QUEEN’S OWN ROYAL WEST KENT REGIMENT, 1881- 1914

This first part of a 3-volume history of the Royal West Kents takes the regiment from its formation after the amalgamation of the 50th and the 97th Foot, the West Kent Light Infantry Militia and three Corps of Kent Volunteers, through the colonial conflicts of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. This County regiment, with its HQ in Maidstone, fought in Egypt in the campaign against Colonel Arabi’s revolt that culminated in Sir Garnet Wolseley’s victory at the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882. The regiment fought against Pashtun tribesmen on the unforgiving North-West frontier of the Punjab in 1897-98, and in South Africa during the Boer War from 1900-1902, when it was involved in drives against the famous Boer commando leaders Christiaan De Wet and Louis Botha. The regiment also participated in the abortive attempt to rescue General Gordon, besieged in Khartoum, and was variously deployed in Aden, Ireland and during Labour unrest in the Edwardian era in England itself. This history also narrates the regiment’s sporting awards, its weaponry, and its roll of honour. Its losses in the period totalled 219 – of which 22 were killed in action, and 12 died of wounds. The remainder succumbed to disease, especially Enteric Fever during the Boer war. With ten sketches and maps, and six appendices listing Colonels, colours etc.