Royal Anglians

In honour of Remembrance Sunday this year, let's move away from sports badges and look at the cap badge of The #RoyalAnglian Regiment, @RAnglians. They are the modern incarnation of many historic East county regiments, including the Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire regiments.

So, let's #GetTheBadgeIn: their cap badge features a three-towered castle and a key.

But where is the three-towered castle and giant key in East Anglia?

Well, there isn't one.

The story is better than that.

The castle and key are found on the coat of arms of Gibraltar.

Isabella of Castille, Queen of Spain, awarded the crest to Gibraltar after the defeat of the (Muslim) Moors in 1501 - Gibraltar was the defence, and the key, to Spain.

However, before the Trump supporters among us rush to interpret this as an icon about defending Europe from Islam, it's worth noting that the key symbol for Gibraltar was first introduced by Tariq ibn Ziyad, the commander of the Umayyad forces who crossed from North Africa into Spain in 711 AD. In fact, Gibraltar means "Mountain of Tariq" in Arabic.

But back to the Royal Anglians and their actions at the Siege of Gibraltar.

The three-and-a-half-year siege saw France and Spain try to oust Britain from Gibraltar in 1779, claiming it was to help their American allies, but it was more blantant opportunism.

That said, next time you meet an American, remind them that if was not for the men of East Anglia being tied up defending Gibraltar... Well, let's just say the musical Hamilton would have ended very differently.

But, back to the siege:

In November 1781, sensing an impending assault, the British (and some Hanoverians - e.g. German mercenaries) launched a bold night sortie, destroying Spanish forward batteries and delaying their plans by a year.

In September 1782, a massive Franco-Spanish force made a final push with 60,000 troops, 49 warships, and specially built floating batteries. The British not only held firm but counterattacked, boarding and destroying the batteries—scenes of explosions and smoke visible for miles. The sheer aggression of this act, boarding one platform after another, just scrambles my mind everytime I read about it.

When Spain abandoned the siege in early 1783, the East England regiments earned the right to bear the Gibraltar badge. The Suffolk Regiment's HQ in Bury St Edmunds was also named Gibraltar Barracks, now home to the Suffolk Regiment Museum.

Since then, the Royal Anglians have served with distinction down the centuries. During the Napoleonic Wars, the East Essex Regiment captured a French Imperial eagle at Salamanca, an honour reflected today in the eagle the 1st Battalion wear on their arm.

As if this wasn't honour enough they even featured in Ross Kemp’s Afghanistan documentary, where you can hear Suffolk accents making fun of the TV hard man - amid incoming Taliban fire.

But let's finish with Ipswich lad Arthur Saunders. Born at 180 Cauldwell Hall Road (there’s a blue plaque on the house today), he joined the Navy, served 12 years, then worked at Ransomes in Ipswich. When WW1 broke out, he joined the Suffolk Regiment. At 37, he fought in the Battle of Loos.

His commanding officer wrote:

"When his officer was wounded, Sergeant Saunders took charge of two machine-guns and a few men, and, though severely wounded in the thigh, closely followed the last four charges of another battalion, giving them support. Later, when the battalion he was supporting had to retire, he stuck to one of his guns and, despite his wound, continued to give clear orders, firing to cover the retirement."

"Severely wounded in the thigh" was officer-speak for having his leg blown off above the knee; a tourniquet was tied around his thigh, and he carried on fighting.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

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