Nicknames and notes on British units in the Peninsula

 Nicknames and notes on British units in the Peninsula

https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/c_nickname.html

When I get the flags for the various battalions I should make note of these nicknames. Maybe put a small note on the command base about it. 

Also https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/Britain/Infantry/WellingtonsRegiments/c_WellingtonsregimentsIntro.html

This has notes on the individual regiments  

Notes on the Cavalry regiments: https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/Britain/Cavalry/Wellington'sCavalry/c_Wellington'sCavalryIntro.html

For my reference, the link to the page has full information

Nicknames of the Divisions

During the Peninsula War, the British Army was organized into eight infantry divisions. Each division had a nickname, usually based upon some action they had participated in.

Division	Nickname	Reason for Nickname
1st Division	Gentlemen Sons	It had the Guards Brigade assigned to it.
2nd Division	Observing Division	It was often on detached duty in Estremadura and missed most of the battles between 1810 & 1813
	Surprisers	For its action taking the French by surprise at Arroyo Molinos & Almaraz
3rd Division	Fighting Division	Was always in the middle of the hardest fighting
4th Division	Supporting Division	Supported the 2nd Division in Estremadura in 1810 & 1811
	Enthusiastics	For its conduct in the battle of the Pyrenees
5th Division	Pioneers	Unknown; possibly involved in road building
6th Division	Marching Division	Was in many of the campaigns of 1810 - 1812, but until Salamanca did not see much action
7th Division	Mongrels	It was a mixed division, with very few British regiments in it
Light Division	"The Division"	Name given by the members of this division to it, because its reputation as a fighting force
	Light Bobs	Traditional name for any light infantry force

Cavalry Regiments

Regiment	Nickname	First Used	Reason for Nickname
Household Cavalry	Unfortunate Gentlemen	Unknown	Unknown
The Life Guards	The Cheeses	1788	After a reduction in social qualifications for recruiting officers, the members of the regiment declared that they were 'no longer gentlemen but cheesemongers' ie 'tradesmen'
	The Cheesemongers	1815	Same as above
	The Piccadilly Butchers	1810	Were used to quell the Burdett riots during which one rioter was killed
	Roast and Boil	Peninsula	Because they were part of the Guard & thought to be better fed than the Line
Royal Horse Guards	The Blues	1660	Color of uniform
1st Dragoon Guards	The Trades Union	1800s	Used to quell trade riots
	The Royals	1800s	Regimental Name
2nd Dragoon Guards	The Bays	1600s/1700s	Color of Horses
	Rusty Buckles	1700s	Because of a less than spectacular parade in Ireland
3rd Dragoon Guards	The Old Canaries	1600s/1700s	Color of facings
4th Dragoon Guards	The Blue Horse	1746	Color of facings
5th Dragoon Guards	The Green Horse	1700s	Color of facings
	The Green Dragoons	1700s	Color of facings
	The Old Farmers	1700s/1800s	Due to 80 years spent in Ireland
7th Dragoon Guards	The Black Horse	1700s	Color of facings
	The Virgin Mary's Bodyguard	1700s/1800s	Sent by George II to assist Maria Theresa, of Austria.
1st Dragoons	The Bird Catchers	1815	Captured an Eagle at Waterloo
2nd Dragoons	The Greys	1700s/1800s	Color of uniforms when first raised. Also color of horses.
	The Bird Catchers	1815	Captured an Eagle at Waterloo
6th Dragoons	The Old Inniskillings	1750s	Regimental Badge had Inniskilling Castle on it.
	The Skillingers	1700s/1800s	Slang for Inniskilling
	The Inniskillings	Peninsula	From Badge
7th Hussars	The Saucy Seventh	1809	Because of high uniform standards
11th Light Dragoons	The Cherry Pickers	1811	Detachment captured by French whilst picking cherries and had to fight dismounted
12th Light Dragoons	The Supple Twelfth	1812	Because of high standards of training that led to their superb performance at Salamanca
13th Light Dragoons	The Lily-Whites	1784	Due to white stripe on overalls.
	The Ragged Brigade	Peninsula	Due to worn out equipment and clothing
14th Light Dragoons	Hawks	1812	Eagle on shako plate resembled a hawk
	The Emperor's Chambermaids	1813	Captured King Joseph's chamberpot at Vitoria
15th Light Dragoons/Hussars	Eliott's Light Horse	1759	Reference to George Augustus Eliott, Lord Heathfield who raised them to help quell a strike by journeymen tailors - see next nickname.
	The Tabs	1759	Reference to number recruits who joined the regiment when it was raised who were formerly journeymen tailors by trade; a Tab was a nickname for a journeyman (one who was employed by another) tailor and a reference to the small piece of cloth that the tailor used to incorporate into clothing to identify his work.
17th Light Dragoons	The Horse Marines	1795	Because a detachment served on the HMS Hermione
18th Light Dragoons	Drogheda Light Horse	1759	Originally from Ireland
Light Dragoons	Young Eyes	Peninsula	Given to them by Foot Guards

Infantry Regiments

Regiment	Nickname	First Used	Reason for Nickname
Foot Guards	Old Eyes	Peninsula	Given to them by Light Dragoons
1st Foot Guards	The Tow-Rows	Unknown	From the regimental march
	The Coalers	1600s	The regiment's officers once hired the men out to 'heave' coal to raise money to refurbish the officers' mess at St James' Palace.
2nd (Coldstream) Foot Guards	Coldstreamers	1600s	Recruited from Coldstream, Scotland
1st Foot	Pontius Pilate's Bodyguards	1630s	It is the oldest regiment in the British army. Originally Régiment de Douglas; when in French service, the story goes that at a regimental 'function', to which officers of the Régiment Picardy had been invited, a dispute arose concerning which regiment was the oldest. An officer from the Régiment Picardy claimed that his regiment was the oldest in any army, anywhere, and that the Régiment Picardy had been on duty on the night following the Crucifixion. He then promptly passed out. An officer of the Douglas' replied that the Picardies must have been asleep at their posts, and that if the Régiment de Douglas had been on duty Christ would not have been crucified. Now, the flawed logic of this will not have escaped you, since on the night following the Crucifixion the deed was already done and, as a result they received the nickname.
2nd Foot	Kirke's Lamb	1682	Regimental badge is the Paschal Lamb and they were commanded by a Colonel Kirke
3rd Foot	The Buffs	1700s/1800s	Because of their facing color
	The Resurrectionists	1810	Because of the large number of wounded men and those who escaped from the French who returned after Albuera
	Resurrection Men	1810	Same as above
4th Foot	The Lions	1685	Regimental badge had a lion
5th Foot	The Fighting Fifth	Peninsula	Wellington's comment "The ever fighting, often tried, but never failing fifth."
	Wellington's Bodyguard	Peninsula	Often served as the Army HQ guard
	The Old and Bold	c1808	Because of service at Rolica
6th Foot	Saucy 6th	1790s	Because of high recruiting standards
7th Foot	The Elegant Extracts	1685	When the regiment was raised, the officers came from many different regiments
8th Foot	The Leather Hats	c1780	Used civilian hats during American War of Independence
9th Foot	The Fighting Ninth	c1808	Unknown
	The Holy Boys	Peninsula	Spanish thought the figure of Britannia on their shako plate was the Virgin Mary
10th Foot	The Yellow Bellies	1700s/1800s	After the Yellow Belly frog that lives in the Lincolnshire Fens
	The Springers	1776	Was used as light infantry during the American War of Independence
11th Foot	Bloody Eleventh	1812	Due to heavy casualties at Salamanca (340 of 412)
12th Foot	The Old Twelfth	1700s	Number of Regiment
	The Old Dozen	1700s	Number of Regiment
14th Foot	Calvert's Entire	c1806	Colonel was Sir Harry Calvert and had three battalions from 1806 to 1824
15th Foot	The Snappers	1777	At the Battle of Brandywine the regiment ran short of ball which was distributed to the best shots, whilst the remainder 'snapped' powder charges only.
16th Foot	The Old Bucks	1700s/1800s	From Buckinghamshire and senior to the 85th Regiment
17th Foot	The Tigers	c1804	For service in India; its regimental badge was the Bengal Tiger.
18th Foot	Paddy's Blackguards	1684	Was an Irish Regiment
	The Namurs	1695	For service at Namur
19th Foot	The Green Howards	1740	Because of facing color and their colonel was named Howard
20th Foot	Kingsley's Stand	1759	Having been stood-down by the Duke of Brunswick and placed in reserve due to casualties after Minden, Major General Kingsley, also Colonel of the regiment, declined to obey the order with the words "Kingsley's Regiment, at its own request will resume its portion of duty in the line."
	The Two Tens	1700s/1800s	Because their regimental number was always shown in Roman numerals thus XX
	The Minden Boys	1700s/1800s	Service at Minden
	Young Fusiliers	1800s	Possibly because they joined the Fusilier Brigade in 1812
21st Foot	Grey Breeks	1600s/1700s	When first raised, wore grey trousers
22nd Foot	The Red Knights	1795	Uniform was entirely red: coat, waistcoat and trousers
	The Two Twos	1800s	Because of regimental number
23rd Foot	Nanny Goats	1800s	Mascot was a goat
	Royal Goats	1800s	Mascot was a goat
24th Foot	Howard's Greens	1737	To prevent confusion with 19th Foot, who also had green facings and a colonel called Howard
27th Foot	The Skins	c1800	Corruption of Inniskilling, from where they were recruited
28th Foot	The Slashers	1775	At the Battle of White Plains, the regiment had to leave its muskets behind to climb a cliff and drove the rebels from their positions with their short swords. Alternatively, soldiers of 28th are alleged to have cut off the ear of an anti-British magistrate in Montreal in 1764.
	The Silver Tailed Dandies	Peninsula	Officers' coat-tails were apparently longer than regulation and had ornate silver decorations on them
29th Foot	The Firms	Peninsula	For standing Firm at Albuera
30th Foot	The Three Tens	1700s/1800s	Because of regimental number
31st Foot	The Young Buffs	c1760	Because of facing color they were mistaken by George II for 3rd Foot who greeted them with "Bravo Buffs" at Dettingen. On being told that they were not the 'Old Buffs' but the 31st Foot, he replied "then bravo Young Buffs."
33rd Foot	Havercake Lads	1700s/1800s	A havercake is an oat pancake very popular in the West of Yorkshire, which was (and is) the main recruiting area for the 33rd Foot, later Duke of Wellington's and now the Yorkshire Regiment.
34th Foot	Cumberland Gentlemen	Peninsula	Large officers from Cumberland
35th Foot	Prince of Orange's Own	1700s/1800s	William III (of Orange) gave them their orange regimental distinctives
36th Foot	The Grasshoppers	1700s/1800s	Facing color was grass green
39th Foot	The Green Linnets	1700s	Possibly because of facing color
40th Foot	Fighting Fortieth	1700	Unknown
	The Exellers	1700s/1800s	The regimental number in Roman numerals was XL
41st Foot	The Invalids	1787	Was originally raised as an invalid regiment
42nd Foot	The Forty-twa	1700s/1800s	Because of regimental number
44th Foot	Little Fighting Fours	Peninsula	Because the regiment had a large number of short men
45th Foot	Old Stubborns	c1809	Because of service at Talavera
46th Foot	The Red Feathers	1777	At Brandywine Creek, the regiment's light company defeated a group of rebels who swore revenge. In order that they not be confused with another regiment the 46th stained their plumes red
47th Foot	The Cauliflowers	c1740	White facings
	Wolfe's Own	1700s	Served under Wolfe at Quebec
50th Foot	The Dirty Half-Hundred	1700s/1800s	Because black facings ran after they got wet
	The Blind Half-Hundred	1801	Because of large number of ophthalmia cases while serving in Egypt
53rd Foot	The Old Five and Threepennies	1700s/1800s.	Because of regimental number
	The Red Regiment	1820	Name given by Napoleon to then when they guarded him on St. Helena
54th Foot	The Popinjays	1700s/1800s	Green shade of their facings
	The Flamers	1781	Burned 12 privateers at New London
55th Foot	The Cattle Reavers	1700s/1800s	Recruited from border region of England and Scotland; reavers were cattle thieves
	The Two Fives	1700s	Because of regimental number
56th Foot	The Pompadours	1755	Because of their purple facings
57th Foot	The Steelbacks	c1760	Had a reputation for being a flogging regiment
	The Diehards	1811	Cry to men of regimental commander who laid serious wounded at Albuera
58th Foot	The Honeysuckers	1813	Were caught stealing beehives by Wellington and were flogged.
	The Steelbacks	1813	Were caught stealing beehives by Wellington and were flogged.
59th Foot	The Lilywhites	1700s/1800s	Because of facing color
60th Foot	Jaggers	Peninsula	Regiment was mostly Germans; corruption of jaegers.
61st Foot	The Flowers of Toulouse	1814	Regiment's heavy casualties at Toulouse were very apparent due to new uniform coats on the dead
62nd Foot	The Springers	1776	Were used as light infantry to pursue rebels at Trois Rivières in Canada
62nd Foot	The Splashers	1758	Regiment had to use their buttons for ammunition when they ran out of ball at the defence of Carrickfergus; their buttons thereafter had a dent or 'splash' in them in commemoration
	The Moonrakers	1700s/1800s	Moonrakers is a nickname of people from the county of Wiltshire in south-west England. Legend says that two smugglers were caught by excise officers retrieving kegs of brandy they had hidden in a pond and told the officers that they were attempting to retrieve a cheese, the reflection of the moon in the water (hence raking the moon).
63rd Foot.	The Bloodsuckers	1808	The Fleur-de-lys shako badge bore a similarity in appearance to the blood-sucking insects in the West Indies that spread the disease which virtually wiped out the regiment
64th Foot	The Black Knots	c1760	Had black facing color and regimental badge had heraldic device of Lord Stafford -- a knot
69th Foot	The Ups and Downs	1700s/1800	Because of regimental number
	The Old Agamemnons	c1790	Served as marines on the HMS Agamemnon; nickname supposedly given to them by Admiral Nelson
71st Foot	The Assaye Regiment	1803	For service at Assaye where all 17 officers and 384 men out of 550 were casualties; the remnant being command by a sergeant-major
72nd Foot	The Wild Macraes	c1780	Originally recruited from the Clan Macrae
76th Foot	The Old Imortals	c1790	Because of high casualties during Lake's campaigns in India. The Seven and Sixpennies 1700s/1800s: after the number - seven shillings and a sixpence in pre-decimal currency.
	The Seven and Sixpennies	1700s/1800s	Because of its number - seven shillings and a sixpence
77th Foot	The Pot Hooks	1700s/1800s	Their number '7' looked like a pot-hook
78th Foot	The King's Men	c1793	Because the regimental motto 'Cuidich'n Righ' means 'Help to the King'.
83rd Foot	Fitch's Grenadiers	c1795	Raised by Lieutenant Colonel Fitch
85th Foot	The Young Bucks	1700s/1800s	From Buckinghamshire, but junior to the 16th Foot which was also from that county
	The Elegant Extracts	1811	A large number of officers were court-martialed and had to be replaced by officers from other regiments.
86th Foot	Royal County Downs	1792	An Irish Regiment
87th Foot	Blayney's Bloodhounds	1798	Hunted rebels in Ireland under Lord Blaney
	The Faughs	1700s/1800s	From their motto "Faugh-a-Ballagh" (Clear the Way)
	Aigle Catchers	1811	Captured an Eagle at Barosa
	The Aiglers	1811	Captured an Eagle at Barosa
88th Foot	Devil's Own	1700s/1800s	Unknown
92nd Foot	Gay Gordon's	1790s	Unknown
95th Foot:	The Rifles	1800s	Becaused they carried a rifle.
	Manningham's Sharpshooters	1800	When the unit was formed it did not have a regimental number.
	The Sweeps	c.1802	The uniform was such a dark green they resembled chimney sweeps.
	The Grasshoppers	Peninsula	Because of their green uniform
96th Foot	The Ups and Downs	1803	Because of their regimental number
97th Foot	The Celestials	1798	Because of blue facings
99th Foot	The Nines	1700s/1800s	Hence the expression 'dressed up to the nines'. The officers of regiment were considered particularly sartorial).
Brunswick Oels	Death or Glory Men	Peninsula	Death Head Skull on Shako
	Owls	Peninsula	Corruption of Oels
Kings German Legion Light Battalions	Halkett's Green Germans	Peninsula	Halkett was brigade commander

Miscellaneous

Royal Horse Artillery	Right of the Line	Unknown
	Galloping Gunners	Unknown	Because they rode horses
Corps of Drivers, Artilley	Wee Gees	Peninsula	Sound made to turn horses
Commissariat Train	Newgate Blues	1795	Uniforms were blue and they recruited from the Newgate area where there was a prison. (The train drivers were considered to be thieves.)
Highland Soldiers	Rories	Peninsula	Unknown