FIFTH FOOT.
The Regiment is one of those that came from Holland with King William III., it had previously been known as “the Irish Regiment.”
It bears “St. George and the Dragon” (the ancient badge of the Regiment), “the Rose and Crown,” “the King’s Crest,” and the motto “Quo fata vocant.”
It is not known when the facings were changed to Green. The peculiar shade now worn is said= to have been first adopted in consequence of the colour fading.
It was permitted to wear Fuzileer caps in commemoration of its defeating a French Division of Grenadiers at the battle of Wilhelmstahl, 1762; and also a white plume in the cap for its gallantry at St. Lucia in 1778, with the Grenadier and Light Battalions which formed “the Reserve.” These troops plucked the white feathers from the hats of the dead French, and decorated their own with them. The 5th is the only Regiment that has retained the distinction by now wearing a red and white pompon.
It received its title in 1782 in compliment to its Colonel, Earl Percy.
It was nicknamed in 1764 “the Shiners” from its clean and smart appearance; and in the Peninsula “the Old Bold Fifth,” “the Fighting Fifth,” and “Lord Wellington’s Body-Guard,” from being at Head-quarters in 1811.