until they did their share in repelling a heavy attack at Beaumont Hamel, where the Germans were finally held.

It was the spirit of such battalions as the 23rd Royal Fusiliers that broke the German offensive, and the marvellous power of recuperation that they had, given a few days to rest and sleep.

In the offensive operations that lasted from August 21, 1918, to the Armistice, the Battalion delivered many successful attacks with undiminished dash and courage, and it was a proud day when I saw them march through the Square in Duren with fixed bayonets, headed by the few Regimental pipers that had been through the war with them since their formation.

Well had they earned their Victory March into Germany, and Lieutenant-Colonel Winter was justified in his great pride in their fine appearance and magnificent transport.

In conclusion I must pay a tribute to the private soldiers, the non-commissioned officers, and the young officers, who, year in and year out, faced death and the greatest of hardships with that dogged courage that has always broken the hearts of our enemies. The saying that the British soldier never knows when he is beaten has never been truer than in this war.

My hope is that histories such as this may have a wide circulation, so that mothers, wives, and children may know what their men have done for their country, what dangers they have faced, and what vast sacrifices they cheerfully made.

FROM MAJOR-GENERAL R.O. KELLETT, C.B., C.M.G.ToC

The story of the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers cannot fail to be a fine one. Every soldier who, like myself, had the honour of fighting, I may say, shoulder to shoulder with it, will read its history with the deepest interest.

As its first Brigadier, I took up that appointment on December 19, 1914, when the Battalion was in its infancy, deficient of arms and equipment, but full of men whose physique, zeal, and spirit were magnificent, and this spirit was fully maintained, to the honour and fame of the Battalion, in the face of the enemy in France during the winter of 1915-16, and throughout 1916 and 1917, during which time it was in my (99th) Brigade, which formed part of the 2nd Division.

Throughout the heavy fighting we went through during this period, the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers never failed me. What they were ordered to do they did, and more; any objective they seized they held on to, and never retired from. Few units can boast of as proud a record as this.

Many hundreds of their best and bravest made the last sacrifice, but the splendid gallantry and dogged and cheerful endurance of the Battalion never lessened.

I was, and am, a proud man to have had such a Battalion in my Brigade, a Battalion second to none amongst those who fought for the Empire in the Great War.

FORMATION OF THE BATTALION,
THE HONOURS GAINED,
AND ITS RECORD IN BRIEF

FORMATION OF THE BATTALION,
THE HONOURS GAINED,
AND ITS RECORD IN BRIEFToC

Raised in London in 1914 by Mrs E. Cunliffe-Owen (now Mrs. Stamford, O.B.E.)

PARTICULARS OF STRENGTH.

COLONELS IN COMMAND.

Colonel Viscount Maitland. From formation of Battalion to January 29, 1916.

Lieut.-Colonel H.A. Vernon, D.S.O. From January 31, 1916, to May 23, 1917.

Lieut.-Colonel E.A. Winter, D.S.O., M.C. From May 24, 1917, to April 14, 1919.

Lieut.-Colonel F.L. Ashburner, M.V.O., D.S.O. From April 15, 1919, to March, 1920.

The Battalion proceeded overseas on November 15, 1915.

CASUALTIES SUSTAINED.

HONOURS AWARDED.