The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry). The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, and both World War I and World War II.
On 31 December 1966, the Royal Sussex Regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Home Counties Brigade – the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) – to form the Queen's Regiment; which was later, on 9 September 1992, amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the present Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).
History
1881–1914
The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot and the 107th Regiment of Foot (Bengal Light Infantry), together with the Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia and the Cinque Ports and Sussex units of the Volunteer Force. The 1st Battalion was sent to Egypt as part of General Garnet Wolseley's expedition to crush the ‘Urabi Revolt and conquer Egypt in the name of the Khedive. The 1st battalion was also part of the Nile Expedition, an unsuccessful attempt to save General Charles Gordon and his garrison at Khartoum during the Mahdist War. Twenty men of the regiment, led by Lieutenant Lionel Trafford, constituted the advanced party which marched towards Khartoum. The battalion took part in the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885 when Muhammad Ahmad was defeated. After a couple of years back in England, the battalion was stationed in Ireland from 1891 to 1896, then at Malta in 1899.
The 2nd Battalion was stationed at Malta from 1882, then moved to India in 1885 and took part in the Hazara Expedition in 1888 and the North-West Frontier campaign 1897–1898. The battalion stayed in India until late 1902, when it returned home after more than 20 years′ foreign service.
When the Second Boer War required more troops to reinforce British forces in South Africa, the 1st Battalion was sent there in February 1900, and fought at the Battle of Doornkop in May 1900. A memorial to the fallen of the Second Boer War, incorporating a sculpture by Charles Leonard Hartwell titled "The Bugler", is at Regency Square, Brighton. The Sergeant Bugler sounded the charge of The Royal Sussex that swept The Boers from their formidable position at Doornkop. A smaller bronze casting of The Bugler is held by the National Army Museum. A silver reduction copy is also held by The 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Officers' Mess.
The Royal Sussex Light Infantry Militia formed the 3rd Battalion. It was embodied in December 1899 and embarked for South Africa to take part in the Second Boer War in March 1901. Most of the officers and men returned home on the SS Dominion in August 1902, after the war had ended two months earlier. The three Volunteer Battalions contributed to a service company that reinforced the 1st Battalion, and gained them the Battle honour.
Following the end of the war in South Africa, the 1st battalion transferred to India, where they were stationed at Sitapur in Bengal Presidency.
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force (TF) and the latter the Special Reserve (SR); the regiment now had one Reserve battalion and three Territorial battalions. These were the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion (SR), with the 4th Battalion (TF) at Park Street in Horsham (since demolished), the 5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion (TF) at Middle Street in Hastings (since demolished) and the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion (TF) at Montpelier Place in Brighton (since demolished)
First World War
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion, which formed part of the 1st (Peshawar) Brigade in the 1st (Peshawar) Division, was one of the few infantry battalions that remained in India throughout the whole war, being stationed at Peshawar. However, it served in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.