UK troops in Uganda pay rosy tribute to ‘courageous’ predecessors

British troops in Uganda have paid tribute to the “ferocity and courage” of their regimental predecessors by pinning red roses to their berets.

Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment are currently based in the African country training local forces.

On Thursday, they marked the victory of the Battle of Minden, which took place on August 1 1759 as part of the Seven Years War, by donning the flowers.

Captain Ollie Sutton said infantry regiments including the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, Royal Anglians and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, can trace their heritage and ancestry to those who were fighting on that day.

The 26-year-old, from Sandbach, Cheshire, said a misinterpretation of an order to advance eventually saw the more powerful enemy forced to retreat.

“They were utterly fearless and went for it – bayonets fixed,” he said of the infantry.

“Back then advancing toward cavalry was unheard of but their ferocity and courage won the battle.”

Capt Sutton said that following their victory, the soldiers then picked dog roses out of the hedges and put them in their caps – a tradition which has continued to this day.