TOPIC:

Officers of the 2nd East Surrey Regiment

Source: www.angloboerwar.com/forum/19-ephemera/3...under-the-union-jack

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (1) Relief of Ladysmith (Relief of Ladysmith (2979 Pte A. Cousins, 2nd E. Surrey Regt) Pte A. Cousins, 2nd E. Surrey Regt)

Verified on WO100/185p20. Roll says invalided to England.

Charles Alfred Cousins, born 1871 in Ipswich.

Pictures courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (5) Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal, Laing’s Nek (3426 Pte. J. Hopkins, 2: E. Surrey Regt.

Verified on WO100/185p40. Rolls states invalided.

Picture courtesy of the LMC

QSA (2) Natal, Transvaal; (1084 SGT. J. HILLSDON. 2ND E. SURREY. REGT.)

Verified on WO100/185p39. Note says to England, time expired.

Along with:
- A handwritten letter dated Dum Dum, Bengal 28th March 1891, this from his commanding officer.
East Surrey Regiment Cap Badge.

John Hillsdon was born in Shoreditch and attested at Kingston on 29th December 1883 subsequently serving with the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment with whom he would be stationed in Gibraltar from 4th March 1884 until 21st December 1884 and then the East Indies from 22nd December 1884 until 22nd May 1891 when he returned home.

Discharged on 28th December 1895, he would be recalled upon the outbreak of the Great War seeing service as a Sergeant (No. 1084) with the 2nd Battalion, East Surrey Regiment and taking part in operations in Natal and Transvaal.

He would also serve during the Great War, but did not leave the UK, his only entitlement being a Silver War Badge, issued to him aged 52 for being discharged due to sickness.

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (5) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, Laing’s Nek, unofficial rivets connecting fourth and fifth clasps, the latter a good tailor’s copy (6430 Pte. J. Taylor, 2nd. E. Surrey Regt.)

Joshua Taylor was born at Northam, Devon, on 28 August 1881, the son of laundress Susannah Taylor and younger brother - by 10 years - of John Henry “J. H.” Taylor, one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf and Open Champion in 1894, 1895, 1900, 1909 and 1913. Initially employed as a caddie and labourer at the Royal North Devon Golf Club, Joshua Taylor also worked as house boy to a prominent local family; every spare moment of time in his childhood was devoted to practising the game of golf and learning the strategic play that separates a ‘good amateur’ from a professional golfer.

Attesting for the East Surrey Regiment in April 1900, Taylor served during the Boer War with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa from May 1900; he arrived in time to witness the action at Alleman’s Nek on 11 June 1900 where the Battalion lost three men killed, one officer and six men wounded. Posted along the Natal-Pretoria railway line, he was likely employed on guard duties before returning home to England in June 1901 - just in time to witness his brother form the London & Counties Professional Golfer’s Association (P.G.A.) which aimed to safeguard the interests of English golf professionals; buoyed by the prospect of a secure salary, Taylor left the army and took employment as the Club Professional at Acton Golf Club. In 1910 he won the Southern Professional Foursomes at Stoke Poges - partnered with “J. H.”, the pair captured the Dewar Shield by a convincing margin of 6 & 5. On 12 June 1916, Joshua Taylor joined the Royal Naval Air Service and was sent to Crystal Palace. Appointed Chief Petty Officer Aircrewman in September 1917, he saw home service until the cessation of hostilities.

The first ever ‘Trans-Atlantic Tussle’ - the forerunner to the Ryder Cup
As a prelude to the Open Championship which was due to take place at St Andrews in the summer of 1921, it was arranged by the newspaper proprietors on both sides of the Atlantic to showcase a week of golf with an international match between professionals representing Great Britain and America. In late May 1921, the RMS Aquitania embarked with America’s finest golfers out of New York Harbour for the six-day voyage to Southampton. From here, the players boarded the sleeper train to Glasgow before making their way to the King’s Course at Gleneagles. According to The Scotsman: ‘This was Team America on its first voyage out of the States.’

Greeting the Americans was a formidable British squad of ten, headed by Harry Vardon, James Braid, J. H. Taylor, Abe Mitchell, and Joshua Taylor. On the morning of 6 June 1921, George Duncan and Abe Mitchell for Great Britain and Hutchison and Walter Hagen for America walked to the first tee of the King’s and thus began a journey that has lasted more than a century - known today as the Ryder Cup. The morning foresomes started well for the British; the Scotsman was keen to point out that ‘as the sun lit up the golden glory of the gorse’, the home team pushed a 2-1 advantage into a commanding 4-1 lead, thanks in part to Joshua Taylor and James Sherlock’s 1-up victory over Charles Hoffner and Mehlhorn. In desperate need to establish momentum in the singles, Hagan followed his gut and packed his best players at the top of the draw but soon found his plan unravelled due to the fine play of the ‘old guard’ of former Open Champions; Ockendon, Joshua Taylor and Sherlock ended the affair with victory in their singles matches to rack up something of a rout for the Great Britain team, 9 points to 3.

Few could have predicted the eventual acceleration to the Ryder Cup drama of the modern day, but with his two wins from two matches, Joshua Taylor played his part in establishing the friendly rivalry; according to Behind the Ryder Cup: the Players’ Stories... ‘A seed had been planted. Could it blossom?’ The answer was a resounding ‘Yes!’ and in 1927 the first ever official Ryder Cup took place in the United States at the Worcester Country Club.

In 1924, Joshua Taylor took employment as club professional at the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club; he repeatedly played in the Open Championship but never progressed beyond his tied 14th showing in 1913. Author of The Art of Golf (1912) and The Lure of the Links (1920), he enjoyed writing about the nuances of the game and addressed a variety of colourful topics including ‘golf in strange places’, ‘men one meets in the clubhouse’ and ‘the perfect caddie’. He died at Richmond on 28 September 1957.

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Egypt, undated (2) The Nile 1884-85, Suakin 1885 (No. 2118 Pte. G. Townsend. 1st. Berks. Regt.) renamed;
Khedive’s Star, dated 1882, the reverse Regimentally impressed ‘1 Bks 2118 G T’;
QSA (5) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (9779 Sjt: G. Townsend. E. Surrey Regt.);
1914-15 Star (15019 C.S. Mjr. G. Townsend. Glouc: R.);
British War and Victory Medals (15019 W.O. Cl. 2. G. Townsend. Glouc. R.);
1939-45 Star;
Africa Star;
War Medal 1939-45

George Townsend attested for the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served with the 1st Battalion in Egypt and the Sudan, before transferring to the East Surrey Regiment and seeing further service in South Africa during the Boer War. Discharged, he re-enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment on 5 November 1914, and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 21 November 1915. He was discharged on 30 May 1916.

Noonan's say his Second World War service is unconfirmed.