Minden Boys
Preserved but no longer current.
The 20th Foot, now the Lancashire Fusiliers; so called from their noted bravery at Minden, Prussia, Aug. 1st, 1759, when the British and Hanoverian army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick de- feated the French.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Minden Boys” mean?
The 20th Foot, now the Lancashire Fusiliers; so called from their noted bravery at Minden, Prussia, Aug. 1st, 1759, when the British and Hanoverian army under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick de- feated the French.
Is “Minden Boys” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.