]

To me it seemed more than coincidence that the plume was worn on the left side of the fur cap & that the LF chose to wear the GS cap/ beret with the hackle well to the left..

It has been maintained to me by ex - LF men that the plume / hackle was a battle honour awarded for the action at Spion Kop & that other honours were bestowed, including a rose emblem on the colours, I've read (somewhere) that the hackle was worn to the left because LF considered it fitting that it be worn there as it was a battle honour.

I'd tend to the view that it would be a commemorative  emblem for service rather than an honour for a specific action such as Spion Kop which was hardly a resounding victory for the regiment.

Perhaps to put a bit of PR polish on a war which had its share of bad results for the British the plume was feted as an honour & the Fusiliers chose to regard it as a battle honour - a reward for gallantry & sacrifice.

 

 

[jf42]

My apologies, Leigh. I didn't grasp that you were referring to the  LF's wearing of their post-WW2 hackle noticeably farther to the left  than other Fusilier  regiments. I have to say, though, I haven't found images of that practice in an online search. (It wouldn't make much difference nowadays!).

lt  seems clear that in LF tradition the primrose plume is associated with the action at Spion Kop although, as you rightly point out, it has to be more of a commemorative siginificance at Regimental level rather than being a  battle honour, which would have been recorded as such and appear on the colours and drums. In the case of the Spion Kop debacle, that would not have been likely.

Until 1900, the only Fusilier regiment to wear a hackle in the fur cap resurrected in 1866 were the Northumberland Fusiliers, with their red-over-white feather commemorating  the defence of La Vigie on St Lucia in 1778, for which the 5th had received official Royal approval in 1824.  Between 1900 and 1904 all the other eight  existing fusilier regiments were granted 'plumes'; in the case of the LF in  1901. All were worn on the left side of the fur cap.  I am not aware any of these fusilier cap distinctions  were associated formally with conduct in the field. They are probably best seen in terms of the evolution of Fusilier dress.

The forbears of the LF,  the XX Regiment, had yellow facings and were one of the Regiments that sported the yellow and red Minden Roses on August 1st. These would seem to explain the LF's choice of  colour for their cap 'plume.'  

The application for permission to wear a primrose yellow hackle in the busby (rather than the standard white of the reguation fusilier  feather  worn until 1844)  was  submitted to his Majesty for approval in November 1901. This request being grantec came to be associated with the LF's stoic defence of Spion Kop.

The four Irish fusilier regiments being given plumes that  each varied from the white of the 'old' fusilier regiments (Royal, Rpyal Scots, Royal Welsh) as well does, however, detract from the sense of the LF's coloured plume being a particular privilege. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers also considered their blue-over-white plume,  ordered in 1902, to be "in recognition of their services during the war in South Africa." I am scouting around for  similar associations  made by other Fusiler regiments. I think your observation regarding "PR polish"  and putting a brave face on a costly campaign is probably close to the mark.

It is interesting that a number of  British regimental distinctions claimed as unofficial  'honours'  originated in possibly quite routine uniform changes which  later came to be associated with gallant actions that ended in defeat or campaigns that ended in failure; the American war of Independence, the campaigns in the Low Countries 1793-99, the Boer War being good examples. Of course, this doesnt detract at all from the gallantry displayed in the actions which gave rise to the traditions.

Edited August 17, 2015 by jf42

[leigh kitchen]

You raised a perfectly valid point, I just rattled off well repeated anecdote without being specific.

A quick google should  produce  plenty of images around on the web of LF wearing their cloth badge & hackle to the left in the GS cap & dark blue beret - there's a lovely photo  in existence - an LF sergeant major or officer conducting what appears to be the Heimlich manoeuvre on a bugler, presumably improving on the "victims" performance on the instrument, now when I want it I can't find it.

Interestingly, upon adoption of the Fusilier Brigade badge, 4 RRF "conformed" wore their berets with badge & primrose hackle above the left eye.

Have LF "always" worn red & yellow Minden roses rather than other colours?

Some of the Minden regiments wore other colours eg KOYLI wore a single white rose (I've been shown a photo that indicates that they wore the rose on the beret & on the left breast) & at least one "entitled" regiment (KOSB?) didn't wear commemorative roses.

Edited August 17, 2015 by leigh kitchen

[leigh kitchen]

Found the photo - it was on the site I thought it was on, I just find it a little difficult to navigate around the site:

http://lancs-fusiliers.co.uk/feature/Kitna/kitnerpricenew.htm

 

[jf42]

That hackle could hardly be father to the left, could it? As you say, the custom must surely reflect the wearing of the  primrose 'plume' on the left of the Fusilier cap.

As far as the paired Minden roses of the Lancs Fusiliers are concerned, the Minden tradition is not one I have looked into, so I can't add much.  The red rose is said to symbolise the Lancashire connection while the yellow reflects the regimental facings of the old 20th. Given that until 1881 the official regional association of the 20th was with Devon not Lancashire, that explanation only goes so far, so what colour roses the 20th wore on Minden Day prior to 1881, I don't know. The Suffolks, 12th Regiment,  also wore red and yellow roses on Minden Day  so the custom may well predate the  LF explanation. By contrast, the Hampshire Regiment  (1st Bn, old 37th ) and I believe the KOSBs (old 25th) wore red roses. As you have said, the  Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry  (1st Bn, old 51st)  wore a Yorkshire white rose. It was the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (fomer 23rd)  who wore none. In each case these regiment's  customs  are perpetuated by their successor regiments.

 

[jf42]

As a footnote, since it is too late to edit the above, I came upon a note I made some time ago from 'Badge backings and special embellishments of the British Army’ (Celer et Audax 1993) that refers to:

Lancs Fusiliers. Yellow hackle worn over left ear, to denote an award for active service [Boer war?]

I highlighted the passage to remind me to look further into that claim! Better late than never.

Edited August 19, 2015 by jf42