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12 unusual facts about Grenadier Guards


Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington

He served as an officer in the Grenadier Guards, the most senior regiment of the Guards' division.

Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment, and in January 1900 joined the Grenadier Guards as Second lieutenant.

Brussels Cemetery

The remainder are all British Army officers and include Colonel Sir William Howe de Lacy (the Quartermaster-General of the British Army), Colonel Edward Stables and Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Milnes (both 1st Foot Guards), and Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Alexander Gordon (3rd Foot Guards).

George Henry Tatham Paton

Paton was 22 years old, and an acting captain in the 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

Gertrude Jekyll

Jekyll was born at 2 Grafton Street, Mayfair, London, the fifth of the seven children of Captain Edward Joseph Hill Jekyll, an officer in the Grenadier Guards, and his wife Julia Hammersley.

Jimmy Constantine

He served in the Grenadier Guards, playing for local team Ashton National in his spare time.

Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar

After a career in the Grenadier Guards, he became Major General commanding the Brigade of Guards and General Officer Commanding the Home District in 1870, General Officer Commanding Southern District in October 1878 and Commander-in-Chief, Ireland in October 1885.

Raymond Agoult

Agoult also made an arrangement of When Johnny Comes Marching Home which can be heard on a recording with the Band of the Grenadier Guards on Entertainment Sales ESI-106.

Sir George Honyman, 4th Baronet

His father, Sir Ord Honyman, 3rd Baronet, born 25 March 1794, became lieutenant-colonel commanding the Grenadier Guards 27 December 1850, and died at Nice 27 January 1863, having married, 7 April 1818, Elizabeth Essex, youngest daughter of George Bowen of Coton Hall, Shropshire, an Admiral of the Red.

The Moriarty Murder Mystery

Neddie protests that he wants to "join the Guards", but the Undertaker tells him "no man under six feet can join the Guards".

Thomas Graham Balfour

From 1840 to 1848, he served as assistant surgeon in the Grenadier Guards.

Tough Guy Competition

A former Grenadier Guards trained soldier in the British Army, Wilson's earliest sporting exploits were as a cyclist, a career that was curtailed after an accident on the Aldersley track.


An Infamous Army

Seeing this, Colonel Sir John Colborne leads his regiment, the Fighting 52nd, across the battlefield from the right flank and Wellington calls for a general advance of Peregrine Maitland's Grenadier Guards, completing the French rout.

Brinckman baronets

The latter was a Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Victoria and to the Governor-General of Canada and Chief of Staff to the British Military Mission in Moscow during the Second World War.

John Russell's Regiment of Guards

Upon the death of Lord Wentworth in 1665, the two regiments were amalgamated into the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards.

Maria Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn

Lord Claud Nigel Hamilton (1889–1975), Captain in the Grenadier Guards, fought in the First World War and served in the household of King George V, his widow and Queen Elizabeth II as Deputy Master of the Household, as Extra Equerry, as Equerry in Ordinary and as Comptroller, Treasurer and Extra Equerry.

Scouting in West Midlands

Over the past few years, the band has performed at venues in places such as France, Alton Towers, Wembley Stadium and Arena, the Black Country Living Museum, and at the Birmingham International Tattoo alongside the Grenadier Guards and The Royal Marines.