THE ARMY

The Marquis of Anglesey

###

In 1808, during the Peninsula War in Spain, the cavalry officer the Earl of Uxbridge (later 1^st Marquis of Anglesey) proved his mettle when he conducted a brilliant retreat before a far larger French force. He bested their cavalry whenever he engaged them.

Seven years later, the soldier was given command of the Allied cavalry for what became the Waterloo campaign. The Duke of Wellington gave him carte blanche to act as he thought fit. During the Battle of Waterloo he played a key role at one of the encounter's crucial moments. Rijlandt's men fled before an advancing French force. Through timing and discipline, Uxbridge was able to rout 15,000 soldiers with a force of 2000 cavalry. Late in the battle, he rode up beside Wellington, who was studying the field through a telescope. A grape shot smashed into the earl's right knee. He is reputed to have exclaimed, By God, sir, I ve lost my leg! The duke took his eye away from the telescope, glanced at the mangled limb and remarked, By God, sir, so you have! and returned to dispassionately surveying the battlefield. The leg had to be amputated.¹

Back in London, Uxbridge was fitted with the first-ever articulated, artificial leg. A couple of years later the artist Sir Thomas Lawrence painted a portrait of the now marquis. In it, his lordship stands with his right leg slightly bent.

Location: The Marquis of Anglesey, 39 Bow Street, WC2E 7AU (red, yellow)

See Also: TOWNHOUSES Apsley House

Website: www.themarquess.co.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/plas-newydd-house-and-garden

¹. The saw that was used for the operation is in the possession of The National Army Museum.

Barracks

### ####

Hyde Park Barracks

#####

At the end of the 18^thC, buildings were erected for the Horse Guards on the site of Hyde Park Barracks. The flamboyant edifices (1880) that T.H. Wyatt had designed were demolished in 1966. The present-day barracks with their towerblock were designed by Sir Basil Spence.

Location: Knightsbridge, SW7 1SE (blue, purple)

Website: www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-armoured-corps/household-cavalry-regiment www.householddivision.org.uk/hq-hcav www.hcavfoundation.org www.householdcavalrymuseum.org.uk

######

Private Jacko

#######

Having qualified as a doctor Frank Buckland (d.1880) joined the 2nd Life Guards as a regimental surgeon. Throughout his youth and young adulthood, he had been fascinated by animals and had kept exotic pets. One of these was a monkey called Jacko. Dr Buckland had a regimental uniform made for the animal to wear. This furnished the simian with the rank of troop corporal major. When the monkey was dressed in the garments it ripped off the insignia that indicated its rank. Buckland responded to this insubordinate behaviour by demoting the creature to being a private and had its jacket adjusted accordingly.

See Also: ANIMALS

####

Former Barracks

##### ######

Chelsea Barracks

#######

Chelsea Barracks was built in the 19^thC. In the 1960s most of the site was rebuilt.

In 2007 13-acre Chelsea Barracks site was sold to property developers.

Location: Chelsea Bridge Road, SW1W 8BG (purple, blue)

Website: www.chelseabarracks.com

######

Hounslow Barracks

#######

Hounslow Barracks was one of 40 barracks that were set up in the wake of the French Revolution. In 2021 the complex was acquired by Hounslow Council.

Location: Hounslow, Beavers Lane, TW4 6EL

######

St John's Wood Barracks

#######

In 1804 a group of soldiers were billeted in farm buildings on the site of what became St John's Wood Barracks. In 2011 the site was sold. The following year the King's Troop moved to Woolwich.

Location: Ordnance Hill, NW8 6PT

####

Horse Guards

#####

In 1649, during the English Republic, a guardhouse was erected in Whitehall Palace's tilt-yard.

In 1660 the monarchy was restored. King Charles II, as someone who had lost his father to the axeman, had a cautious aspect to his nature. The Horse Guards was the regiment that acted as his bodyguards. In 1663 he established it in quarters that adjoined the palace. Two years later a more substantial structure was erected. The present William Kent-designed Horse Guards building dates from 1758. (Only members of the royal family are allowed to drive through its central arch. The general public are free to saunter through it upon foot.)

The Army's General Staff command was headquartered in Horse Guards until 1872. Subsequently, the building provided a home for both the Household Division and the London District of the service.

Location: Whitehall, SW1A 2AX (orange, brown)

Website: www.householddivision.org.uk/queen-life-guard

The Guards Museum

###

The Guards Museum holds items and material that relate both to the five regiments of the Foot Guards (the Coldstream, the Grenadier, the Irish, the Scots, and the Welch) and to the two Household Cavalry regiments.

Website: https://theguardsmuseum.com

####

Devotion On Duty

##### qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

For seven years the comedian-magician Tommy Cooper served in the Horse Guards. There is a story that one night he fell asleep while on guard duty. He woke up to see his commanding officer in front of him. He declared Amen.

The National Army Museum

The National Army Museum covers the history of the British Army over the period 1485-1914. 1485 was the year that the Wars of the Roses was ended by Henry Tudor's (King Henry VII) victory at the Battle of Bosworth. The encounter s outcome placed the Tudor dynasty on the throne.¹ It received its charter in 1960. The initial director of the National Army Museum was William Reid. In 1971 its collections were moved from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, to its present Royal Hospital Road building.

Location: 83 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HT (purple, pink)

Website: www.nam.ac.uk

¹. Henry VII is supposed to have founded the Yeomen of the Guard on the battlefield.

Regimental Museums

The core function of regimental museums is to inform soldiers about the history of the military unit in which they are serving.

Location: Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, SW1E 6HQ (orange, red)

See Also: BEARS Bearskins

Website: www.armymuseums.org.uk

The Household Cavalry Museum

The Household Cavalry was formed in 1661. It consists of the Blues & Royals and the Lifeguards.

In 2007 The Household Cavalry Museum opened.

Location: Horse Guards, Horse Guards Parade, SW1A 2AX (blue, red)

Website: https://householdcavalry.co.uk/museum

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum

In 1648 the Trained Bands of The Tower of London & Its Hamlets was set up. The Tower Guard was a component of this. The latter became known as The Tower Regiment of Foot. It also acquired the alternative name of the Fusiliers. A fusil was a style of musket that had a covered flash pan.

In 1968 the Royal Fusiliers was merged with the three other fusilier regiments to become the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Location: The Tower of London, EC3N 4AB (purple, orange)

Website: http://thefusiliers.org

The Royal Hospital Chelsea

The idea for the Royal Hospital at Chelsea (1692) was conceived of in 1682 by Sir Stephen Fox, an influential official at the court of King Charles II. One of the offices that the knight had held had been that of Paymaster-General. His expertise in manipulating money meant that he had been able to use the period between his own receipt of the Army's pay and the time when he had to dole it out to make himself the wealthiest commoner in England.¹ The concept of the Hospital appealed to the monarch because it was modelled on King Louis XIV of France's Hotel Des Invalides.

In the England of the 1680s there were a lot of ageing men who had fought in the Civil Wars. By offering them some degree of material security, the Stuarts were able to show that it was they who would look after the material needs of their current soldiers in years to come and thereby secure their loyalty.

The reason why Charles particularly desired the Army's support was that his brother the Duke of York (the future King James II) had revealed himself to be a convert to Roman Catholicism and many influential people felt that this should exclude the sib from being the king's heir. During the Revolution of 1688 the Army's loyalty failed James II. However, the monarch's successor (and son-in-law²) King William III saw the wisdom of the Hospital scheme and ensured that it was completed.

In 2009 the first women former service personnel took up residence at Chelsea Hospital.

Location: Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4SR

Website: www.chelsea-pensioners.co.uk

¹. This accepted financial practice was almost certainly a factor that prompted a few soldiers to ease their financial embarrassment by using their military expertise to become highwaymen.

². and nephew.

The S.A.S.

The drill hall of the Artists Rifles became the The Place, a centre for contemporary dance.

Location: The Place, 17 Duke's Road, WC1H 9PY (orange, purple)

Website: www.artistsriflesassociation.org www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/uk-special-forces/services-reserve/21-23-sas-r

The Territorial Army

The T.A. are known to some regular Army soldiers as Stabs (Stupid Territorial Army Bastards).

Website: www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/the-army-reserve

David Backhouse 2024