Soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment have continued one of the British Army’s oldest battlefield traditions, wearing red and yellow roses in memory of the men who fought in one of the most remarkable victories of the Seven Years’ War.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment marked Minden Day at Kendrew Barracks in Rutland earlier this month, keeping alive a military tradition whose origins stretch back to the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759.
Known as “The Vikings”, the battalion commemorates the battle each year in honour of its predecessors in the 12th Regiment of Foot, which later became the Suffolk Regiment.
Sgt Paul Randall RLC Copyright: UK MOD © Crown copyright
The Battle of Minden was fought in what is now Germany during the Seven Years’ War, a global conflict which pitted Britain and its allies against France and other European powers.
On 1 August 1759, an Allied army commanded by Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, faced a larger French force near the town of Minden.
What followed became one of the most celebrated episodes in the history of the British infantry.
According to the National Army Museum, a brigade of British and Hanoverian infantry misunderstood its orders and advanced prematurely towards the French lines, exposing itself to heavy artillery fire and repeated attacks by French cavalry.
Rather than breaking under the assault, the infantry held its ground.
The advancing soldiers went on to drive back French cavalry formations, helping to secure a major Allied victory. The National Army Museum records that the battle lasted around five hours, with Allied losses of roughly 3,000 men and French losses running into several thousand more.
The performance of the infantry was so striking that French commander Marshal de Contades expressed astonishment at seeing a line of infantry successfully break through successive lines of cavalry.
The victory might have been still greater had the Allied cavalry under Lord George Sackville followed orders to advance. Sackville’s failure to do so became one of the great controversies of the battle and he was subsequently recalled to Britain in disgrace.
Why British soldiers wear roses on Minden Day
Six British infantry regiments took part in the famous advance at Minden, including the 12th Regiment of Foot.
The National Army Museum confirms that the successor units of those regiments continue to mark the anniversary by wearing roses, recalling the flowers said to have been plucked by soldiers from hedgerows as they advanced towards the battlefield.
The tradition gave Minden the enduring association with the “Battle of the Roses”.
For the Royal Anglians, the connection comes through the 12th Foot, which was renamed the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot in 1782 and eventually became part of the Suffolk Regiment.
That lineage ultimately passed into the modern Royal Anglian Regiment.
The 1st Battalion continues to commemorate Minden Day every 1 August, and the battle honour “Minden” remains part of its regimental heritage.
This year, soldiers at Kendrew Barracks were presented with the traditional red and yellow roses by Major General Dom Biddick, Colonel of the Regiment and a former Commanding Officer of the battalion.
Major General Biddick told soldiers that the flowers represented far more than a colourful regimental custom.
“The tradition of wearing roses on Minden Day reminds us of the soldiers of the Suffolk Regiment who fought through the fields of Minden and serves as a powerful and enduring symbol of sacrifice, bravery and duty,” he said.
He told those gathered that today’s soldiers remained part of the same military inheritance as the generations who had served before them.
“We are part of the same red line that has protected our nation over centuries,” he said. “We reflect on the courage, professionalism and sacrifices of our predecessors and we commit to uphold them.”
More than 260 years of regimental history
The Royal Anglian Regiment today consists of two Regular battalions and an Army Reserve battalion, drawing its identity from a collection of historic county regiments from across the East of England.
The British Army lists the 1st Battalion, The Vikings, as being based at Kendrew Barracks, Cottesmore.
Minden occupies a particularly important place in the history of the battalion because of its Suffolk ancestry. The National Army Museum records that the 12th Foot was one of the six British infantry regiments which fought at Minden and notes that the Royal Anglian Regiment continues to commemorate the victory each year.
Other successor units elsewhere in the British Army also maintain their own Minden traditions.
The custom is therefore an unusual living link between soldiers serving in the modern British Army and men who went into battle more than two and a half centuries ago.
Major General Biddick also used this year’s commemoration to recognise the families who support serving personnel.
“Military service is not delivered solely by those who wear the uniform,” he said.
“It is shared and enabled by the support and spirit of parents, spouses, partners, children and friends. Your resilience, patience and encouragement allow our soldiers to succeed.”
He also thanked those responsible for organising the commemorations, pointing out that maintaining such regimental occasions required considerable work behind the scenes.
The battalion held its main commemoration ahead of the official 1 August anniversary before soldiers began their summer leave.
A separate Minden Day event was also scheduled by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Bury St Edmunds on 1 August.
More than 267 years after British soldiers advanced across the fields outside Minden, the roses remain a small but powerful reminder of the men who went before them — and of the traditions still binding generations of the British Army together.
Images: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
