#coldstream guards

The band of the Coldstream Guards, in full dress, march through the streets of Manhattan on April 28, 1939. They were there to play for a month in the British pavilion of the World's Fair.

The Coldstream Guards are infantry soldiers who specialize in light role operations, such as reconnaissance and machine gun operation. But their most famous duty is guarding Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. They are the ones who take part in the Changing of the Guard.

Two and a half year old Prince Charles stands with his grandfather King George VI on the dais for the march past of Coldstream Guards at the golf course at Windsor Castle after the King had just presented new colors to the regiment, May 1951. (British Pathe)

The battle of Waterloo depended on the closing of those gates.

Duke of Wellington.

There were many key moments at the Battle of Waterloo. Many were only recognised after the battle had been won as a close run thing. But in the heat of the battle there was one moment that was not lost on either Wellington or Napoleon and that was the chateau and outbuildings of Hougoumont which were situated 500 yards from Wellington’s line, and if held by the Allies would disrupt any French advance. Likewise, their loss to the French would have created an immense threat to Wellington’s right flank.

Hougoumont was defended by 2600 allied crack troops including Coldstream, Grenadier and Scots Guards plus Nassauers and Brunswickers. The north gate of Hougoumont had been deliberately left open to allow friendly troops to pass through, but had to be closed rapidly when the French started to attack at about 11.30 am. This attack was the first action of the Battle of Waterloo. The gates were however not closed properly and French soldiers started to push through. Desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued but somehow the defenders managed to close the gates. The 30 Frenchmen who had entered were swiftly dealt with, all being mercilessly killed except for a young and unarmed drummer-boy.

This brave action meant that the French were never able to take Hougoumont at any time during the remainder of the day, although 12,700 of Napoleon’s troops were tied up in the attempt.

Some years later a Reverend John Norcross left a sum of money in his will to be given “to the bravest man at Waterloo”. Wellington, who was asked to nominate the winner, said that the success of the battle turned upon the closing of the gates at Hougoumont, and the recipient was a Corporal James Graham of the Coldstream Guards. This soldier had shown immense bravery and probably saved the life of the commanding officer at Hougoumont, Lieutenant-Colonel James MacDonell.

Arthur Conan Doyle

Men of the Twenty-first

    Up by the Chalk Pit Wood,

Weak with our wounds and our thirst,

    Wanting our sleep and our food,

After a day and a night.

    God, shall we ever forget?

Beaten and broke in the fight,

    But sticking it, sticking it yet,

Trying to hold the line,

    Fainting and spent and done;

Always the thud and the whine,

    Always the yell of the Hun.

Northumberland, Lancaster, York,

    Durham and Somerset,

Fighting alone, worn to the bone,

    But sticking it, sticking it yet.

Never a message of hope,

    Never a word of cheer!

Fronting Hill 70’s shell-swept slope,

    With the dull, dead plain in our rear;

Always the shriek of the shell,

    Always the roar of the burst,

Always the tortures of Hell,

    As waiting and wincing we cursed

Our luck, the guns, and the Boche.

    When our Corporal shouted “Stand to!”

And I heard some one cry, “Clear the front for the Guards!”—

    And the Guards came through.

Our throats they were parched and hot,

    But Lord, if you’d heard the cheer,

Irish and Welsh and Scot,

    Coldstream and Grenadier—

Two Brigades, if you please,

    Dressing as straight as a hem.

We, we were down on our knees,

    Praying for us and for them,

Praying with tear-wet cheek,

      Praying with outstretched hand.

Lord! I could speak for a week,

    But how could you understand?

How could your cheeks be wet?

    Such feelin’s don’t come to you;

But how can me or my mates forget

    When the Guards came through?

“Five yards left extend!”

    It passed from rank to rank,

And line after line, with never a bend,

    And a touch of the London swank.

A trifle of swank and dash,

    Cool as a home parade,

Twinkle, glitter and flash,

    Flinching never a shade,

With the shrapnel right in their face,

    Doing their Hyde Park stunt,

Swinging along at an easy pace,

    Arms at the trail, eyes front.

Man! it was great to see!

    Man! it was fine to do!

It’s a cot, and hospital ward for me,

But I’ll tell them in Blighty wherever I be,