Minden Day
Encyclopedia
Minden Day is a regimental anniversary celebrated on August 1 by certain units of the British Army
. It commemorates the participation of the forerunners of the regiments in the Battle of Minden
on that date in 1759.
The celebration of the day involves the wearing of "Minden Roses" on the regimental head dress, and, in the case of the infantry regiments, the decoration of the regimental colours with garlands of roses. This recalls that the regiments wore wild roses at the battle that they had plucked from the hedgerows as they advanced to engage the enemy.
Minden Day is celebrated by:
The colours of roses varies: red is used by most of the units, but white is favoured by the Light Infantry and red and yellow by the Royal Anglians. In some cases this reflects parts of the regimental recruiting areas: the Light Infantry is associated with part of Yorkshire (represented by a white rose), the Fusiliers with part of historic Lancashire and the Princess of Wales's area includes Hampshire (both counties having red roses as insignia).
In 1975 August 1 was adopted as Yorkshire Day
, partly to reflect the presence of Yorkshire soldiers at the battle.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It commemorates the participation of the forerunners of the regiments in the Battle of Minden
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
on that date in 1759.
The celebration of the day involves the wearing of "Minden Roses" on the regimental head dress, and, in the case of the infantry regiments, the decoration of the regimental colours with garlands of roses. This recalls that the regiments wore wild roses at the battle that they had plucked from the hedgerows as they advanced to engage the enemy.
Minden Day is celebrated by:
- 32 (Minden) Battery, 16 Regiment Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
- 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian RegimentRoyal Anglian RegimentThe Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
, successor to the 12th Regiment of Foot - HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment3rd Battalion Royal Anglian RegimentThe 3rd battalion Royal Anglian Regiment "The Steelbacks" is the Territorial Army unit of the Royal Anglian Regiment and is made up of volunteers who train in their spare time as soldiers...
(TA Reserve) - The Royal Regiment of FusiliersRoyal Regiment of FusiliersThe Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
, successor the 20th Regiment of FootLancashire FusiliersThe Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:... - The Royal WelshRoyal WelshThe Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...
, successors to the 23rd Regiment of FootRoyal Welch FusiliersThe Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France... - The Royal Scots Borderers, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, as successors to the 25th Regiment of FootKing's Own Scottish BorderersThe King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
(King's Own Scottish Borderers) - The Princess of Wales's Royal RegimentPrincess of Wales's Royal Regiment"PWRR" redirects here. For the railroad with these reporting marks, see Portland and Western Railroad.The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division...
, successors to the 37th Regiment of FootRoyal Hampshire RegimentThe Royal Hampshire Regiment was a British Army line infantry regiment from 1881 to 1992. Its lineage is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.-Formation and antecedents:... - 3rd and 5th Battalions The RiflesThe RiflesThe Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
Regiment as successors of The Light InfantryThe Light InfantryThe Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...
, successors to the 51st Regiment of FootKing's Own Yorkshire Light InfantryThe King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. The regiment's traditions and history are now maintained by The Rifles.-The 51st Foot:...
The colours of roses varies: red is used by most of the units, but white is favoured by the Light Infantry and red and yellow by the Royal Anglians. In some cases this reflects parts of the regimental recruiting areas: the Light Infantry is associated with part of Yorkshire (represented by a white rose), the Fusiliers with part of historic Lancashire and the Princess of Wales's area includes Hampshire (both counties having red roses as insignia).
In 1975 August 1 was adopted as Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the historic English county of Yorkshire. It was celebrated in 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, initially in Beverley, as "protest movement against the Local Government re-organisation of 1974", The date alludes to the Battle of Minden, and...
, partly to reflect the presence of Yorkshire soldiers at the battle.