20052
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The Roses of Minden
SummaryThis article appeared in the 1996 July edition of the 6th Hauraki Association. It is reprinted with permission. Due to the OCR conversion some errors may be present.
Please note: This article was originally part of Tauranga City Library's 'Tauranga Memories' website (2011-2020). To your right the 'Archived Kete Link', if present, will take you to a snapshot of the original record. Tauranga Memories was made of several focus areas, called 'baskets'. This article was part of the Remembering War basket. It was first licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License at http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/1288. Initially created 9/05/2013, it underwent 2 edit, the last edit being 5/09/2016. Editors included: in this case only the original author. The original article may have included links, images etc that are not present here.Description If you live in. or have visited Tauranga. you may have ventured up to the Minden lookout to view the spectacular views of the Tauranga District, but what you may not know is the link between the name Minden and that of our alliance with the Lancashire Fusiliers.
When LI Col Kevin Hill MBE. MC. came to New Zealand in February this year I had lo take Kevin to see the view, but more importantly, we both pondered if there was an association with our Minden. to that of the battle of Minden.
There are in fact two battles of Minden. The first In AD. 16 Emperor Tiberius sent an avenging force into Germany. Although it is ironic that these Romans trampled the same grounds, it is the second battle of Minden we are concerned with. This is not history repeating itself, as in 1759. as it was the French, some 60 000 men. who advanced, northward towards Hannover. On August 1, as the French advanced north, and as the result of what is believed to be a misunderstanding of orders, the British Infantry, followed by Hanoverian fool soldiers, attacked the French cavalry. This surprise lactic, combined with the methodical advance of the redcoats, who hailed only lo leash volleys of fire by platoons, demoralised and broke the French lines. It is said that while marching through these fields the British troops came across rose gardens and picked the roses to wear them in their Tricorno hats and Grenadier caps. Tho XX th n foot (Lancashire Fusiliers) along with five other British Regiments look heavy casualties. 1
This battle ended the last serious threat to Hannover by the French, and to Prussia. Not without the cost of lives, some 3000 causalities, almost half of them British. 2
Minden Day. 1 August, is celebrated liberally by the Lancashire Fusiliers o( today. Kevin told me that junior officers are initiated into the mess by eating a red rose on this day. The mess staff cautiously choose the size of the rose.
1 - Moorhouse Geoffrey, Hells Foundations. 1992 p 32
2 - Eggenberger. David. A Dictionary of Battles. 1967. p 278
This page archived at Perma Cc in September of 2016: https://perma.cc/XBL7-WU4G
Please note: This article was originally part of Tauranga City Library's 'Tauranga Memories' website (2011-2020). To your right the 'Archived Kete Link', if present, will take you to a snapshot of the original record. Tauranga Memories was made of several focus areas, called 'baskets'. This article was part of the Remembering War basket. It was first licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License at http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/1288. Initially created 9/05/2013, it underwent 2 edit, the last edit being 5/09/2016. Editors included: in this case only the original author. The original article may have included links, images etc that are not present here.Description If you live in. or have visited Tauranga. you may have ventured up to the Minden lookout to view the spectacular views of the Tauranga District, but what you may not know is the link between the name Minden and that of our alliance with the Lancashire Fusiliers.
When LI Col Kevin Hill MBE. MC. came to New Zealand in February this year I had lo take Kevin to see the view, but more importantly, we both pondered if there was an association with our Minden. to that of the battle of Minden.
There are in fact two battles of Minden. The first In AD. 16 Emperor Tiberius sent an avenging force into Germany. Although it is ironic that these Romans trampled the same grounds, it is the second battle of Minden we are concerned with. This is not history repeating itself, as in 1759. as it was the French, some 60 000 men. who advanced, northward towards Hannover. On August 1, as the French advanced north, and as the result of what is believed to be a misunderstanding of orders, the British Infantry, followed by Hanoverian fool soldiers, attacked the French cavalry. This surprise lactic, combined with the methodical advance of the redcoats, who hailed only lo leash volleys of fire by platoons, demoralised and broke the French lines. It is said that while marching through these fields the British troops came across rose gardens and picked the roses to wear them in their Tricorno hats and Grenadier caps. Tho XX th n foot (Lancashire Fusiliers) along with five other British Regiments look heavy casualties. 1
This battle ended the last serious threat to Hannover by the French, and to Prussia. Not without the cost of lives, some 3000 causalities, almost half of them British. 2
Minden Day. 1 August, is celebrated liberally by the Lancashire Fusiliers o( today. Kevin told me that junior officers are initiated into the mess by eating a red rose on this day. The mess staff cautiously choose the size of the rose.
1 - Moorhouse Geoffrey, Hells Foundations. 1992 p 32
2 - Eggenberger. David. A Dictionary of Battles. 1967. p 278
This page archived at Perma Cc in September of 2016: https://perma.cc/XBL7-WU4G
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AuthorTauranga City Libraries Staff - Harley CouperArchived Kete Linkhttps://perma.cc/XBL7-WU4GTaxonomyStories | Places
Tauranga City Libraries Staff - Harley Couper, The Roses of Minden. Pae Korokī, accessed 01/04/2023, https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/20052
