Amongst the Colours that used to be displayed in the National Army Museum, Chelsea, were those presented to the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot in 1860. These Colours remained in service for 102 years, being subsequently carried by the 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment, later the 1st Battalion, and finally by the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (formed in 1960 by amalgamation of the Northamptons and Royal Lincolns); in 1962 they were handed over for loan and display to the National Army Museum, then at Sandhurst. They have now been returned to the Northamptonshire Regimental Museum. The significance of these Colours lies, not in their antiquity, but in the fact that they were the last to be carried by a British regiment in action; at the battle of Laing's Nek during the First Boer War of 1881.

The Colours are the 1855 pattern, being six feet flying by five feet six inches in depth, with spearheads at the top of the pikes, and cords and tassels of gold and crimson mixed. The Queen's Colour is the Great Union with, in the centre, the Imperial Crown above the numeral 'LVIII' in gold. The Regimental Colour is black, the facing colour of the 58th, with the Cross of St. George thereon, the Union in the dexter canton, and in the centre in red and gold 'LVIII' encircled by 'RUTLANDSHIRE', with the Union wreath around and the Imperial crown above; below the wreath, the motto 'MONTIS INSIGNIA CALPE'.

At present, the Queen's Colour bears twenty honours of the two World Wars and the Regimental is emblazoned with seventeen pre- 1914 honours. However, in 1881 when they were uncased for the last time before battle, the Queen's Colour bore no honours and the Regimental displayed 'GIBRALTAR 1779-83', 'EGYPT', 'MAIDA', 'SALAMANCA, 'VITTORIA', 'PYRENEES', 'NIVELLE', 'ORTHES', 'PENINSULA' and 'NEW ZEALAND'.

The 58th formed part of a small force assembled in Natal by Major-General Sir George Colley for the relief of the British garrisons in the Transvaal. The latter, previously a Boer republic, had been annexed by the British in 1877, but the Boers had become increasingly restive until, in December 1880, they declared the Transvaal a republic once more, ambushed a column of the 94th Regiment, and laid siege to the scattered British garrisons, most of which only consisted of one or two companies, including three of those of the 58th.

Although Colley had few troops at his disposal, he felt that an attempt had to be made, not only to relieve the garrisons, but also to forestall an invasion of Natal by the Boers, whose main force was already assembling on the Transvaal-Natal border, at a place on the Drakensberg where the road from Natal runs over a (!of into the Transvaal - Laing's Nek.

Accordingly, Colley assembled such troops as were readily available, some 1,350 men in all, marched up through Natal and reached Mount Prospect, some three miles from the Nek, on 26th January. His force consisted of five companies of the 58th (457 strong) under the command of Major Hingeston, five companies of the 3rd Battalion 60th Rifles (400) and 100 men of the 2nd Battalion 21st Regiment: many had seen service in the Zulu War of 1879. For cavalry he had only a weak squadron, 70 strong, under Major Brownlow, King's Dragoon Guards, partly composed of men of that regiment, and partly of mounted infantry from the 58th and 60th, plus a detachment of Natal Mounted Police, about 60 strong. His artillery was four 9-pdrs and two 7-pdrs of N Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Artillery, and the force was completed by three rocket tubes, two Gatlings and 100 sailors from HMS Boadicea.

The way ahead for Colley's men lay over a grassy, undulating plateau which, as it approached Laing's Nek, was channelled into a crescent of high ground with a steel) ascent on the British side. At the western end stands Majuba Hill (6,600 feet) from which spurs run back in a north-easterly direction towards Laing's Nek; to the right of the road rises a table hill, some 600 feet above the plateau below, which bends round to the south-east as the height decreases; the eastern end of the crescent falls away to the Buffalo River flowing in a deep ravine. The northern end of the plateau, at the foot of the heights, is seamed by lateral watercourses fed by smaller tributaries from the high ground, two of which run either side of a steep spur descending to the plateau from the eastern end of the table hill. The slopes are covered in long grass, masking rough ground underfoot, and with low scrub marking the watercourses. In January 1881 the weather had been exceedingly wet, which made the going correspondingly harder.

The Boer forces were concentrated on this high ground and had constructed rough stone defences along the ridge line, holding the extremities ofthe position with picquets. The Boers were all mounted so they could move very rapidly behind the reverse slope to any threatened position; they were expert marksmen, their favourite weapon being the Westley-Richards, though some had Winchesters, Sniders, or even the current British soldiers' weapon, the Martini- Henry.

As there was no way round the position, Colley determined to attack the eastern end of the table hill with the 58th, supported by the artillery, and with the 58th's right flank covered by the mounted squadron, and the 60th held in reserve. Despite the unfavourable ground and the estimated Boer strength of 2000 (in fact there were barely 1000 present), it was impressed upon the 58th that the position would be taken with the bayonet. Having paraded at Mount Prospect in the early morning of 28th January, the force advanced across the plateau towards the objective, leaving the camp protected by the 21st detachment, one company of the 60th, and the two Gatlings manned by sailors. Owing to the muddy ground, slow progress was made and it was not until 9.15 am that the force halted to deploy on a low ridge just out of enemy range. Colley pushed out the sailors with their rockets and a 60th company to a walled enclosure on the left just to the right of the road; the rockets then began to fire at the Nek itself and the reverse slope behind. The guns were kept in the centre, where they opened fire on the Boer positions, with three companies of the 60th and the mounted Police held as a reserve. As the guns began to get the range, the 58th and mounted squadron were ordered to attack.

The 58th, which had hitherto been moving in column of companies with the uncased Colours in the centre, advanced north-east to the foot of the spur in the formation known as *flank march of fours, in which each company, marching in fours, moved parallel to one another.

When they reached the foot of the spur, which was in dead ground from the crest, they began to ascend the right-hand ravine in, according to Captain Lovegrove the acting second-in-command, 'double fours from the centre', from which formation they intended to deploy into line for the final charge further up the slope, under cover of a ledge. It should perhaps be remembered that, at this date, no British officer had experience of facing an enemy of European origin armed with modern rifles, and a feature of this battle was the gross under-estimation of the Boers as soldiers by Colley and his staff.

Go Wrong

MOURNFUL PROOF OF THE INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE 58TH'S CHARGE AT LAING'S NEK; GRAVES FROM THE REGIMENT'S DEAD ON THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY, LYING JUST BELOW THE GROUND HELD BY THE BOERS.

It was now that things began to go wrong for, as the ascent began, command of the attack was virtually taken out of the hands of Major Hingeston and the regimental officers by Colonel Deane of the Staff who, with four other staff officers, all mounted, rode tip to the front and began to set a fast pace up the steep and slippery slopes, which the fully accontred infantry found increasingly difficult to sustain.

As the advance began, Brownlow's mounted squadron, which was intended to seize the high ground immediately to the right of the 58th so as to protect their flank, charged, but at a point much further to the right. As the leading troop crested the rise, a picquet of some dozen mounted Boers opened a heavy fire, emptying several saddles. Brownlow was unhorsed and only Sergeant-Major Lunny, KDG, got in among the Boers, firing his revolver until he was killed. Seeing this reverse, the second troop turned about and galloped down the hill, leaving the right of the 58th quite open. That Regiment, still in close formation and in some disorder from the pace at which the men were being urged up the hill, began to suffer casualties from Boer riflemen who moved down to their flank.

Nevertheless, the advance went on until the ledge was reached where they aimed to deploy and gather themselves for the final assault. Here the sweating, exhausted infantry paused for breath, but Deane ordered them on again without allowing the leading companies time to deploy. Struggling forward the Regiment came immediately under a heavy point-blank fire from the crest. At this instant the artillery support ceased, Deane was killed, and as the regimental officers and NCOs tried to deploy their men for a charge, many, including Hingeston and Lovegrove, were hit.

At a range of about fifty yards every attempt to charge was met by a storm of fire and the 58th, unable to advance, could only fire back at the Boers behind their stone defences. For some time this fearful fire-fight went on but, lying in the open in their red-coats with heavy and accurate fire from their front and flank, the casualties mounted rapidly. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Major Essex of the Staff ordered a retreat.

Among those wounded was Lieutenant Baillie, carrying the Regimental Colour. Lieutenant Peel, with the Queen's Colour, went to his aid, but Baillie said, 'Never mind me, save the Colours'. Peel took both Colours but, while bearing them away, fell into an ant-bear hole. Sergeant Bridgestock, thinking he had been shot, seized the Colours and carried them further down the hill where he handed them to the Quartermaster, Lieutenant Wallace, who brought them out of action.

When the retreat was ordered, Lieutenant Hill tried to place the wounded Baillie on his horse, but being unable to do so, carried him off in his arms until Baillie was hit again and killed. Hill next got another wounded man across his horse, brought him to safety, and then returned to rescue another, all the while under a heavy musketry from the Boers, firing down at the retreating regiment. Major Hingeston, who was shot in the leg, was carried to the safety of a gully by Private Godfrey, who remained with him until the action was over, but Hingeston (lied next day.

The 58th lost 72 killed and 99 wounded, over a third of their strength. Lieutenant Hill was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross, and Sergeant-Major Murray, Sergeant Bridgestock and Private Godfrey the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The Colours were brought safely back to Mount Prospect, and a year later an order was published forbidding the taking of Colours on active service. Though Colour parties had always attracted fire on a battlefield, they had also, in bygone days, formed a rallying point and an inspiration to their Regiments. Clearly their presence on a battlefield dominated by accurate rifle fire was an anachronism, but who is to say that they had not stiffened the regimental pride of the 58th (hiring its ordeal at Laing's Nek.

Sources

1. Account toy Calotain Lovegrove, 58th, written 1884, published Northamptonshire Regimental Journal 1929.
2. Diary, Bandsman Tuck, 58th, 1879-82. (National Army Museum).
3. Account by Sir George Colley, published in 'The Life of Sir George Pomeroy Colley 1835-8' by Lt-Gen Sir William Butler, London, 1899.
4. 'A Narrative of the Boer War', by T.F. Carter, London 1903.
5. 'Rifleman and Hussar', by Col. Sir Percival Marling VC, 60th, London 1931.
6. 'History of the Northampton shire Regiment 1742-1934', toy Lt-Col Russell Gurney.
7. 'The First Boer War', by Joseph Lehman, London 1972.

Editor's Note

Michael Barthorp is, of course, an acknowledged expert on the Victorian army. and the author of a number of books on its campaigns, including 'The Anglo-Boer Wars', and the Osprey MAA series, 'The British Army On Campaign', whieh includes a colour plate by Pierre Turner of a Lieutenant of the 58th with the Regimental Colour in 1881.

Readers might be interested to note that the Majuba campaign will be the subject of an Osprey Campaigns title, currently in preparation.

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