| Brummie Lad | 19 Oct 2016 10:16 a.m. PST |
Hi all, When the 71st "Fraser's" Highlanders was formed into 2 battalions, did the 2nd battalion receive, and fight under, any colours at all? Thanks
:-) |
| Winston Smith | 19 Oct 2016 10:34 a.m. PST |
I think it was always a two battalion regiment.
Therefore each battalion would have a full set of colours, distinguished in the usual way with flames and piles. When a third battalion was temporarily formed, it was ad hoc and didn't last. So you got me there. Of course very early in the war, many British regiments stopped carrying any colours at all. |
| 22ndFoot | 19 Oct 2016 10:54 a.m. PST |
As Winston says,they were always a two battalion regiment (not three as I saw propounded somewhere else in the last few days). They were raised in 1775. As such, the second battalion carried colours that were distinguished by a wavy pile. GMB will do one for you if you ask and I'm sure Iain at FlagsofWar would do the same. |
| Supercilius Maximus | 19 Oct 2016 11:29 a.m. PST |
@22nd Foot, You are quite correct that it was raised and organised as a two-battalion regiment. However, after the loss of several companies in their transportation to North America (including the Major in charge of their training), they formed three battalions during the NYC campaign – but only that campaign. The companies were all double-strength at approximately 100 all ranks each, so I suspect it was three 4-company units, plus the grenadiers, which were detached to form the 4th Grenadier Battalion along with the 42nd's company (also double strength). |
 Yellow Admiral  | 19 Oct 2016 12:00 p.m. PST |
Mine both have colours. :-) What does "GMB" stand for? - Ix |
| 22ndFoot | 19 Oct 2016 12:01 p.m. PST |
SM, Absolutely, they were subsequently reorganized several times ion different ways as you suggest but would you agree that the temporary third battalion, not having been originally raised in that way, did not have colours? It possible, of course, that they might have carried a colour from one of the original battalions rather as each wing of a battalion would have but, even had they done so, there would only have been two pairs of colours for the three battalions. Best, Jon |
 ColCampbell | 19 Oct 2016 12:10 p.m. PST |
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| Winston Smith | 19 Oct 2016 1:13 p.m. PST |
Each wing of a battalion did NOT have its own Colour. Both colours for a battalion were kept with the Colonel. And as I said above, many if not most or all, regiments ceased to carry any colours quite early in the war. Having said that…..  , my 71st regiment is individually based. If I split them into two battalions, each get a Colour. And that's only because I want every unit on the table to have flags. It's prettier that way but not necessarily accurate. |
| 42flanker | 19 Oct 2016 2:06 p.m. PST |
The 71st were officially formed in 1775 when Simon Fraser received his commission as Colonel to raise the new regiment but the regiment wasn't actually recruited until the spring of the following year. Stewart of Garth says that the response to the recruiting drive was so enthusiastic that eventuallyit was decided to form two battalions with additional men who were turned away even trying to stow away on the transports at Greenock but I think the commissioning of both Erskine and Abercromby as Lieutenant Colonels late in 1775 indicates that it may always have been the intention to raise two battalions. |
| SJDonovan | 19 Oct 2016 2:39 p.m. PST |
Mine both have colours. :-) What does "GMB" stand for? - Ix Funnily, enough I have bought loads of flags from GMB (including in my last order the colours for the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 71st Foot) and it has never occurred to me to wonder what it stands for. The proprietor's name is Grahame Black so I guess it is to do with his initials. He makes really lovely flags – they really are little works of art – and he will re-size them for you at no extra cost. (His flags are on the big side and I use old school 15mm figures so I need to get them shrunk to fit). |
| ACWBill | 19 Oct 2016 3:02 p.m. PST |
GMB – owner is Graehame Black. Excuse me if I missed the spelling of his first name by a letter or two. |
| Supercilius Maximus | 20 Oct 2016 2:00 a.m. PST |
@22nd – No, you are quite right about only two sets of colours (see the comment above about two Lt Cols). |
| Brummie Lad | 20 Oct 2016 5:59 a.m. PST |
Well, it never ceases to amaze me how a simple question about a flag can bring out so much detail!! Thanks all for the info. Much appreciated |
| Virginia Tory | 20 Oct 2016 7:58 a.m. PST |
I have some nice colors from Flag Dude for the 2/71st (with the wavy thing). |
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