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.

Lieutenant Colonel George S. Sinnott

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel George S. Sinnott

 1871-1969

 Mess Dress, c. 1896

 

 Sinnott was gazetted to the 2nd Gloucestershire (the Bristol) Royal Engineers as a supernumerary on September 5, 1888. He joined with his father and grandfather’s law firm of J. Sinnott & Son in March of 1894. Sinnott was elevated to lieutenant in 1891 and captain in 1896. For service with the Volunteer Sections in South Africa during the Boer War, he was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant in the regular Army in 1900. Sinnott was made an honorary major in the 2nd Gloucestershire on May 28, 1904, becoming a permanent major in 1906. He was granted the rank of honorary lieutenant colonel on March 20, 1908, and appointed to the 1st South Midland Field Company, South Midland Divisional Engineers as a supernumerary on April 1, 1908. Sinnott resigned his commission on March 13, 1912, later becoming a major in the Territorial Force Reserve in 1914. He was assigned to the Royal Defence Corps when it was formed in 1916 and retired from the service as a lieutenant colonel by the War’s end. Sinnott continued to practice the law until 1954 when he retired and the firm of Sinnott, Wood, & Co. was dissolved.

 

 

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Departed the collection in 2024.

Lieutenant Colonel John Fryer

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel John Fryer

 1871-1920

 Mess Jacket, c. 1910

 

 Fryer was the son of Lieutenant General Sir John Fryer, KCB, who commanded the Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The younger Fryer became a second lieutenant in the 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars on November 26, 1890. He was made aide-de-camp to his father in 1894, who was posted to the Cork District of Northern Ireland. Fryer received his captaincy in 1899 and served in the Second Boer War with the 7th Hussars. He was mentioned in despatches for operations at Cape Colony in December of 1902. Fryer was then assigned as adjutant of the Sussex Imperial Yeomanry in 1903. He made major in 1910 and was later placed in command of the Southern Cavalry Depot at Bristol. Fryer was appointed a Brigade Major on January 5, 1912, and assigned to the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade, which consisted of the Yeomanry regiments of the three Ridings of Yorkshire. The regiments that comprised the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade were assigned to other formations in 1915 and the brigade ceased to exist. Promoted to a temporary lieutenant colonel, Fryer then went to France as a staff officer with the General Headquarters.

3rd Aberdeen (The Buchan) Rifle Volunteers

 

 

Subaltern, 3rd Aberdeen (The Buchan) Rifle Volunteers

 Full Dress, c. 1880

 

The 3rd Administrative Battalion, Aberdeenshire Rifle Volunteers, with headquarters at Peterhead, Scotland, was formed in January of 1862 from the 5th, 9th, 17th, and 20th Volunteer Rifle Corps.

In 1867 the 24th Corps, in 1868 the 25th Corps, and in 1872 the 26th Corps were formed and added to the battalion, which was granted the title "The Buchan," in 1868. The 24th Corps was amalgamated with the 9th Corps in 1875 and a new 24th Corps was formed.

The battalion was consolidated as the 5th Aberdeen (The Buchan) Rifle Volunteers in May of 1880, but was re-numbered as the 3rd in June. Headquarters were then established at Old Deer, Scotland. The old corps of the battalion were then formed into nine companies.

 

From Records of the Scottish Volunteer Force: 1859-1908, first published in 1909.

The Lothians and Berwickshire Yeomanry

 

 

Other Ranks, The Lothians and Berwickshire Yeomanry

Walking Out Dress, c. 1890

In 1798 The East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry, The Berwickshire Yeomanry Cavalry, The Midlothian Yeomanry and The Royal Edinburgh Volunteer Light Dragoons (the Princess Street Lancers) were raised to provide a defense against the armies of Napoleon. In 1800 the last two of these amalgamated to form The Royal Midlothian Yeomanry Cavalry. A reduction in strength of all three at the end of the Napoleonic Wars was followed by an increase in recruitment during the unemployment and social unrest of the early nineteenth century.

All had been disbanded by 1838, only for the Midlothians to be formed again in 1843, followed by the East Lothians in 1846. In 1888 they became The Lothians and Berwickshire Yeomanry, consisting of two troops from East Lothian, one from Berwickshire and one from Midlothian, and, in 1892, a West Lothian Troop was added.

In the Second Boer War, the regiment sponsored the 19th (Lothians and Berwickshire) Company, which served in the 6th (Scottish) Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, in South Africa from 1900 until 1902.

 

The Lothians and Berwickshire Yeomanry Resting on Belhaven Sands by R. Payton Reid, 1891.

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Departed the collection in 2022.