The Colours of the 44th Foot
Article by David Preece. Research by David Preece, Liam Telfer & Steven Hars
Drawings of the Colours of the 44th Foot by Liam Telfer.
Recently there has been a lot of work within the Society with relation to the appearance of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot’s stand of Colours as they would have appeared throughout our period of interest. What would these have looked like, are the Colours that the Society has presently the correct design, is the research of others, particularly the wargaming community upon whose work our current Colours are produced correct, or is this mistaken?
This research is faced with a number of issues, not least that there was little standardisation in the army of the time beyond the size and shape, as well as their being one King’s Colour and one Regimental, though there are exceptions to this within certain Regiments. We aimed to, first and foremost, identify the correct design that should have been withing the centre of the Colours, the period motif and compare it to our own reproduction colours that were based on other’s research. If possible, we wanted to answer questions about their construction and how that central design was added to the main body of the Colour itself - was this via embroidery or was it painted on? Furthermore, did the design vary by Battalion? Although we managed to answer some of these questions to our satisfaction, work on the remainder is ongoing.
Our first visit was to Warley Chapel in Brentwood, where the Colours of the 44th from various conflicts are laid up. They are high up in the ceiling and not very accessible. The first thing to note is that the remains of both Colours carried by 2/44 were present, the battalion that we most regularly portray, which should help to uncover any obvious distinctions reflecting that it was a second battalion. From our trip, it quickly became apparent that there was very little left of the King’s Colour from the period. The piece adjacent to the pole remained (image 2) but most of the Colours, other than a small section removed by a French Lance at Quatre Bras (image 1), was missing. Helpfully, someone has drawn an artist’s impression of the complete colours where this small remnant is displayed, though this caused more questions than answers as will be seen below. This design has the 44th insignia in the centre of the colours within a shield, annotated ‘2Battn’ and ‘XLIV’ for the Regiment’s number.
Moving to the Regimental Colour, this is in far better condition, though detailed study is difficult due to its location in the roof of the chapel. What is apparent is that there is circular design in the centre in the form of a belt upon which the words ‘EAST ESSEX’ are visible. The centre of the circle is occupied with a design that we struggled to make out, but appeared to be a ‘44’. This was at odds with the drawing at image 3 as well as the remainder of the colours of the 44th on display, all of which seemed to show an ‘XLIV’ where the cypher was still intact. This caused much scratching of heads and, puzzled, we resolved to view other contemporary Colours from other Regiments to see if there was a common theme. Unfortunately, this did not show us definitively either way. An extract from the Royal Warrant of 1768, appeared to indicate that the Roman Numerals were correct. Though this was earlier than our period, it was felt that it was significant enough to guide our thinking.
‘According to the Royal Warrant of 1768:
The King's, or first colour of every regiment, is to be the Great Union throughout.
The second Colour to be the colour of the facing of the regiment, with the Union in the upper canton; except those regiments which are faced with red, white, or black. The second colour of those regiments which are faced with red or white, is to be the red cross of St. George in a white field, and the Union in the upper canton. The second colour of those which are faced with black, is to be St. George's cross throughout; Union in the upper canton; the three other cantons, black.
In the center of each colour is to be painted, or embroidered, in gold Roman characters, the number of the rank of the regiment, within the wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk; except those regiments which are allowed to wear any royal devices, or ancient badges; on whose colours the rank of the regiment is to be painted, or embroidered, towards the upper corner. The size of the colours to be six feet six inches flying, and six feet deep on the pike. The length of the pike (spear and ferril included) to be nine feet ten inches. The cords and tassels of the whole to be crimson and gold mixed.’ (https://www.redcoat.org)
Another element of the Colours that appeared clear from viewing the Regimental Colour, was that the Sphynx was both present and separate from the central cypher, with its own laurel wreath surrounding it and the word ‘EGYPT’ clearly visible. Based on our observations and research, Liam Telfer mocked up two designs of possible revised colours with the XLIV central element. There was debate over the King’s Colour and whether this should mirror the Regimental. Although it is not always a given that the two match, with the lack of specific direction or any evidence to the contrary, it was decided that this was the most appropriate conclusion given the information we had. From the Regimental Colour, it was clear there were words within the circle and it was concluded this might be ‘2nd Bn’ or similar, matching that of the artist’s impression in image 3. With regards to one of the other questions we’d set ourselves, it was apparent that the Colours were sewn silk as we’d expected, the union flag appearing to be sewn into the upper canton of the Regimental Colour too. However, we were hindered by the distance to the colours hanging in the roof, the piece of the King’s that was more accessible containing only the cloth of that Colour with none of the central embellishments. It appeared from our observations, that the design was painted onto cloth which may have then been sewn directly onto the rest of the Colours themselves. This was by no means conclusive and research into other Regiments displayed a variety of ways in which they were produced, the process not always following that senior regiments had better-produced colours. This is, perhaps, to be expected given the large time period over which they were produced and issued.
We believed that our task was now as complete as possible and that the design we had was the best-guess, though there was still discussion over the ‘XLIV’ versus ‘44’. There was an expressed desire that the Regiment had taken photographs before laying them up, but none were known of except photos of the whole hanging in the roof.
Then, several of our members simultaneously obtained J Burrows first volume covering the history of the Regiment, including an older edition with coloured plates. This book is still in print from Naval and Military Press, with the somewhat misleading title ‘ESSEX UNITS IN THE WAR 1914-1919. Vol I. 1st Bn The Essex Regiment’. Upon viewing these older editions, it became apparent that photos had indeed been taken and that they answered many of our questions. The central motif was a ‘44’ and there was no battalion distinction images 6 and 7. Furthermore, we were able to view the wreath and better replicate it. The King’s Colour was still lacking the central cypher and it seems likely that it had been gone for a great period of time. Although not conclusive, it also appears to suggest that the design was painted and then sewn on, with embroidery likely to have still been apparent even if damaged. As such, Liam Telfer drew a revised design and this is what we now believe to be a fairly accurate depiction of the 44th’s colours, though we live in hope that a contemporary depiction of the King’s Colour will surface.
https://www.redcoat.org/Colours.html
With thanks to Warley Chapel
Image 1: Portion of the King’s Colour, removed by a French Lancer at Quatre Bras. Photo: 44th Foot LHS, taken at Warley Chapel
Image 2: The King’s Colour, 2/44th Foot. Photo: 44th Foot LHS, taken at Warley Chapel
Image 3: Artist’s impression of the intact colours, showing the section in image 1. Photo: 44th Foot LHS, taken at Warley Chapel.
Images 4 & 5: The first draft of what the colours may have looked like. Drawn by Liam Telfer. Photos: 44th Foot
Images 6 & 7: The Colours of the 44th, photographed in J. W. Burrows, ‘Essex Units in the War 1914-1918, Vol. 1, (John H. Burrows & Sons, Ltd, 1923)
Images 8 & 9: Liam Telfer’s drawing of what the 44th’s Colours may have looked like.
Image 9: The Colours of our Society - clearly we’ve made work for ourselves!