Steady the Buffs

 

Steady the Buffs

Monument to the Buffs in Canterbury

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

 ‘Steady the Buffs’ means calm down, don’t fret. It originates from the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) formerly the Third Regiment of Foot. The regiment was amalgamated severally with other regiments after the Second World War, finally becoming known with them as the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, the Tigers.

The Buffs was a regiment raised in the county of Kent and garrisoned in Canterbury and has a history dating from 1572. Before khaki uniforms were introduced in 1868, British regiments wore red jackets. In order to identify different regiments, the jackets had different coloured facings.

 The facings were the linings of the coats, which were exposed when lapels or cuffs were turned back. At that time regiments were still being named after their colonels. There were two Colonel Howard’s Regiments, and the only way to distinguish them was by the colour of their facings. The Hon. Sir Charles Howard was the colonel of the 19^th, and his regiment was known as the Green Howards, because of their green facings. Thomas Howard was the colonel of the Third Regiment of Foot, which had buff facings and became known as the Buff Howards.

‘Steady the Buffs’ was a phrase first heard in 1858. The 2^nd Battalion was stationed in Malta when the adjutant, Lt. John Cotter, was commanding a parade while being observed by the 21^st Fusiliers. In his determination not to be embarrassed by ill-disciplined troops, he ordered, ‘Steady the Buffs’ and the phrase passed into common military parlance.

Rudyard Kipling used the phrase in his collection of short stories, under the title of ‘Soldiers Three’.

It is a phrase frequently heard in our house and always reminds me of my late mother-in-law. Born and brought up in Kent, and a Maid of Kent (that is, born to the east of the River Medway) it was one of her favourite expressions. 

Leprosy in England

 

Leprosy in England

 Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

                            Church of St Nicholas, Harbledown

I used to travel to Canterbury occasionally when I lived in Kent. I was always intrigued by the sight of the Leper Hospital in Harbledown, just outside the city.

St Nicholas’ Hospital is on the old main London road, which was once England’s chief pilgrimage route. Chaucer’s fictional pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales (written between 1387-1340) would have journeyed along this road, as would other travellers. Leper hospitals were located on main roads in order that inmates could beg for alms from passers-by, in exchange offering prayers for their souls.

St Nicholas’ Hospital was founded by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury in 1084-5, not long after the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is thought to be England’s first Leper Hospital.

Today leprosy is known as Hansen’s Disease. It is a chronic infectious disease, caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae, and affects the skin, peripheral nerves, the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth and the eyes.  It is transmitted through prolonged contact over months with a sufferer but is easily treated and cured with multi-drug treatment that lasts between six and twelve months. It cannot be spread through casual contact, for example, by shaking hands or having a meal with someone.

It still occurs in over 120 countries, but the majority of new cases recorded annually are from South-East Asia.   

It emerged in England in the 4^th century AD, possibly brought in by Viking traders, and was a commonplace feature of life by 1050. It affected people of all walks of life in town and country. People understood that it was contagious but did not know how it was contracted so sufferers were shunned from society. They had to wear distinctive clothing and carry a bell or clapper to announce their approach. (In Biblical times, lepers had to cover their mouth and call out ‘unclean, unclean’.)

                                            Leper with bell

 In mediaeval England, some saw the ravages of the disease as a punishment from God while others believed it was similar to the suffering of Christ and was a living Purgatory, and that the afflicted would go straight to Heaven. In its advanced stage, leprosy led to gangrene, blindness, collapse of the nose, muscle paralysis and general weakening of the skeleton.

                                             Christ cures a leper

In the leper or lazar hospitals lazars were treated respectfully. Those who looked after them - the monks and the Church - or made charitable donations towards their care thought that such good works would reduce their own time in Purgatory.

Most hospitals consisted of cottages built around a separate chapel, for the care of the lepers was spiritual as well as physical. Much attention was paid to good food and cleanliness and many establishments had gardens of flowers and herbs in which the inmates worked. Gradually, the incidence of leprosy abated, declining from the 15^th century, perhaps due to increased immunity in the general population, and the leper hospitals became almshouses for the poor. 

                            St Nicholas' almshouses, Harbledown

St Nicholas’ Hospital is now an almshouse, providing sheltered accommodation for elderly people.