THE KINO'S OLDEST SOLDIER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 69, 17 April 1909, Page 3

THE KINO'S OLDEST SOLDIER.

INTERESTING ANECDOTES. The Yeomen of the Guard always nlav their quaint and picturesque part in the state ceremonials connected with the | opening of Parliament. And among Ihe Kings Bodyguard of the YeouieS oi the Guard" is Sergeant-Major Robert Mliott, who is the King's oldest soldier I He joined the 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment on 13th Januarv, 1842; . W d In one regiment or another, without even the break of an hour, Jias served continually ever since. At the present time the gallant Sergeant-Major has to his credit over sixty-seven ,-enr s of military service! He is eighty-five, and in len«tii of service his record stands easily first

AX INTERESTING RECORD. In the year of his enlistment he emI barked for Canada, and was with the [right wing of "The Royals" on board | the transport Premier when the vessel became a total wreck in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in November, 1843. After serving ■ with his regiment in Nova Scotia and the West Indies, he put iu a lot of hard fighting in th- Crimea, lie was present at the storming of the Redan on 18th June and 18th September, 1855. The following year lie was transferred to the military train, and while on the may to China in 1857, when entering the Straits of Jlalacea, the, breathless word came of the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, and his battalion, under most urgent orders, hastened to India. Elliott was present at the heroic relief of Lucknow. He has nine medals, including the medal for distinguished conduct in the field (which is the "D.5.0." of non-commissioned officers), the Indian Jlutiny medal and clasps, and the Crimean medal and clasp.

WAR HORRORS. If you ask Sergeant-Jlajor Robert Elliott to "yam," he -says he was always too busy fighting and looking after his men to notice anything out of the ordinary. Then he laughs and wonders "how the other old soldiers cau remember and can have seen so much." He says, however, that in the Crimea they fought mostly on hard biscuit, and that the .men had a terrible amount of time on their hands, when there was "nothing to do but be shot at." To amuse themselves the men often gambled all day long, shaking up coins in their hats. And the first man he saw shot, and the last man, were both gambling. One was a youngster -of nineteen who, having won 'sixpence' halfpenny, sprang up in his excitement, and a Russian shell knocked off his head; and the otheT was a soldier who, sitting in a card-circle, had his brains dashed out by a flying piece of iron, and his comrades, after covering the face with his shako, calmly went On playing.

-MESSENGER. For over forty years Mr. Elliott has been attached to the King's Bodyguard, his rank in the corps being the proud one of "Messenger," an ancient military title now only extant among the Yeomen of the Guard. Be lias seen most of the royal personages" of Europe, and the Prince of Wales frequently cbtots with him and invariably brings him Ho the notice of distinguished visitors by saying: "This is our oldest soldier, and we are very proud of him."—M.A.P.