On Sunday 04 September 2016 The London branch of the regimental association of The Queen's Own Buffs Regiment paid their annual visit to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. On this occasion they generously donated a new cruet set to hold the wine and water for Holy Communion, which will be used in the Chapel of St John the Evangelist in the White Tower. In the photographs below Colonel Peter Bishop OBE, President of the Queen's Own Buffs regimental association (centre) is seen presenting the cruet set to Canon Roger Hall MBE, accompanied by Major John Barrell OBE, President of the London Buffs branch.
THE BUFFS and the CITY of LONDON
The regiment later to become The Buffs traces its origins to the Trained Bands of London which paraded in front of Queen Elizabeth I at Greenwich on 1 May 1572. It then went to serve in Holland.
On its return to England it was titled the Holland Regiment and received the Freedom of the City of London in 1672. The famous Dragon cap badge was awarded by Queen Ann in 1707, the dragon being one of the supporters of the arms of Queen Elizabeth. The regiment was twice stationed in the Tower; in 1673 and 1793.
The regiment officially adopted the title The Buffs in 1751, derived from the colour of the facings on its uniform.
In 1861 the last colours carried into battle by The Buffs, at Punniar in 1843, were moved to the Tower from Canterbury Cathedral. They were firstly lodged in the White Tower but later moved to the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula where they remain today.
In the 1930s the Chapel authorities agreed to The Buffs holding an annual service in recognition of the regiment’s long-standing connection with the City of London. A regimental Book of Remembrance is also displayed within the Chapel.