The 2nd Royal Cheshire Militia was a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

battalion raised in Macclesfield, Cheshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1853. Later linked to the regular

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

as its 4th (Militia) Battalion, the unit served in the Second Anglo-Boer War before disbandment in 1908.

History

The regiment was originally raised in Macclesfield on 25 July 1853 to provide additional Army strength during the Crimean War. On 1 July 1881 it was renamed 4th (Militia) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, as part of the reorganisation of the militia made during the Childers reforms. The battalion was embodied on 22 January 1900 for service during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. 650 officers and men left Queenstown in the ''SS Orotava'' the following month for

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Subsequently, awarded battle honour South Africa 1900–'02. Most of the battalion, 15 officers and 420 men, left Cape Town in April 1902 and arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

the following month. As part of the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the battalion was disbanded on 31 July in that year.

Commanding officers

The first commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel William Davenport Davenport, appointed 5 April 1853. Following Davenport's death, he was succeeded by George Cornwall Legh MP on 20 March 1869. On Legh's resignation

Henry Brougham Loch Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron Loch, (23 May 1827 – 20 June 1900) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Military service Henry Loch was the son of James Loch, Member of Parliament, of Drylaw, Midlothian. He entered the Royal Navy ...

was appointed lieutenant-colonel on 16 July 1873. In June 1884 Loch, by now knighted and governor of Victoria, Australia, retired and was made honorary colonel of the battalion. Cephas John Howard was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of the battalion in his place. Howard resigned his commission in March 1888. He was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Warren-Swettenham. In February 1900 he was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Harrop Beck of Upton Priory, who commanded the unit during the Boer War and was made a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in September 1901. Beck resigned his commission in August 1903. The final commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Henry M Nicholls, who was transferred to the unattached list when the battalion was disbanded in 1908.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Royal Cheshire Militia Cheshire Regiment Macclesfield Cheshire Infantry regiments of the British Army Royal Cheshire Militia, 2nd Battalion Military units and formations in Cheshire