The Coldstream Guards

I recently met up with retired Col Anthony Jacques previously of the Coldstream Guards to congratulate him on his participation in the recent Coldstream Guards March from Coldsteam to London to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of General Moncks march to London in 1660 and to give him a cheque for £50.00 (For the regiment’s Afghanistan Appeal), which was collected at the Rangers Vs Celtic game at the beginning of January at the Red Lion.

The march, as mentioned above, held to commemorate the THREE hundred and fiftieth anniversary of General Monck and his 6000 troops march from a cold and frosty Coldstream to march to London where they helped restore the monarch to the throne, and a contingent of Coldstream Guards set out on exactly the same 425 mile journey in similar conditions on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.

Led by Major James Coleby the 7th Company Coldstream Guards were given a rousing send off from Coldstream by local residents and 30 members of the Old Coldstream Corp of Drums who escorted them to Coldstream Bridge, as they headed for Berwick on the first leg of their 24 day journey.

The Corps of Drums, some of whom had travelled from as far away as the Isle of Wight, waited for the soldiers at the entrance to Henderson Park, where Brigadier Jonathan Bourne-May took the salute and formally requested permission to march on London.

"You have an arduous and challenging task ahead of you," Brigadier Bourne-May told the troops.

Monck's actions helped restore the monarchy to the throne. It was an act which was the cornerstone of the modern British army, and an act of great significance.

For the Coldstreamers 350 years ago the weather was very similar, the chaplain at the time recorded that the frost was great and the snow greater and they saw no bare earth from here to London.

General George Monck's actions in taking his troops to London in the final days of Cromwell's rule, helped restore the monarchy, and Charles II, to the throne.

This earned him a dukedom and his army became known as the Coldstream Guards – today the oldest regiment of the British Army.

Brigadier Bourne-May went on to add that he had spoken to his counterpart with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, currently in Afghanistan, who wished the soldiers good luck with their march south.

Also at the ceremony was the vicar of Berwick, Rev Alan Hughes who told the guardsmen that he had been sent by the Mayor and Freemen of Berwick to invite them to attend a service of welcome at Berwick Parish Church on the Wednesday evening "that we might honour your epic endeavour and pray for a safe and successful outcome, as you raise funds for The Army Benevolent Fund".

Rev Hughes, a former Coldstream Guard, said: "On January 1, 1660, 360 years ago this week, as heavy snow covered the ground and in biting wind, your forebears, led by General George Monck, plunged into the icy water of the River Tweed here at Coldstream to begin a 34 day march south to London to restore the Stuart throne.

"Charles II was restored as king, largely due to Monck's heroic men. Nicknamed 'The Coldstreamers', we were the only regiment to survive when the New Model Army was disbanded in 1661.

The Coldstream Guards arrived at Tower Hill on January 30, doing the journey eight days quicker than General Monck's men.

A number of the soldiers taking part in the march will be heading off for tour of duty in Afghanistan soon afterwards and this 400+ mile walk 'Exercise Enduring Guardsmen', undertaken in wintry weather, is part of their preparation to deal with conditions out there.

The Old Coldstreamer Corps of Drums, playing fifes and drums, led the parade from Henderson Park down to Coldstream Bridge led by Sgt Colum Keenan, instructor at Catterick Army School of Ceremonial. They stepped aside when they reached the Scottish end of the bridge, and the soldiers were cheered on their way as they marched over onto English soil.

The band returned to the town centre where they gave a concert in the Newcastle Arms later the same morning, while the soldiers carried on their journey to Berwick.
When they left Berwick the following morning weather conditions were little better, and the young soldiers were definitely being tested, marching in one of the longest stretches of snow and ice the country has seen for some year.
On 30th January 2010 some 100 members arrived at the Tower of London, after setting off
The march moving forward from Berwick-upon-Tweed, made its way through Newcastle, Durham, York, Selby, Doncaster, Worksop, Mansfield, Loughborough, Market Harborough, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Dunstable, St Albans, Barnet and Woolwich in south-east London before arriving to a tumultuous welcome  at the Tower of London .
They were joined by military mascot Baxterbear and slept under canvas or stayed at Territorial Army centres on the route.  Now that is quite a name for a mascot!

Many thanks to all those who contributed.

Tom