In Collaboration With Charles Griffin



Enniskillen
Enniskillen in situated on Cethlin's Island, a strategic crossing point on the southern end of the huge Lough Erne in former County Fermanagh. In the early history Annals of Clonmacnoise it is stated that the island town of Enniskillen took it's name from Cethlen (Kehlen), wife of Balar, chief of the Farmorians, a race which invaded the coasts of Ireland. By the Irish authorities it was always called Inis Cathleen (Cethlin's Island). In Irish Inis Caithlen or Caithlinn. There are many ways of spelling the name and although the standard spelling of the town's name has remained Enniskillen, the name of the regiment started off as Colonel Zachariah Tiffin's Inniskilling Regiment
Formation of the Regiment
27th at Enniskillin Castle
Enniskillin Castle
Zachariah Tiffin was commissioned by William III to raise the regiment on 20th June 1689 for the defence of the town of Enniskillen from the Catholic army of James II. Recruiting was not difficult because independent companies already existed in the area. The regiment fought at the Boyne in July 1690 and Limerick.
Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745
The regiment fought the supporters of James's son and grandson in both Scottish risings. After the first war they were granted permission to display the white horse of Hanover and motto on their appointments. On the second rising they defended Stirling Castle and fought at Falkirk as Blakeney's Regiment. In that battle the young Eyre Coote famously ran away with the Inniskilling's Colours but was later exonerated. At Culloden they fought in the second line but sustained only light casualties.
The West Indies 1739
The West Indies was notorious for being an unhealthy place from which few returned. The Inniskillings proved the point when they returned with only nine men out of a strength of 600. Although they fought at Porto Bello, most of their losses were from disease.
Badge
Badges
Motto
Nec Aspera Terrent
(Nor do difficulties deter)
Nicknames
The Skins
Uniforms
1689 - 1881
Colours
1689 - 1881
Colonels
1689 - 1881
Commanding Officers
1830 - 1881
Soldiers
1689 - 1881
Battle Honours
Seven years War 1756-63

MARTINIQUE 1762
HAVANNAH

War of American Independence 1775-83

ST LUCIA 1778

French Revolutionary Wars 1793-1802

ST LUCIA 1796

Napoleonic Wars 1803-15

MAIDA

Peninsular War 1808-14

BADAJOS
SALAMANCA
VITTORIA
PYRENEES
NIVELLE
ORTHES
TOULOUSE
PENINSULA

Hundred Days 1815

WATERLOO

Sixth Kaffir War 1835

SOUTH AFRICA 1835

Seventh Kaffir War 1846-7

SOUTH AFRICA 1846-7

Indian Mutiny 1857-8

CENTRAL INDIA

Titles
1689 Colonel Zachariah Tiffin's Inniskilling Regiment of Foot
1751 27th or Enniskillen Regiment of Foot
1881 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Linked with 108th Regiment)
Further Reading
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1688-1914
by Regimental History Committee
(Constable 1928)

A History of the 27th Inniskillings from it's formation in 1869 to 1899
Compiled by Captain C J Lloyd Davidson

The Irish Regiments, A Pictorial History 1683-1987
by R G Harris
(The Nutshell Publishing Co Ltd 1989)


Armed Forces | Art and Culture | Articles | Biographies | Colonies | Discussion | Glossary | Home | Library | Links | Map Room | Sources and Media | Science and Technology | Search | Student Zone | Timelines | TV & Film | Wargames


by Stephen Luscombe