were shot down. Unmindful of his injuries, Piper Kidd sat up and continued to play "The Cock o' the North" as the troops advanced up the heights. Both battalions were sent to South Africa following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. The 2nd Battalion fought at the Battle of Elandslaagte in October 1899 and was part of force to relieve the Siege of Ladysmith in November 1899. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion, which arrived a little later, saw action at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899 and was again in action at Doornkop, where they suffered severe losses, in May 1900. The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended with the Peace of Vereeniging in June 1902. Four months later 475 officers and men of the 1st battalion left Cape Town on the SS Salamis in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when the battalion was posted to Glasgow. In 1908 the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and four Territorial battalions. First World War Regular Army The 1st Battalion was based in Plymouth on outbreak of war and landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914. It was immediately engaged with the Germans at the Battle of Mons, suffering only slight casualties. The battalion was next in action at the Battle of Le Cateau after which it ceased to exist as a fighting force when most personnel were captured in the confusion of disengaging after battle. The order for withdrawal had only reached a single Company and consequently the rest of the battalion, with troops from other attached Units, were late to disengage from the front line. During the night-time withdrawal, a German force was encountered and the force surrendered after a sharp action. The battalion was subsequently rebuilt with drafts of reinforcements and served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. The 2nd Battalion was in Egypt in 1914, but returned to England and landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914. It immediately saw action in the First Battle of Ypres. The battalion subsequently served on the Western Front until November 1917 when it moved with XIV Corps to Italy.