A substantial regimental history of a distinguished unit down to the South African War a century ago, and of its two disbanded predecessors. The first '85th', the 'Royal Volunteers' was raised in 1759 and took part in the capture of the French island of Belleisle in the Bay of Biscay and also served in Spain and Portugal during the Seven Years' War before being disbanded in 1763. The second unit to bear the numerals '85', the Westminster Volunteers, had a truly tragic fate. IThis 85th was raised in 1779 and served in Jamaica where the ravages of Yellow Fever took such a toll that the remnants...
A substantial regimental history of a distinguished unit down to the South African War a century ago, and of its two disbanded predecessors. The first...
