The mascot tradition in the regiments of Staffordshire stretches back to the 19th Century. In 1882, the South Staffordshire Regiment was ordered to march with Lord Wolseley to relieve General Gordon who was besieged in Khartoum. They entrained at Cairo with their Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Boxer. Startled by the sudden noise of the train's engine when it departed, Boxer leapt from the moving train and was seen lying, either unconscious or dead, at the side of the railroad tracks. A few days later, when the Regiment encamped at Assiut awaiting orders for the final phase of their march, a very thin and bedraggled dog staggered into their camp and collapsed. It was Boxer, who like a true soldier, walked for over 200 miles along the railway tracks in the scorching desert to rejoin his regiment. This feat marked the start of the tradition of having a Bull Terrier as a regimental mascot.