THE WELSH FUSILIERS AT ALBUERA. (To THE Enema or the
" Seeceithe."1 Sut,—In the eighth volume of the Hon. J. W. Fortesthe's History of the British Army, reviewed in the Spectator of July 28th, the author, in describing the battle of Albuera, writes (I am quoting from the Spectator)
" Whence came the spirit which made a handful of English battalions—for not a single Scots or Irish regiment was present— content to die where they stood rather than give way one inch P' 'I should like to point out that, if there was not a single Scots or Irish regiment present, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (the 23rd) were there, and that they along with the 7th formed the Fusilier
Brigade, "that astonishing infantry "of Napier, Why, may I ask, should Mr. Forteseue omit all reference to the presence of the Welsh troops, while carefully pointing out that there were no Scotch or frith troops present P This omission may be an over.. eight on his part, and elsewhere in his work he may be giving their due to the Welsh regiments. Still, it seems to be the studied intention of most English military writers to minimize, or rather to leave unmentioned, the excellent work of the Welsh regiments in all the ware of Britain. Even during the present war, as revealed recently in Parliament, the War Office or the Censor has apparently been at pain. to conceal the exploits of our Welsh troops. Why thus irritate the sensibilities of the Welsh people P It doe. no good, but may do a great deal of harm. As the result of a question asked by a Welsh Member of Parliament, the papers published articles by war correspondents on the :splendid work of the Welshmen in the field—articles which officialdom had until then deliberately withheld from publication. " Good wine needs no bush," it is true, but the Welsh nation, which, it is said, contri- buted more men under the voluntary system to our New Armies in proportion to its numbers than any other part of the Empire. is anxious to see full justice done to its sons, and most naturally resents the quite uncalled-for attempts that are being made to
deny them this justice.—I am, Sir, Sc.. Crime.
Caracas, August 31st.
[We cannot conceive that there is any deliberate suppreision. What is Mr. Lloyd George Prime :Minister for ? We remember many mentions of Welsh troops in Mr. ROTtOS0110'11 writings.— ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
