Rifle Brigade Chronicle 1900

I bought the Rifle Brigade Chronicle for 1900 the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was inscribed with the name of its original owner, C F Napier, who obviously picked up his copy of it in July 1901.

Born in Simla, India in 1872, The Hon Charles Frederick Hamilton Napier was the son of the then Commander in Chief in India, Lord Robert Cornells Napier of Magdala. He is mentioned in the 1900 volume in the regimental record section for the 3rd Battalion which notes that on the 16th November 1899, "Lieutenant Hon C F H Napier promoted Captain and posted to Battalion."  Later, in notes for the 4th Battalion, it is recorded on January 29th that "Captain Hon C F H Napier was posted on February 1st."

Other volumes of the Rifle Brigade Chronicle pick up Napier's career and there will be a lot more that can be researched about this officer both from various issues of The Rifle Brigade Chronicle, and also from other sources such as the Army List and medal roll information. Captain -  later Lt-Colonel Napier - also has a record in WO 76, and for me, knowing the owner of this book, makes it even nicer to own than it appeared when I owned it.  As a further bonus too, tucked into page 399 next to the obituary of Captain M W de la P Berseford who died after a fall from his pony in August 1900, is the photograph I have published at the top of this post. On the reverse, in Napier's hand is written the following: Beresfords [sic] grave in Srinigar, 10th August 1900.

I bought the original book version of ther 1900 Rifle Brigade Chronicle, and it's currently sitting alongside my 1911 copy which I have had for some years. Digital editions of the issues for 1890, 1895, 1897 and 1901-1904 inclusive, can all be downloaded free of charge from The Internet Archive. Follow this link to get to them: Rifle Brigade Chronicle.

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