"Gibraltar is your sign, and it is true that you stood like a rock in the raging seas"
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| Introduction |
| The story of the Gibraltar cuff title can be traced back to 1775 when the King of England, George III, Duke of Hannover was in need of fresh troops to allow British troops to serve in the colonies during the American Revolution. Five Battalions of troops from his native Hannover were recruited to replace British troops in the Mediterranean. Three of the Battalions, Von Beden, de la Motte, and von Hardeberg were sent on 16 October 1775 to Gibraltar for service. Life in the garrison on Gibraltar was uneventful until June 1776 when Spain declared war on England and immediately blockaded the island. Starvation, scurvy, and death by Spanish Artillery were commonplace on Gibraltar until the Treaty of Versailles lifted the siege on 15 August 1783. The British garrison and their three Hannoverian Battalions had lasted over three years and seven months. To honor the survivors of the siege, the three Battalions were authorized to wear a blue cloth cuff-title embroidered GIBRALTAR on the lower right sleeve of their Waffenrock. |
 | The example shown here is a replica of the original cuff-title awarded by King George III in 1784.
Photo used with the kind permission of Cyrus Lee of
Soldat.
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| In 1866, Hannover sided with Austria in the war with Prussia which ended in a Prussian victory. As a result, Prussia annexed Hannover which ceased to be a Kingdom that same year. Hannoverian Infantry Battalions were duly assimilated into the Prussian army, with the three Battalions that fought in Gibraltar being re-named Füsilier Regt General Feldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preußen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73, Inf. - Regt. Von Voigts - Rhetz (3. Hannoversches) Nr.79, and Hannoversches Jäger - Batl. Nr. 10. |
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| To commemorate the three Hannoverian units that fought in Gibraltar, Kaiser Wilhelm II by AKO 24.01.1901, awarded the right to wear a commemorative cloth cuff title for all three units that had perpetuated the original Gibraltar survivors. This version of the Gibraltar cuff title was a simpler design from the first version and worn on the lower right sleeve of the Dunkelblau Waffenrock by all ranks. The original example below has the typical yellow hand-embroidered Roman letters on a medium blue wool. Original examples can be encountered from a medium blue as shown here to a light powder blue. Although the letters on original examples can vary slightly in height and width, they maintain the broad Roman style. Note that the thread is twisted and quite substantial. |
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