Lieutenant Colonel William Russell Willoughby Weallens

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel William Russell Willoughby Weallens

 1896-1971

 Mess Dress, c. 1936

 

 Weallens, born in Secunderabad, India, was the son of Colonel William Weallens, late of the The Northamptonshire Regiment. He was gazetted to the British Indian Army on December 23, 1914, and joined the 4th Prince of Wale’s Own Gurkha Rifles from the Unattached List on February 28, 1915. Originally serving with the 1st Battalion, Weallens saw action in France and at Gallipoli. The 4th Gurkha Rifles comprised part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division, which was sent to Mesopotamia in April of 1916. Weallens was then transferred to the 2nd Battalion as adjutant with the rank of acting lieutenant. His lieutenancy was later ante-dated to December 23, 1915, and he was made a temporary captain in 1917, commanding a company. He was made a permanent captain in 1918 and returned to the 1st Battalion in 1927. Weallens was promoted to major in 1932 and lieutenant colonel in 1940, once again with the 2nd Battalion. He went with the 2nd Battalion to Iraq in 1941 and subsequently served in North Africa. Weallens was captured by the Germans in November of 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein and was interned at Oflag 79, Brunswick, Lower Saxony. He was twice Mentioned in Despatches during the Second World War. Weallens retired from the service on April 26, 1946.

15th (The King's) Hussars

 

 

Officer, 15th (The King's) Hussars

 Pill Box Cap, c. 1900

The regiment was raised in the London area by George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield as Elliot's Light Horse as the first of the new regiments of light dragoons in 1759. It was renamed the 15th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1760. In 1766 it was renamed for King George III as the 1st (or The King's Royal) Regiment of Light Dragoons, the number being an attempt to create a new numbering system for the light dragoon regiments. However, the old system was quickly re-established, with the regiment returning as the 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1769.

The regiment was reconstituted as a hussar regiment in 1807 as the 15th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars). It landed at Corunna in 1808 for service in the Peninsular War and returned to England in 1814. The regiment was recalled for the Hundred Days and landed at Ostend in 1815: it took part in a charge at the Battle of Waterloo and returned to England in 1816. The regiment played a pivotal role in the notorious Peterloo Massacre in 1819, when a 60,000 strong crowd calling for democratic reform were charged by the Yeomanry. Panic from the crowd was interpreted as an attack on the Yeomanry and the Hussars were ordered in. The charge resulted in 15 fatalities and as many as 600 injured.

The title of the regiment was simplified in 1861 to the 15th (The King's) Hussars. The regiment was ordered to India in 1867 and moved on to Afghanistan in 1878 for service in the Second Anglo-Afghan War before being deployed to South Africa in January 1881 for service in the First Boer War.

Major Harry Beale

 

 

Major Harry Beale

 Bearskin and Storage Tin, c. 1899

 

 Beale was gazetted to the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of The Northumberland Fusiliers on March 15, 1899. He served with the Volunteer Companies in South Africa during the Boer War as a supernumerary officer and was mentioned in despatches, where it was noted that he was “in every way up to the best standard of the Regular Army.” Beale was made an honorary lieutenant in the Regular Army for his South African service. He became a captain with the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of The Northumberland Fusiliers on September 7, 1901. Beale resigned his commission on June 25, 1904, but returned to the service in September of 1914 as a temporary captain in the Service Battalions being formed. He was attached to the 11th Service Battalion of The Northumberland Fusiliers and rose to the rank of temporary major on December 30, 1914. He was transferred to the General List on March 5, 1916, serving until the War’s end.