Item number: M360

Year: AD 1843-1881

Material: Gilt and Brass

Size: 99.7 x 77.5 x 8.8 mm

Weight: 161.6 g

Provenance: Noonans 2024

This is a shoulder belt plate issued to the 49th Hertfordshire Regiment of Foot following the First Opium War. The plate is rectangular with curved edges, featuring a polished border and a densely stippled background for ornamentation. At its centre is a gilded regimental badge, crowned at the top, flanked on either side by laurel branches.

Flanking the laurel branches on either side and beneath are scrolls inscribed with the names of key battles in which the regiment participated: “EGMONT-OP-ZEE,” “COPENHAGEN,” and “QUEENSTOWN.” The first two commemorate engagements during the Second Coalition War against France, fought in the Netherlands (AD 1799) and Denmark (AD 1801). The third refers to a significant engagement during the War of AD 1812, where British and American forces clashed in Queenston, Ontario, Canada.

At the centre of the plate is a circular motif inscribed with the regiment’s honorary royal title since AD 1815: “PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES,” referring to the daughter of King George IV. Within the circular frame, the regiment’s designation, “49,” is prominently displayed, flanked on both sides by decorative wreaths of shamrocks. Above the numeral is the regiment’s home station in Britain: “HERTFORDSHIRE.”

At the bottom of the plate is an emblem featuring a Chinese dragon alongside a scroll bearing the inscription “CHINA.” This element symbolises the honours bestowed upon the regiment following the conclusion of the First Opium War. On May 18, AD 1842, the regiment launched an assault from the right flank during the capture of a Joss House at Chapoo, encountering fierce resistance from Green Standard Army troops and local militias. This engagement resulted in the regiment’s heaviest casualties sustained during the war. 

The 49th Hertfordshire Regiment of Foot, established in AD 1743. In AD 1881, the 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment of Foot and the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot were merged to form the Royal Berkshire Regiment, with the former becoming the 1st Battalion and the latter the 2nd Battalion. The Royal Berkshire Regiment subsequently took part in the Second Boer War, the First World War, and the Second World War, and was reorganised in AD 1959 into the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment.

物件編號: M360

年代: 公元 1843-1881 年

材質: 鍍金, 黃銅

尺寸: 99.7 x 77.5 x 8.8 mm

重量: 161.6 g

來源: 諾南斯 2024

這是第一次鴉片戰爭之後，第 49赫特福德郡步兵團裝備的肩帶牌匾，外表為一個有弧度的長方形，邊框經過拋光處理，中間有許多密集的顆粒作為裝飾。牌匾中央為鍍金的隊徽，頂部以王冠裝飾，左右兩側以桂冠枝條環繞。

桂冠枝條的左右兩側和下方各有一個卷軸，在上面標示部隊曾參加過的戰役地點，「EGMONT-OP-ZEE」(阿爾克馬爾)、「COPENHAGEN」(哥本哈根) 和 「QUEENSTOWN」(皇后鎮)。前兩者為公元1799和1801年，第二次反法同盟戰爭期間發生在荷蘭和丹麥的戰役。皇后鎮則是公元1812年美英戰爭期間，雙方軍隊於加拿大安大略省激戰的地點。

中央的圓環打印公元1815年以來，部隊榮譽皇室成員的頭銜「PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WHALES」(威爾斯的夏洛特公主)，即英王喬治四世的女兒。圓環內部是兩側以酢漿草花環裝飾的部隊番號「49」，頂端是部隊於英國的駐紮地點「HERTFORDSHIRE」(赫特福德郡)。

牌匾最下方的中國龍和「CHINA」(中國) 字樣的卷軸，為部隊在第一次鴉片戰爭結束後獲得的榮譽象徵。公元1842年5月18日，第49步兵團從右翼出擊在攻佔清軍於乍浦的天妃宮炮台時，遭遇駐防的綠營和鄉勇激烈反抗，付出部隊於戰爭中最為慘重的傷亡。

第49赫特福德郡步兵團成立於公元1743年。公元1881年，第49赫特福德郡步兵團和第66伯克郡步兵團，分別以第一營和第二營的編制合併為皇家伯克郡步兵團。皇家伯克郡步兵團陸續參與第二次布爾戰爭、第一次世界大戰和第二次世界大戰，並於公元1959年改組為「愛丁堡公爵皇家步兵團」。