The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment had, as it's cap and beret badge, the Sphinx superscribed "Egypt" over "Royal Lincolnshire". Why then were the soldiers of the Lincolnshire Regiment wearing a symbol of a far-off land? To find the answer we have to look at an earlier war that the regiment was involved in - the war against Revolutionary France led by Napoleon Bonaparte, fought by the British and French in many corners of the world, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo.

The Lincolnshire Regiment played a prominent part in the war with Revolutionary France and the Peninsular War, but it's finest hour was when the Regiment sailed from India in 1801, to reinforce an army sent from England, to fight Napoleon's troops in Egypt.

For the Lincolnshire Regiment to reach the rest of the army, a forced march was necessary - through 120 miles of desert, from Cossier, on the Red Sea, to Kenna, on the River Nile. This arduous march took place under the watchful eyes of unfriendly Arabs who may have attacked at any moment. Under the blistering heat of the sun, the soldiers found the going tough. Some, unable to resist the inclination to sleep, and overcome with heat and thirst, lay on the burning sand to rest, never to re-awake. The journey across the barren desert was accomplished in a magnificent 8 days but, despite all their best efforts, the Lincolns arrived at Kenna too late to take part in the fight that finally expelled Napoleon's army from Egypt.

For all it's services in the campaign against Napoleon in Egypt, the Lincolnshire Regiment was granted the honour of wearing the Sphinx as a distinguished mark of the King's "Royal Approbation", both on Regimental Colours and on their headgear.

Today the Sphinx is still displayed proudly, on the Colours and uniforms of the successors of the Lincolnshire Regiment.