Atwood Bee, 27 Nov 1914, p. 3

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>. BRITISH ARMY NICKNAMES | SOME OF THEM UTTERLY DEFY EXPLANATION. Gordon Highlanders Are Calied the "Whiskey Washers," Royal Lrish "The Drink Mosts."* There is scarcely a.regiment or a corps iff the British army- that does not possess nickname of some kind or another, and some of these are distinctly curious, while others are, of course, obvious. No one, for instance, needs to be told why the Scots Guards are called "the Jocks,' or the Life Guards "the tin belles, Others, however, are not so ob- vious. Perhaps the most extraor- dinary of all these names is tius Pilate's Bodyguard,'"' to which all ranks of the Royal Scots Regi- ment cheerfully answer. This regi- ment claims to be the oldest in our army, a claim, by the way that is strenuously resisted by certain ether corps. When it was serving under the King of France in. the seventeenth century, a dispute arose between the men and those of the Picardy Regiment as to which was the oldest corps. The Picardy Regiment laid claim to having been on duty the night before the Cruci- fixion. To this the Royal Scots promptly retorted: "Had we been on duty then, we should not have been found asleep at our. posts. Another nickname that needs ex- planation is that of the Norfalk Re- giment, which is known through- out the service as "the Holy Boys." This arose during the Peninsular War from the fact'that their badge is the figure of Britannia. The ig- norant Spanish peasantry could not | understand whom this figure was} intended to represent, and took it to be the Virgin Mary. "The Pigs and Whistles.' The fantry" is not exactly a title of re- spect, but the Highland Light In- fantry accept it with equanimity. This name, like that of the Norfolk Regiment, arises from the badge, which is an elephant over a bugle Another similar title is that of . the West Riding Regiments, knowa generally as "the Monkey-up-a- Stick,"' their badge being a crest of the Duke of Wellington, a rampant lion holding a banner aloft. The se- cond 'battalion of this regiment used likewise to be known as "the Seven and Sixpennies," from its being the old 76th Foot, but this has now out, "The Murdering Thieves" is the scarcely complimentary title be- stowed upon the Royal Army Medi- cal Corps, from the fact that when this was first formed as a regular pention of the army. it was known as the "Medical Train," and all its Wagons, equipment, ete., stamped accordingly "MT. Poultice Wallopers," and ' seed Lancers' are likewise names that the always jocular Tommy has bestowed upon the R.A.M.-¢ Some of the nicknames bestowed upon our regiments have a distinct- ly slanderous implication. Thus the Royal Irish Regiment is often known as "the Drink Mosts,"' the Gordon Highlanders have been dubbed "the Whisky Washers."' "The Dirty Shirts. Seme reflection, too, is east upon the Royal Munster Fusiliers, who for many years past have borne the unjustifiable apvellation of "the Dirty Shirts," while the Queen's Own Roval West Kent Regiment etill bear their nickname of the "Dirty Half-Hundred."' with com- plete equanimity, as do the Rifle | Brigade, who are "the Sweeps' tuo | the entire army. Of quite a different type is the name proudly borne by the Middle- sex Regiment, "the Die-hards." This title they richly earned at Al-| when out of under six hun- | nearly | buhera, dred of all ranks they lost four hundred, and had their colors riddled by no fewer than thirty bul- lets. Their colonel constantly ex- horted them to "die hard, fifty- séventh," and this name wil] ad- here to them so army exists. ¢ Jong as the British It was in-a similar fashion that ! the Black Watch gained their well- known title of "the Inviacibles,' and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry "the Lacedemonians.' This latter name came from their perfect steadiness under fire to- wards the end of 'the eighteenth century, 7 There are some nicknemes in the army that utterly defy explanation, though many efforts are made from time to time to elucidate the mys tery. Thus the 10th Hussars are kaown far and wide as 'the Chainy Tenth," while the Buffs bear the somewhat gruesome nickname of Resurrectionists,"' and the Surrey Regiment "'the Sleepy Qieens."' The Bedfordshire- Regi- ment has the rather curious nick- «hame of "the Peacemakers," ow- ing to the snall number of battle honors on their colors, and the fact that upon several occasions they have arriy ed at the seat of war just, liminaries for peace were be- ing ceintinted, "The Cherry-Pickers.' The lith Hussars were Pon- | "Pig and Whistle Light in-| while | *}up by called i "Prince Albert's Own," because they formed his escort in 1840 when he journeyed from Dover to Canter- bury to be married to the Queen. They were afterwards nicknamed "The Cherry Pickers." This was because some men were taken pris- oners while on outpost duty in a ; fruit garden in Spain. | 'The Nanny Goats" js a_ title conferred npon the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. It is their -custom to have a goat with shields and gar- lands on its horns, led at the head of the drum? An unfortunate 'drum- mer boy who got astride the goat was flung upon the mess table and ikilled by the animal, which ran !amuck. It is sine qua non at the | ceremony of dietrtbuting leeks on St. David's night that everyone pre- sent at the mess shall eat it, stand- ing on his chair, one foot on the table. while a drummer beats be- hind him, and the memory of Tony Purcell, who was major of the regi- ment at its inception and was kill- ed at the battle of the Boyne, is drunk with the honors. NEWS OF THE MIDDLE WEST BETWEEN ONTARIO AND BRI- TISH COLUMBIA. -- | (tems From Provinecs 'Where Man) Ontario Boys and. Girls Are "Making Good."' Joe Broadhurst, formerly of Win- nipeg; was t on H.M.S. Hawke, The license Yee*for clubs has been increased in Alberta from $800 to $1,500 | A new hotel, to be called the Fae will be erected in Portage a --- Leach, a _Calgeny contrac- sige 'has been left $125,000 by a rela- | tive who died in New Yor | F. H. Blackwood, a farmer, at | Céronation, Alta., secured $4,000 j worth of oats'from S80 acres of land. |} Although only 250 men can be }taken from Regina with the second | contingent, 1,000 have volunteered. | Thomas G. Cook was acquitted, | at Calgary, of the murder of Wil- 'Ham B. Crawford, at .Wainwright fon May 14. | Four thousand citizens of, Winn!- peg have signed a petition request- jing Mayor Deacon to stand for elec- ition again. The two-year-old son of Frank Fayres,*1546 Rae Street, Regina, ae bo in front of the wheels of a wa Mrs. Wilfr Ferrey, wife of postmaster at. ost a birth three five-pound triplets, two winls and one boy. Members of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association are set- ting aside one acre each to grow wheat upon next year for the pa- triotic fund. | A young Englishwoman who ad- 'vertised "with view to matrimony" in a Calgary paper has sixteen ap- plicauts for her hand already. and more are coming, DPD. M. Herron, | e | Creek, Alta. Biv en | a farmer, living 12 miles north of Calgary, raised a radish which weighed over four pounds and measured 20 inches in circumference. | Seisel, of Calgary, was brn- {tally murdered in Lansford, North | Da <ota, by robbers. He and a jcompanion were killed with rocks by two men, Mrs. Joseph Prost, 328 McDer- }mott Avenue, Winnipeg, the voung | English wife of an Italian, attempt- ed suicide with poison, but will re- cover. She is a native of Ply | mouth, Eng. Isaac, the eleven-year-old son of | | Jacob Gerezen, was killed when his ;arm caught in the belt of a gasoline engine fly wheel cn his father's a twelve miles south of Mor- den, Man. Two professors of the University of Saskatchewan, R. J. Bateman, M.A.. and Louis Brehant, M.; Se.. as well as the bursar, J. Eadon Reaney, have enlisted as pri- vates in the second contingent. | James Hampel. night clerk in the | Avenue Hotel, Winmipeg. was near- i murdered by a tramp who struck him over the head with a piece of lead pipe when refused permission to sleep in the cellar. . Fred. McGillivray, a blacksmith, jof Three Hills, Alta., while drunk and imprisoned in the local jail, set | fire to the-door with hopes of es- eaping. He was burned to death when the whole building was eaten the flames. * No Improvement. Ore night when her grandmvuther was putting her to bed three-vear- old Olive said: "Grandma, every night when I go to bed I ask the Lord to make brother Fred a good boy.' "That is rignt." said her grandmother. "But He hasn't done it yet," said Olive, soberly. It takes a strong-minded man to admit he is in the wrong when he is. Stranger-- Ho ow far is it from here to Farmer Brown's? Mr. Hays -- Ten patent medicine signs. Crawford (in dango e restaur- lant)-- Don't order I'm not hungry. [yes u will be hy the brings ib. time t} © waiter | John in 1214, The picture was taken at Ostend W every. ot Belgians Chased to Their Last Little Corner of TEEEIOEY: en the Germans were at hand, and shows refagees stranded because already been crowded with their st ancaniciniaa LONDON'S NEW LORD MAYOR A STEADFAST BLEILEVER IN CANADA'S FUTURE. Sir "Charles Johnston Has Many Friends : This Country. With the selection a short, time ago of Sir Charles Johnston, of the well-known shipping firm of Win- gate and Johnston, for the position of Lord Mayor of Londen, Canad- ians may be assured that within the metropolis of the E mpire the affairs of their country and the important part the Dominion is playing in the great Imperial movement will find the a attentive and friendly in- tere Sir Charles will fill the position of Lord Mayor with great distinc- tion. He is an ardent admirer of Canada and a steadfast believer in} ite future; and so he may be trus assist the development of that | Pa feeling that has grown up between Canadians and London business and professional men, many of whom have played an im- portant part jin obtaining -- those large loans which the Dominion has been so successful in floating on the London market. Father The position for which Sir Charles has been selected dates back to the portreeveships of Nor- man times. The. traditions that surround it and its intrinsic import- ance places the occupant in a sin- gularly influential position through- out the British Isles, where the name of Wingate and Johnston is very well known. The father of Sir Charles was a shipowner of Liver- pool, and the pfesent head of the family has played no unimportant part in maintaining and developing the commence of Britain upon the Beas. In 1907 Sir Charles became an alderman of Aldersgate and in 1910 and 1911 he was Sheriff of the i of London. In 1911 he was made knight, and he has always enn the trend of colonial and pete affairs with keen interest. The Gov- ernment of the city of London, of which he is now head, is not like the government of Canadian cities, for the reason that many things about it have an origin dating back hundreds of years. In Roman a Shipowner. Times. London was a place of import- ance under the Romans, and was famed for its vast conflux of trad- ers and its ab e even in the first century of 'the Christian era. From the Romans, it is said, it received municipal in- stitutions, which have endured in ther man features to the present day. In Saxon times it was in real- ity a smal! independent state, and its burgesses maintained their in- dependence even after the Battle of Hastings. William the Norman only gained possession of their city by means of a treaty with them, and about eight years after he granted a charter, which is still preserved. It is ad- dressed to William the Bishop, God frey the Portreeve, and all the burgesses, and promises that they shall be "Jaw worthy,"' i.e., posses: sed of privileges, as they were in the days of Edward the Confessor. Norman Title of Bailiff. The Portreeve, however, received the Norman title of bailiff, which in , 1191 was changed to Mayor, - | first holder under the new name b i | ing Henry F itzalwyn, who filled the On his death a ; new thatter' was granted by King which directed the Mayor to be chosen annually, 'Which has ever since been : done, hough in early times the same in- ividual often held the office more n once Thrice Lord Mayor. A familiar instance is that of "Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London" (in reality, four times, 1397, 1398, 1406, 1419), and modern Cases occur with Alderman Wood. 1615. 1816; Sir John Key, 1830, 1831; Alderman Cubitt, 1860, 1861, and Alderman Sir R. N. Fowler, 1883, 1885. The title of Lord Mayor is said to have been first bestowed in 1354 on Sir Thomas Legge, by Edward III. Aldermen were first appointed by a charter of Henry III. in 1242, and were elected annually between 1377 and 1394, when a. charter of Richard IJ. directed them to be chosen for life. The Common Coun cil was at an early date situated by a popular assembly called the Folk- mote. At first only two representa- tives were sent from each ward, but the number has since been greatly prey capes some wards having as "i ae 16 members and none less Sheriff's Saxon Officers. . Sheriffs (as well as aldermen) were Saxon officers, who usually had charge of a large district. _The time of their appointment for Lon- don is uncertain, but they appear in ancient records as early as A.D. 1330." At first they were only the officers - Crown, and. were named by the Barons of the Ex chequer, but King John gave them in the first vear of his reign per- Mission to choose their own sher- iffs. The citzens, however, lost this privilege, as far as the election of Sheriff of Middlesex is. concerned, by the Local Government Act, 1588, but they continue as heretofore. to choose the sheriffs of the city of London. : Lord Mayor's Show. They are appointed on Midsum- mer Day, and enter on office at Michaelmas on which day the Lord Mayor is elected. He is sworn into office on November 8, and on the following day presented to the Lord Chief Justice at the Roya! Courts of Justice, to take the final declar- ation of office--the pageant, con- ducted with some degree of civic state, being popularly known as the Lord Mayor's Show. * AUSTRIA PUNISHED. Vienna Full of Wounded Men--In- vasion of Cholera and Dysentery. When Austria so arrogantly made her demands upon Servia, late in July, the world regarded her as agreat Power wrongfully at tem voting to coerce a weaker nation. She was confident, of course, of her ability to compel Servia to her way of thinking, irrespective of the rights of the case. She thought she could repeat the coup by which she obtained possession of Bosnia and Herzegovina a few years before. ow she is stricken to the point of exhaustion. A correspondent at Rome sends a graphic description of the disaster that has overtaken her, Vienna is literally a great hospital. Barracks, schoo] houses, theatres, offices, the museum' and the rotunde of the famous Prater Park are all in use for the care of the wounded. Cholera and dysen- tery, the former in mild but the lat- ter in fatal form, have invaded the city. The public is beginning | to understand the failure of tke cam- paign. There are no evidences of 'patriotic passion. sympathy or enthusiasm." The empire is on the ragged edge of catastrophe. Its dissolution would be the natural outcome of its Jatest and most dis astrous military Sx permmient. Many a sermon om touches the spot is wordless. THE CZAR AND THE TAILOR. This Good Fortune of Khaim Kur- 'ichkess Reads Like Fairy Yale. An amusing account of the cir- cumstances that attended the order- of a military uniform by -the Cvar of Russia from a little Jewish tailor in the Crimea is given in the Argus. The Czar wished to wear uniform of the Crimean Dra- goons at a fete, but did not have one with him. He noticed, however, that the colonel] of the regiment uniform that fitted beauti- 2B wore a fully, and learned that the name of his tailor was Khaim Kurich- iets There was still time to have a uni- form made, and the Czar command- ed that the tailor be brought to him. When a handsome Braie car stop- ped outside the chkess door, there was surprise yar alarm in the household, which consisted of father and mother and nine chil- rok A cloaked officer descen and said in ep sentences to re dumfounded tail 'You must come vith me Don't be frightened! You'll kno where I'm taking sou!" You's Oe away. for several days! I can't bare without you; we've lost much ena roneyt Get dressed quick- TF irichikene obeyed. He was dri- ven to a house where a general of gendarmerie, whe showed a sur- prising knowledge cf antece- ents, cross-examined him as to his identity. He was assured that he need not be alarmed; he would be previded with a lodging. and the next day he would be told what he had to do. He must not try to es- cape for he would be watched The following morning a colonel entered his room and addressed him thus : "Great good texte has fallen upon you! His Majesty the Emper- or wishes vou to' make for him a uniform of the Crimean Dragoons. hope you won't make a mess of it. I will take you at once to the palace, where you will be admitted to the Czar's study to see his Ma- jesty's figure.' WHEN GENERALS BLUNDER DEGRADATION USUALLY FOL LOWS DEFEAT. The Cases of General. Stoessel -ai of Field-Marshal Bazaine of France. When General Yon Emrich... dx leader of the German army, found that after two week sti outside Liege 'he ; says Ideas, for he knew he Rad failed in his and his Kaiser's ae: pose. and he had good reason al yw of his master's rete eal welt m% those who suffered In China life is held and it is considered th greater things than life, and honor ia one of the m This is so all the world over. The Kaiser gave his army twe weeks to get to Paris, and at the end of that time they had no" quered Liegs, and t>«lay chances of visiting Paris are ex- tremely small, unless it is in the guise of prisoners, Life Luprioonment. Field-Marsha!l Bazains was sen- tenced to death by a French court martial, presided over by > share ay re the lac Duc d'Aumale, at Vi arsailles, having surrendered Metz to Germans in 1870, bis senience afterwards commutet '> -- life imprisonment. To this day name is regarded with exec: by every patriotic Frenchman, a spite his previous brilliant, services in France's many wars The Russian General Sfo#s-e! met a similar fate. He iprendered Port Arthur to the Japanese after a prolonged siege, «nd was sen- tenced to death on his return from captivity, his sentencs being com- muted at the last moment by the on the sparse charity of his poverty- stricken neighbors On the other hand, (feneral Kuro- patkin, upon whose al-ntiders rests the burden of the defeap of the great army under his oommand in Manchuria, has retained Ais posi- tion and is treated with the great- est regard and honor in Petrograd, The chief point in regard to Gen- eral Kuropatkin is diwt "'he «lie not order any surrender All the achievement sof his eig teen years' reign were ohiiterat when Napoleon III. aurrenderec | the battle of Sedan. r| the i whieh might he foes of his dynasty, the throne of occupying to-day rance. General Nazim Pasha Shot. The most callous and dastardly case on record of ici bing i cominan der is that of General ! P antin Pasha, known as the Pustiak In the Balkan waft he - himself well at the hia Turks. When, after he tion of his poorly-tr 'ioe returned to Constasdiric le pistolled by Enver Pasha su supporters. Eaves i reigns supreme at Minister of war. Osman Pasha Khazi, who detend- ad Plevna so. bravely in of 1877, met a better tuto. Plevna fet] hé was badly wou nded, but on his recovery he was eet free by the Russians, and whea he re turned to Consta: thinagde the Sy tan conferred upon him. many | ) Syteunebaen When 8. Marshal When the excited tailor was ush- ered into the royal study, the Czar MacMaton suff many defeats at the hands of ; Germans in the war of 1876, but looked up from a document he wasihis release from rantivity he wy reading, and saic | placed by the nation in commana "Oh, vou are res already! You! of the army and ulbtamaiely elected are Khaim Kurichkess. the tailor. ito the Presidency ; m hia death he I want you to make me a uniform! was mourned by all Fone of the Crimean Dragoon s. Do your | The British military y iaw ia vers best, and see that it is a good fit. | strict about surrendering, and the When his work was finished and the Czar was pleased with the fit, Kurichkess refused to accept any- thing in payment, but the colonel insisted that, according to law, he was obliged to receive fifty rubles for his expenses. Moreover, the minister of the cgurt was ware that Kurichkess was in debt, and had ordered the officer to give the tailor an envelope containing three hundred rubles. Curichkess was driven home in a motor, and some days later an im- perial messenger shop a case containing a gold wateh _ and chain. The double eagle was engraved on the watch. which also bore the inseriptic m. "Te Kain Kurichkess,-for zea! 7 a A drummer telis of seting a Sign in a railwy woecar aut west whic! read: 'Do not put your feet an the eushions."' To which a sarcastic wag had added in pencil: 'or yo will dirty your beots."' Billy, while being reprimanded <lemean- by his teacher for some ba standing or, sat down. leaving h "Yr She reminded him man should seat hi lady with whom he is ¢ f maing standi ng. "But this is a lec- that ne ture," repli ed Bill, '"'and I am the audience 'He's a perfect duck «i tor."' ae heaven's sake people SC "Why net & ally, hee ay think he don't s a quack." brought to his! ;existing Army Act, section 5. pres jeribes heavy penalties for anyene ; who is taken prisoner bhoougs lack lof caution, disobethience of ere for wilful ne gleot A daity Honor or theath i In all the navies of the ad, j practically, a commandar whe Mar i renders his craft to the enemy ren jders himself, ipso facto, lable to court-martial. .wtbh alinost mnevita ; ble disgrace to follow, { take ; Last year an order was issued j the name of the Tzar bo the 2 jnavy that commamdens of warships imust sink their veasela with a m ! board rather than surrender t« he j enemy. | The most recent caso of ° honor for death" ia the sneide «of the {commanding general of the wth | Russian Army (Corps | A non-commissioned officer and five men on bicyele whe iad been atched-~ froan toparal Hinden- gs army, were advance along main road wher "sh 1eard the ind of an appreashi ag Miter car. y shouted te dhe oba fe IY tO step, but he igaoted theap poand was a tn hand, ihe ks oh> oar, reaoh tbhlone ¢ in the caw 5; heack ated died in- rushed toware ihe could Russian officers } self through the i stantly. 1 The other Russian and the dead | ge neral were taken: to ¢! ead 9 sre. obs of a German reciment, | bu but. any triumph of eapt at | comp letely discounted by the banon able heroism of the Russian con : ateder K zar"to military dese: viation and imprisonment. Te-tay General Stoessel lives in a small garret in ~ Petrograd, shunned hy all, existing

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