364
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. i. MAY 7, loo*.
minsters, that corps being rightly considere
as the successors, after an interval of som
forty-five years, of the old Volunteer Infantrj
It is noteworthy that at the time of the findin
of the old colours the honorary colonel of th
Queen's Westminster Volunteer Corps wa
the late Duke of Westminster, who wa
originally the colonel commandant of th
regiment, as his ancestor had been the firs
colonel commandant of the old corps. Th
colours had been renovated, repaired, an<
relined, as they were in a very dilapidatec
condition, and all being ready, it was decidec
that they should once more be placed ir
St. Margaret's Church, in the keeping of th(
rector and churchwardens for the time being
This was carried out on the afternoon o
'Sunday, 27 March, 1887, when, at 3 15 P.M., th
regiment, to the number of 562 of all ranks
assembled at the new Drill Hall, in Jame.
"Street (now Buckingham Gate), not far from
St. James's Park Railway Station, among tin
officers present being Colonel Commandan
(now Sir) C. E. Howard Vincent, C.B., M.P.
Col. Lynch, and Lieut.-Col. Commerford. I
was noted at the time that the " men were
remarkable for the fine physique, steadiness
and the creditable manner in which they
turned out." After the companies had been
inspected and proved, the regiment marchec
off, headed by their excellent band and the
newly formed bugle band, which playec
alternately. Immediately followed the colours,
with an armed escort of forty men, selected
half from the St. Margaret's and half from
the St. John's companies, which in 1798
furnished the bulk of the regiment. The
officer commanding the colour escort was
Capt. De Castro, the colours being carried
by Lieuts. Rose and Dalton. The occasion
was thought much of in Westminster,
there being a large concourse of people
assembled in the streets to see the regi-
ment pass, and when the church was
reached it was found that every seat not
.required by the Volunteers was occupied,
even standing-room being utilized to the
-full. The colours escort formed up on each
side of the nave, where it remained
throughput the service, the band playing
the regiment in to the strains of a slow
march called 'Flowers of Beauty.' Among
those present were the Speaker (who sat
in a state chair in the chancel, which had
-not been so occupied by any of his pre-
decessors for a period of 130 years), the Duke
of Bedford, Baroness Burdett-Coutts and Mr
Burdett-Coutts, M.P., Mr. Talbot, M.P., Col.
Stracey, and two former commandants of the
regiment, Cols. Bushby and Scrivener. The
churchwardens of St. John's, Messrs. Holman-
Bishop and Holder, were also present. The
Dean of Westminster (Dr. Bradley) and Arch-
deacon Farrar, rector of the parish, conducted
the service, assisted by the Revs. R. Ashingtou
Bullen and F. G. L. Lucas. The office of
evensong was somewhat shortened, and on
its conclusion the Dean, the Archdeacon, and
the rest of the clergy and the choir, pro-
ceeded down the nave to the west end, then
returned with the bearers of the silver staves
of the parish in front, immediately followed
by the churchwardens, Messrs. H. A. Hunt
and Charles Wright, behind whom were Cols.
C. E. Howard Vincent and Lynch. Next
followed the colours, with Capt. Probyn, the
adjutant, between, the rear of this little pro-
cession being brought up by an escort of
four colour-sergeants, with fixed bayonets.
As the procession marched the choir sang
"Onward, Christian soldiers." The colours
halted at the chancel steps, when the two
colonels took each a colour from its bearer,
and handed them over to the churchwardens,
Col. Howard Vincent saying, in a voice
distinctly audible all over the church, that
he handed them over to the rector "to be
kept in the church for ever." The colours
were then carried to the Archdeaconry the
churchwardens, who placed them against the
screen by the Communion table. While this
part of the ceremony was taking place, a
verse of the National Anthem was sung by
the choir, the congregation joining in.
Handel's " The Lord is a Man of War " was
5nely rendered by Messrs. F. Pownall and
Devonshire, and then Archdeacon Farrar
delivered an appropriate and eloquent
sermon, taking for his text the words from
Exodus xvii. 15, "And Moses built an altar,
and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi " the
Lord my banner. At the conclusion of this
nemorable service the regiment filed out of
church and marched back to the Drill
ilall, the crowd being even larger than
)efore.
Within the next few weeks the colours were placed in various positions, to see what
- he effect would be, and finally they were
arranged one on each side of the great east window against the wall. A small brass ablet was, at the expense of the Queen's iVestminster Volunteers and with the con- urrence of the rector, affixed at the foot of he third pillar from the Communion table n the south side of the chancel, bearing the ollowing inscription :
The ancient Colours | of | the Queen's | West- ninster Volunteers, | presented by George III. in | on the threatened invasion of | England by
