Unfortunately, the “splash” which used to be worn on the buttons of this regiment to commemorate the action of the men in firing away buttons torn from their tunics on an occasion when all the ammunition was spent, is not immortalised on the colours.
The Manchester Regiment.—Facings, white, except for the 6th battalion, which are yellow.
R.C.—The Sphinx, superscribed “Egypt,” placed below the union wreath.
The battle honours are: Guadaloupe, 1759, 1810; Egmont-op-Zee; Martinique, 1809; Peninsula; Alma; Inkerman; Sevastopol; New Zealand; Afghanistan, 1879–80; Egypt, 1882; South Africa, 1899–1902; Defence of Ladysmith.
The Prince of Wales’s (North Staffordshire Regiment).—Facings, white, except for the 6th battalion, which are blue.
R.C.—The Prince of Wales’s Plume. The Dragon, superscribed “China,” placed beneath the union wreath.
The honorary distinctions are: Guadaloupe, 1759; Martinique, 1794; St. Lucia, 1803; Surinam; Punjaub; Persia; Reshire; Bushire; Koosh-ab; Lucknow; Hafir; South Africa, 1900–02.
The regiment, with its colours, nearly suffered disaster when on board the “Alert,” which was wrecked off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The men fell in on the lower deck, and awaited their fate, but, almost by a miracle, the vessel was brought into port and all were saved. The Duke of Wellington paid a high compliment to this gallant regiment, by decreeing that an account of the disaster and its happy sequel should be read to all the units of the Army.
The York and Lancaster Regiment.—Facings, white.
R.C.—The Union Rose, in the central badge, the Royal Tiger, superscribed “India,” below the union wreath.