Someone passed me this because the name of my hometown in Spain is written on it. Any one knows why all these city names in a Scottish marching drum?

10 comments

1. They’re the names of battles that the regiment the drum belonged to took part in.

2. I recognise some of those names as battles during the Napoleonic war. So, best guess it’s a military drum listing the battles that the regiment fought on through history. Some of those battles, such as Salamanca and Talavera were in Spain.

3. These are regimental drums and if memory serves the place names are all the different areas or conflicts the regiment has been involved in. In other words, where the drum has been.

4. From the overarching text, I’m guessing this is some regimental thing, so perhaps locations of battles they participated in historically.

5. The top drum lists the battle honours of the Gloustershire Regiment and the bottom one is for the London Scottish regiment.

6. Regimental drums with the places the regiment seen action on them. 

   I dunno if it was meant as a compliment but it seems a wee bit of an underhanded way to say ‘we won the war’ 

7. They’re called ‘battle honour’s’ and commemorate victories for whichever regiment the drum belonged to.

8. They are quite special in so far as neither of the regiments exist anymore. They could be quite rare. London Scottish is an association, and the Gloucesters were absorbed into the Berkshire and Wiltshire regiments in 94.

9. Peninsular War battle honours, 1807 – 1814.

10. Napoleonic Wars