1884–1899
troubles in the western soudan—expedition to relieve khartoum—19th ordered up the nile—korti—the desert column—action at abu klea—action at abu krou—quartermaster lima killed—the horses—metemmeh—fall of khartoum—return of the column—the river column—action at kirbekan—return of the column—summer quarters—regiment returns to cairo—squadron sent to suakin—serious losses—returns to cairo—designation granted of “princess of wales’ own”—death of colonel barrow—19th returns to england—badge of “mysore” granted—19th embarks for india—bangalore—secunderabad.
in the meantime, matters in the western soudan had steadily been getting worse. in march, the mahdi’s forces had reached khartoum; by the end of may berber had fallen, cutting off communication between khartoum and cairo, and the wave of rebellion rolled steadily northward. still the government in england did nothing. they had resolutely ignored the whole soudan question, and allowed matters to drift. gordon’s urgent advice to occupy berber with british troops, in order to keep open the route to suakin, had been disregarded, and his demand for zobehr pasha to be sent to khartoum, as the only[247] chance of saving the situation, was emphatically refused. it was not till august, that the british cabinet recognised that some effort might be required to relieve khartoum, and even to defend lower egypt from the mahdi. by the middle of august preparations were made for dispatching a small body of troops to wady halfa, and a squadron of the 19th hussars was held in readiness. then followed more delay. it was not till the middle of september that preparations for an advance beyond wady halfa began to be made in earnest.
on the 25th october, three squadrons of the regiment, under lieut. colonel barrow, left cairo, and reached wady halfa, by rail and steamer, on 12th november, with a total strength of 21 officers, and 353 non-commissioned officers and men. two instances of the eager spirit to get to the front, that animated the whole regiment, must not go unrecorded. at the moment of leaving the barracks in cairo, a man met with an accident that necessitated his being left behind. in a minute one of the men detailed to remain at cairo stepped forward in his place, in marching order, with kit complete. he had got himself ready on the chance of some such opportunity occurring, and it is pleasant to know that he got it. at assiout, next morning, a stowaway was discovered, a bandboy, who accounted for himself by saying “he was the only man in the band without a medal, and he could not stand it.”
experience had shown that english horses could not stand hard work under a tropical sun, with scarcity of water and desert fare. it was therefore decided, before leaving cairo, to mount the regiment entirely on the small syrian arab horses used by the egyptian cavalry. three hundred and fifty of these little horses had been sent up in advance, and were taken over by the regiment on arrival at wady halfa. the regiment was at this time[248] in superb condition. the men had an average of seven years’ service, and most of them had been through the preceding campaigns of tel-el-kebir and suakin. from wady halfa the regiment marched, by squadrons, to korti, where it arrived on the 20th december.
here was assembled the expeditionary force, under general lord wolseley; perhaps the most singular force ever put into the field by great britain, to fight in one of the most remarkable campaigns; starting from a base a thousand miles from the sea. in addition to the 19th hussars, who were the only horsemen with the force, and nine battalions of infantry, there were four camel corps, composed respectively of picked men from different heavy and light cavalry regiments, the foot guards, and infantry of the line; a naval brigade of bluejackets and marines; a battery of royal artillery, and two camel batteries. the boats by which the nile had been ascended had been built in england, and were managed by canadian voyageurs, some of whom were of indian blood, and by kroomen from the west coast of africa, while the camels were managed by arab drivers brought for the purpose from aden.
the original intention had been to follow the course of the river the whole way to khartoum, but now a fresh disposition became necessary. a letter from gordon, dated 4th november, was received, showing that provisions in khartoum were running short, and time would not allow of the slow but less hazardous advance along the river. the new plan was to send a compact flying column across the desert to metemmeh, under brigadier general sir herbert stewart, for the purpose of opening communication with khartoum. a second column, under major general w. earle, was to ascend the river, clearing away all parties of the enemy, and, eventually, to recapture berber. the rest of the force was to remain at korti,[249] where lord wolseley’s head quarters were fixed. the 19th hussars were destined to furnish a contingent to both columns.
the desert column
the task before the desert column was no easy one. between korti and metemmeh 176 miles of barren desert have to be traversed. at two places only is water in any considerable quantity procurable; at jakdul 98 miles from korti, and at abu klea, about 53 miles from jakdul. the first operation was to establish a post at jakdul, where as yet the enemy had not appeared.
on the 30th december, a force of 1107 men of all ranks, with 2200 camels, started from korti, under sir herbert stewart. with them went 2 officers and 32 men of the 19th. being the only horsemen with the force, the whole of the scouting duties devolved upon the men of the 19th. the rest of the force were mounted on camels. one gallon of water for each man, and two for each horse, were carried on camels. in the early morning of the 2nd january, the jakdul wells were reached, in 63 hours after leaving korti. only a few stragglers of the enemy were sighted. on the same evening the force set out on its return to korti, leaving a garrison of 420 men at jakdul.
on the 8th january, sir herbert stewart again started with the main column, consisting of 1607 men, 2228 camels, and 306 camel drivers. the 19th hussars, on this occasion, mustered 135 officers and men, with 155 horses, under lieut. colonel barrow. on the 14th, the column left jakdul: about 1800 combatants of all ranks, with 1118 camels. early on the 16th, the 19th were pushed on ahead of the column, and came in touch with the enemy in front of the abu klea wells. a patrol,[250] under major french, pursued a small body of men right into the gorge leading to the wells, and captured one of them, on the spot where next day’s action was fought. a number of horsemen appearing and threatening to cut him off, french was obliged to relinquish his prisoner, and retire to the entrance of the gorge. here barrow dismounted his men in order to keep the road open for stewart’s force. though threatened on both flanks by the enemy’s horsemen, the position was easily held by carbine fire, and the power of the enemy to dispute the advance of the column at this point was checkmated. on the arrival of the column a zeriba was formed for the night, three and a half miles from the water. as the camp was being formed, the enemy appeared in considerable numbers, and opened a distant fire, wounding one man and several horses of the 19th. as darkness closed in the enemy became bolder, and, during the whole night, the force was exposed to a constant fire which did little harm beyond disturbing the much needed rest of the men. at daybreak, the fire increased in intensity; several officers and men were struck down, and the 19th had several horses killed and disabled while standing at their pickets. at 9 a.m. the force was formed in square, preparatory to an advance towards the water which was of such vital importance. while the square was forming, the 19th were ordered to move out and hold in check a body of some 500 of the enemy, horsemen and footmen combined, who threatened to get round to the rear of the square. an hour after the hussars had left, the square advanced. the small force moved slowly, frequent halts being necessary to permit of the camels, loaded with ammunition and water, closing up. the ground was uneven, with ravines and hollows that prevented the full strength of the enemy being seen. suddenly a great body of[251] arabs, 5000 strong, rose from a fold in the ground, and rushed at the square. so rapid and overwhelming was their attack, aided by the inequalities of the ground, and the fact that the fire from the square was at first impeded by its own retiring skirmishers that, in spite of the heavy fire poured upon them, the arabs succeeded in penetrating the square, as at tamai, stabbing and slashing in every direction. at the same moment, a squadron of horsemen charged the square, but were repulsed. for five minutes the hand-to-hand conflict raged, till the last arab who penetrated the formation was killed. the remainder, who had been heavily punished by rifle and artillery fire drew off, though for a time it seemed doubtful if they would not renew the attack. the 19th, who had helped the square with dismounted fire, followed and cut off many stragglers, but the number of the enemy was too great to admit of a charge on the main body. the horses also were hardly able to move out of a walk, having been thirty hours without water. in this brief conflict the small british force lost 74 killed, and 94 wounded, some of whom died of their injuries. as at el teb and tamai, the fatal skill with which the arabs used their weapons is shown by the relative numbers of killed and wounded. of the arabs, whose strength was estimated at about 9000 men, 1100 dead were counted in close proximity to the square.
on the retreat of the enemy, barrow pushed on and occupied the wells, from which the enemy had to be driven by carbine fire. it was late at night before the infantry obtained the much needed water.
the greater part of the 18th was spent in building a small fort at abu klea, and establishing a post there, for the protection of the wounded and defence of the wells. while this was in progress, the 19th returned to the battle[252] field and buried the british dead. late in the afternoon the small column moved out, to traverse the 25 miles of desert that must be crossed before the nile could be reached. the 19th hussars led the way. as night closed in, progress became very slow. men and camels were exhausted, and, in the darkness, great confusion ensued. night marching over an unknown route is a doubtful expedient. in the early morning of the 19th, the line of the nile, with villages, was sighted about six miles distant. but between them and the column was a gravel ridge on which the enemy appeared, and soon, dense masses of them were visible, swarming out to meet the column. in view of the distress for want of water, it had been sir herbert stewart’s wish to reach the nile without fighting; but this was now impossible. the camels were collected together, and a zeriba of brushwood, saddles, boxes &c. formed. by 8 o’clock the enemy’s fire became heavy. among the earliest to be struck was the commander of the column, sir herbert stewart, who received a wound that afterwards proved mortal. speaking to colonel barrow just before he received the fatal wound, he said, “take care of the 19th hussars, they have done well.” the command devolved on colonel sir charles wilson. it was necessary to drive the enemy away, but nothing could be done till the zeriba was complete, and, owing to the exhaustion of the men, the work proceeded slowly. in the interval there were many casualties, and here the 19th hussars lost quarter master a. g. lima, who was killed by a shot through the head.
at last all was ready. the 19th hussars came in, and picketted their horses, which were so exhausted as to be scarcely able to carry the men. colonel barrow and his men were detailed to assist in holding the zeriba, while the rest of the force marched out to engage the enemy. by 2 o’clock the square had formed up outside the zeriba, and[253] moved off. with it went a few dismounted men of the 19th, under lieutenant craven.
as the square moved towards the nile, the enemy’s fire increased, and many men fell. the progress made was very slow. the bush and sandhills on three sides swarmed with arabs. as the square neared the ridge, the men dropped fast under the heavy rifle fire to which they were exposed. suddenly the enemy’s fire ceased, and a great swarm of arabs poured down on the square. there were no skirmishers to mask the fire, as at abu klea, and the arabs were met by a steady fire that swept away the foremost ranks wholesale. not an arab lived to reach the square, and a ringing british cheer went up as the enemy were seen to be flying in all directions. the way to the nile was no longer closed. half an hour after dark the river was reached, near the village of abu krou. it was not till the afternoon of the 20th that the 19th hussar horses were able to drink. half of them had been 72 hours without water; none of them less than 56 hours, yet only 3 succumbed. if english horses had been employed, probably not one would have survived.
“the cavalry horses were quite done up. the way in which barrow managed to bring the 19th hussars across the desert is one of the best things in the expedition; but the horses had only had a short drink at abu klea, and then they had barely enough to wash their mouths out until they got to the nile on the 20th. the scouting of the hussars during the march was admirably done; they were ubiquitous. but want of food and water no horses can fight against, and they were but a sorry spectacle as they moved out of the zeriba to go down to the river. they reached the nile almost useless as cavalry, and could only be employed for scouting purposes, at short distances from the camp.”[72]
during the whole march from korti the entire scouting duty had been taken by the 19th hussars, so that, each[254] day, they covered far more ground than the rest of the force. the men also were thoroughly exhausted with the tremendous efforts they had been called on to make, but their health continued to be good. there was wonderful freedom from sickness of any kind. the casualties in the whole force on the 19th january, amounted to 1 officer and 22 non-commissioned officers and men killed; 8 officers and 90 non-commissioned officers and men wounded. many non-combatants also were killed or wounded.
the 20th was occupied in placing the village of gubat in a state of defence, and, at dawn of the 21st, barrow and his hussars rode out to reconnoitre metemmeh, preparatory to an attack in force. so exhausted were the horses that all the hussars could do was to ride up in a body to some high ground on the north of the village, while the rest of the force opened fire from the east side. while the attack was proceeding, four small steamers sent down by gordon from khartoum on the 14th december, appeared in sight, and landed some native troops. they brought intelligence of arab reinforcements being on the march from khartoum. it was important to husband ammunition, and incur no further losses of men, so the attack was withdrawn. but the arab reinforcements never reached metemmeh. the news of the disastrous defeats their comrades had sustained at abu klea and abu krou, caused them to retrace their steps.
reconnoissances having shown that no large force of the enemy was in the vicinity, sir charles wilson started on the 24th for khartoum, with two of the steamers, taking with him two hundred men. on the 28th, after great difficulties, khartoum was reached, and found to be in the hands of the arabs. the town had been captured by the mahdi, two days before, and gordon was dead. on the 4th february, sir charles wilson and his party rejoined the[255] camp at gubat, after adventures that read more like a page of romance than of modern history. in the interval, both his steamers had been wrecked, and the whole party had been continuously under fire for eight days and a half. in the meantime, the force at gubat received some reinforcements and supplies from korti. the 19th were engaged in daily skirmishes with the outlying pickets of the enemy who showed a wholesome respect for them: “even the fierce baggara horsemen appeared unwilling to cross swords with our hussars,” wrote one who was present with the force. on the 11th, major general sir redvers buller arrived to take command of the force, with orders to retire on abu klea.
on the 14th february, gubat was evacuated, and abu klea reached on the 15th, followed by the enemy who annoyed the force with long range rifle fire. at abu klea, on the 17th, a smart skirmish took place which cost the force 3 killed and 27 wounded. among the killed was sergeant horwood of the 19th hussars, who was acting as sergeant major with the mounted infantry. it had been intended to occupy abu klea permanently, in view of a second advance on khartoum in the autumn; but want of food, scarcity of water, and the complete breakdown of transport necessitated buller’s withdrawal to korti. on the 16th, the 19th hussars marched out for jakdul, leaving at abu klea with sir r. buller a small detachment under major french. the march was a painful one, about half the men being on foot. while on the march they heard of sir herbert stewart’s death near jakdul. wishing to be present at the funeral of the commander they had served under in two campaigns, they made a long forced march into jakdul, but arrived too late. they had the melancholy satisfaction of erecting a walled enclosure, with headstone, round his grave. on the 3rd march they left jakdul, and reached korti on the 8th. on[256] the 23rd february the last of the desert column left abu klea, and returned to korti, 16th march. in a dispatch from jakdul, dated 26th february, sir r. buller wrote of the 19th hussars:—
“i wish expressly to remark on the very excellent work done by the small detachment of the 19th hussars, both during our occupation of abu klea and during our retirement. each man has done the work of ten, and it is not too much to say that the force owes much to major french and his 13 troopers.”
meanwhile, the men of the 19th, left at korti, had not been idle. in february they were engaged in establishing two watering posts in the desert, distant respectively twelve and thirty miles from korti, for the use of the retiring force. the water was conveyed in tin lined biscuit boxes, and every animal in camp was pressed into the service.
the river column
the primary object of general earle’s column was to clear the river line of all hostile parties as far as abu hamed, punishing, en route, the monassir tribe of arabs who had treacherously murdered colonel stewart and a small party sent down by gordon from khartoum, in september. at abu hamed a base was to be established for a further advance on berber. the force, under general earle, consisted of four battalions of infantry, a battery of egyptian artillery, an egyptian camel corps, and one squadron of the 19th hussars; the latter under major hanford-flood, amounting to 91 sabres and 107 horses. the total strength of the force was about 3000 officers and men.
the force left korti, in detachments, for hamdab, about 50 miles up the river, whence the final start was to be[257] made. on the 18th january, 60 men of the 19th hussars together with the egyptian camel corps, under major flood, made a forced march into the desert to surprise a party of the enemy collected at the wells of el kooa, 35 miles from hamdab. the arabs having received timely notice of their coming, hastily broke up their camp and disappeared, before flood’s arrival. the detachment returned to hamdab after 32 hours’ absence.
on the 24th, the start was made; the hussars, camel corps and baggage, marching along the left bank, the infantry and stores in boats. progress was very slow, the banks of the river being rough and difficult, and the frequent rapids and cataracts causing great labour in tracking the boats up. on the 27th, the cavalry skirmishers first came in touch with the enemy, but beyond a harmless interchange of shots at long range nothing occurred. this happened frequently, the enemy falling back, day by day, as the river column advanced. the progress of the boats was very slow owing to the succession of rapids here formed by the nile. major flood’s men worked and camped independently, reconnoitring along the left bank, far ahead of the main body, and, owing to the rocky nature of the ground, often at a considerable distance from the river. the rocky ridge, on which the battle of kirbekan was afterwards fought, was ascended and mapped, and a reconnoissance of the 19th hussars was pushed some way into the shukook pass, five days before the action. on the 6th february, a two days’ halt at birti became necessary, in consequence of the fall of khartoum making a change of plans possible. the enemy meanwhile had fallen back to the shukook pass.
on the 8th, the advance was resumed, and it became known that the enemy, about 1000 strong, had advanced from the shukook pass, and taken position in some extremely strong ground at kirbekan, in front of the pass,[258] about 14 miles from earle’s head quarters. the 8th and 9th were employed in reconnoitring, and closing up the troops preparatory to the attack. on the 8th, major flood, with twenty of his men, exchanged volleys with the enemy, and drove in some of their advanced posts. on the 9th, the whole of the mounted troops felt the enemy again. that night the troops bivouacked in their allotted stations, the most advanced of the infantry being only a short mile from the enemy’s position.
on the morning of the 10th, general earle, with 1196 men of all ranks, moved forward to the attack. the enemy occupied a position on a line of low rocky eminences at right angles to the river, and a detached steep ridge in echelon with the rocky eminences. it was determined to march right round the rear of their position by the desert side, closing their retreat, and attack them in flank and rear from the river side. two companies of the staffordshire regiment, with two guns were left in front of the position to occupy the enemy’s attention, and keep down their fire. the 19th hussars led the way, and the force marched right round the enemy’s position till the river was again reached in the enemy’s right rear. as soon as they saw their retreat was cut off, a number of the enemy tried to escape by swimming the river, many of them being shot in the attempt. but a considerable number of them still held their ground. the black watch were accordingly ordered to assault the line of rocky eminences, while the staffordshire regiment assaulted the ridge. as the black watch won their way along the lower eminences, a desperate rush was made by a body of the enemy, which was repulsed, and the eminences crowned by the highlanders; the arabs gallantly fighting to the last man. in the moment of victory, general earle was killed by a shot from a hut which he had incautiously approached. the assault on the high steep ridge offered[259] greater difficulties, but the position was gallantly carried by the staffordshire men. both regiments had their commanding officers killed.
in the meantime, flood’s hussars and the egyptian camel corps had gained the entrance to the shukook pass, and captured one of the enemy’s camps, in which were a number of standards, camels and donkeys. the enemy opened fire from the surrounding hills without effect. the victory was purchased with the loss of three officers and nine men killed, four officers and forty-four men wounded. the enemy’s force was subsequently ascertained to have been from fifteen hundred to two thousand men, but of these only about six hundred fought well.
the advance of the column was continued, on the 12th, under colonel h. brackenbury, on whom the command had devolved by general earle’s death. the enemy had disappeared, but progress was slow, through the continuous rapids. on the 20th, a suitable place was found for crossing the nile. a scouting party of the 19th was first rowed across, and brushed away some of the enemy’s scouts. by the afternoon of the 21st, the whole force was transported to the right bank, at hebbeh, the scene of colonel stewart’s murder in september. the murderers had fled, and beyond the destruction of their property no other punishment could be meted out to them. by the evening of the 23rd, the whole force was concentrated at huella, 26 miles from abu hamed.
all was ready for the advance on abu hamed, where a strong force of the enemy was known to be posted. hardly had the troops commenced their march, on the 24th, when orders were received from korti directing their return to merawi. sir redvers buller’s withdrawal from abu klea rendered a farther advance on berber[260] out of the question, and the river column had to return. while the main body commenced to descend the river, major flood’s squadron scouted another six miles towards abu hamed, without seeing an enemy. descending by the right bank, merawi was reached on the 5th march, and, on the 6th, after recrossing the river to abu dom, the river column was broken up. one troop of the 19th was left at abu dom, while the remainder marched for korti.
in spite of the extremely hard work, the health of the troops, as with the desert column, had been excellent. not a single man of major flood’s party had been on the sick list, from the time of leaving korti till the date of return. of the horses, three had succumbed. the performance of the small arab horses both with the river and desert columns, carrying a heavy weight, on scanty fare and less water, is a marvel of endurance.
the next few days were spent in arranging for the distribution of the troops into summer quarters, in anticipation of the advance on khartoum in the autumn. the quarters selected for the 19th were merawi, abu dom, tani, kurot, abu kussi, and dongola. by the 1st april, they were all located in the assigned positions. before leaving korti, the regiment was inspected by lord wolseley, who addressed them in terms of commendation that will long be remembered in the regiment.
operations near suakin
while their comrades had thus been busy on the nile, the remnant of the regiment left at cairo had found work to do. the effect of the operations, near suakin, in march 1884, had been quite temporary.[261] osman digna had recovered his authority, and was again threatening the port. it was also considered that, by making a diversion at suakin, the operations near berber and the reopening of the suakin-berber road would be facilitated. it was determined, therefore, to send a sufficient force to crush osman digna, and to make a railway line to berber. the capture of berber, before the great heat of the summer set in, was then considered feasible.
before the force, which was to be commanded by lieut. general sir gerald graham, could arrive, a weak squadron of the 19th hussars, under captain apthorp, was dispatched from cairo on the 24th january, together with two horse artillery guns, followed next day by a battalion of infantry. on landing at suakin, reconnoissances were instituted to ascertain the strength and position of the enemy. on the 1st february, a small force of all arms reconnoitred, under major general fremantle, towards hasheem, 8 miles west of suakin. the arabs were found in great numbers, in a position too strong to attack. the infantry were formed in square, while the cavalry and guns were sent forward to try and draw the enemy out of their position. but the memory of el-teb and tamai were too fresh in the arab mind for them to be induced to attack the arrayed infantry. they refused to quit their position, and after a prolonged skirmish, general fremantle’s force returned to camp. one egyptian trooper was wounded, and the 19th hussars lost a horse.
on the 3rd, captain apthorp was sent with 40 of his own men and 40 egyptian troopers to reconnoitre along the berber road. at hamdoob, 10 miles from suakin, a camp and village, occupied by the enemy, was surprised and burnt. while the small party were thus occupied, a great body of arabs, 5000 strong, had moved from tamai[262] and hasheem to intercept them, and took post in a ravine two miles from hamdoob, completely blocking their return to suakin. the arab force was so well concealed that the squadron was almost in contact with them before their presence was discovered, and the great mass of arabs, footmen and men mounted on camels, bore down on the small body of cavalry at once. there was no time to dismount and fire, and it was hopeless to attempt to break through: nothing was left them but to ride for suakin by a circuitous route. turning eastwards the squadron started on a long gallop round the enemy’s flank. the arabs followed in overwhelming numbers, and, moving on a shorter line, together with their knowledge of the ground, were able to harass the squadron for several miles. the 19th lost 8 men and 11 horses, while the egyptian troop lost three men and six horses.
the number of arabs in the neighbourhood of suakin was too great to allow of distant reconnoissances, little more of interest occurred, therefore, till the arrival of sir gerald graham’s force. early in march, they began to arrive, but the whole force was not completed till nearly the middle of april. on the 17th march, the 19th hussar squadron re-embarked for cairo in order to join the head quarters of the regiment at dongola, in readiness for the advance on khartoum in the autumn.
our interest with the suakin force ceases here. it is sufficient to say that it amounted to 12,500 men, composed of troops from england, a contingent of native troops from india, and a contingent from new south wales consisting of two batteries of artillery, and 500 infantry. it had also with it a balloon detachment, the first occasion on which balloons were used by british troops in warfare. on the 20th march, it fought a successful action at hasheem, and again on the 22nd, at tofrik, when an enormous number of the enemy were killed at a rather[263] heavy cost to the british troops engaged. on the 3rd april, tamai was occupied, and the last of the enemy’s force broken up. by the end of april, 18 miles of railway were completed, and the tribes in the neighbourhood had given in their submission; when the intention of the british government to abandon the advance on khartoum became known. on the 17th may, the withdrawal of the troops commenced, and again suakin was left with only a small force to protect the port.
we left the three squadrons of the 19th at dongola and other stations south of that place, with all thoughts concentrated on preparations for the autumn advance on khartoum. the regimental establishment was increased by 110 men, bringing up the strength to 740 sabres. four strong squadrons were being prepared for the field: but over 13 years were to elapse before khartoum was again seen by british troops. about the 22nd april it was announced that the intention of advancing on khartoum in the autumn had been abandoned, and orders were issued for the withdrawal of the troops. the retirement commenced on the 26th may, when merawi was evacuated. the troops were withdrawn down the river in detachments, each post being evacuated in turn as it became the southernmost point of occupation. on the 22nd june, the head quarters of the 19th marched out of dongola, the last of the force to leave for lower egypt. at wady halfa the hot and tedious march came to an end, and from that point the regiment reached the railway at assiout in barges. at wady halfa, korosko and assouan they made over their horses to the 20th hussars, and, by the 14th august, the regiment was reunited in cairo. in the whole campaign the regiment had suffered a total loss of two officers, lt. colonel taylor (died of fever) and quarter master lima, and 18 non-commissioned officers and men.
[264]
in july 1885, her majesty was graciously pleased to confer on the regiment the designation of “princess of wales’ own,” in recognition of “its distinguished services in egypt and the soudan.”
by g.o. 10 of january 1886 the regiment was permitted to bear on its appointments, the words “nile 1884–85” “abu klea,” in commemoration of the ascent of the river nile and the operations in the eastern soudan.
from a photograph.
colonel percy barrow, c.b.
at the beginning of 1886, the regiment experienced a severe loss in the death of its commander, colonel percy barrow. the desperate wound he had received at el teb, on the 19th february 1884, was one from which complete recovery was impossible. in spite of grave inconvenience to himself, he had gone through the most arduous part of the nile campaign without flinching, while the skill and judgment with which he handled his men during the march of the desert column won the applause of the whole force. while preparing the regiment for some regimental games, a violent exertion re-opened the old wound, and after thirty hours of intense suffering he expired on the 13th january, in his 38th year. in him the army lost a soldier of great promise. the son of a well known indian officer, major general lousada barrow, who commanded a corps of volunteer cavalry in the indian mutiny and at the relief of lucknow, percy barrow entered the 19th hussars as cornet in 1868. in 1879, he was selected to command a corps of mounted infantry and some irregular troops in the zulu war; and served through the boer war of 1881 in command of the mounted infantry. the soldierly spirit that animated him, and his intense devotion to everything that concerned the welfare of the regiment, can only be appreciated by those who have been privileged to read his letters written in quarters and in the field. telegrams of condolence to the regiment from her[265] majesty the queen and from her royal highness the princess of wales testified to the general appreciation of the loss the public service had suffered in his death. his remains were removed to england and interred at saltwood near hythe. to command the regiment, his brother-in-law, colonel boyce combe, was transferred from the 10th hussars to the 19th.
in may, the regiment was ordered to proceed to england, and embarked at alexandria on the 19th, in the geelong and the iona, leaving their horses behind them. on the 6th and 7th june, they landed at harwich and woolwich, and proceeded to norwich, three troops being sent to colchester. the regiment was much gratified at the receipt, on landing, of a telegram, welcoming them to england, from h.r.h. the princess of wales. in july, one of the colchester troops was recalled to head quarters. the establishment of the regiment was fixed at 24 officers, 469 warrant officers non-commissioned officers and men, and 300 horses.
in the following march, the two troops at colchester were sent to birmingham, being replaced, in september, at colchester by two troops from head quarters.
in october, the establishment was increased by 132 rank and file and 80 horses. for this purpose the necessary horses were transferred to the regiment from the 14th and 21st hussars. a month later, by which time 56 recruits had been enlisted, the order was cancelled, and the horses were transferred to the 18th and 20th hussars. at the end of the year, the colchester squadron rejoined head quarters.
in april 1888, the regiment marched from norwich and birmingham to hounslow, hampton court and kensington.
in september, the regiment was brought on the[266] strength of the 1st army corps, and its establishment increased to 707 of all ranks with 424 horses.
in march 1889, under army order no. 136, the regiment was granted permission to wear “mysore” on its appointments, in commemoration of the campaigns against tippoo in the last century, in which the old 19th light dragoons had borne so distinguished a part. the badge is certainly more appropriate than the old one of “seringapatam” which was discarded.
in the same month the regiment lost its colonel, major general john yorke, c.b. in his place major general and honorary lieut. general coote synge hutchinson was gazetted to the regiment. he was an old 2nd dragoon guards’ officer, and had served with that regiment through the indian mutiny.
in the following june, the regiment marched to aldershot. on the 3rd july, it was employed in london on the occasion of h.m. the shah of persia visiting the city.
in september 1890, the regiment took part in the man?uvres on berkshire downs.
on the 26th june 1891, a special inspection of the regiment was held by h.r.h. the princess of wales; and, on the 8th july, the 19th took part in a review at hounslow before h.i.m. the german emperor.
the regiment was again destined for foreign service. at the end of july, it marched to shorncliffe, and, on 1st september, embarked at portsmouth, in the euphrates, for india, arriving at bombay on the 28th, whence it was forwarded by train to secunderabad in relief of the 7th hussars. in november the regiment was transferred, by train, to bangalore.
towards the end of 1892 the squadron system was substituted for the troop system in the regiment.
in october 1896, the 19th p.w.o. hussars were transferred[267] to secunderabad. here we must take leave of the regiment. the history of a regiment in quarters possesses little interest. “soldiers in peace are like chimneys in summer.” when the time comes for the 19th p.w.o. hussars to take the field again, they will be found like their predecessors, over one hundred years ago, “ready in all that depends upon them, and willing beyond description.”
