Charles Edward Borton, born c1860, was the son of General Sir Arthur Borton GCB GCMG who was CO of the 1st Battalion 9th East Norfolks from 1853-58, and Colonel of the Regiment from 1889 to his death in 1893. Charles’s mother was Mary Georgina Close. He joined the 2/9th East Norfolks as a 2nd Lieutenant on 4 Dec 1878 and took part in the 2nd Afghan War of 1878-80, in the advance to Kabul including the operations around Jugdulluck and Saidabad. He was appointed Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion on 13 Jan 1885, until 1890. In 1887 he took part in the Expedition to Burma.
He served in the 2nd Battalion in the Boer War and while they were stationed at Pretoria Lt-Col Borton replaced Colonel Phillips as commanding officer, on 20 Mar 1901. In April they were ordered to Rustenburg where they stayed for 6 months before joining Kekewich’s column pursuing de la Rey. The battalion suffered casualties in the action at Rooival in April 1902. In the 6 months that the battalion was with Kekewich it was the only infantry battalion still on trek with mounted troops. They returned to the UK in February 1903. In 1904 Colonel Borton was replaced by Lt-Col Wintour as CO of the 2nd Battalion.
The hand-coloured photo of Charles Borton shows him wearing the dress tunic of the Norfolk Regiment c1885 when he was a captain and Adjutant. The two silver stars on his gold shoulder cords denote the rank of captain. The medals are the Afghanistan medal 1878-80 with a clasp for KABUL, and the India medal 1849-95 with a clasp for BURMA 1887-89.
1878 2nd Lieutenant 4 Dec
1881 Lieutenant 15 Feb
1885 Captain 13 Aug
1885 Adjutant 13 Jan
1896 Major 30 Sep
1901 Lieutenant-Colonel 12 Jan
1904 Colonel 10 Feb
Regimental Details | Commanding Officers
