103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) | |
---|---|
Active | 1662–1881 |
Country | East India Company (1662–1858) United Kingdom (1858–1881) |
Branch | Bombay Army (1662–1862) British Army (1862–1881) |
Role | Infantry |
Size | One battalion |
Garrison/HQ | Naas Barracks, County Kildare |
Colors | white facings, changed to dark blue in 1861. |
Engagements | Seven Years' War Third Anglo-Mysore War Third Anglo-Maratha War Fourth Anglo-Mysore War Second Anglo-Sikh War Indian Rebellion |
The 103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) was a regiment raised in 1662. It transferred to the command of the Honourable East India Company in 1668 and to the command of the British Army in 1862. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in 1881.
The regiment was originally raised in England as independent companies of European soldiers to garrison Bombay in February 1662. [1] It embarked for India later that year and was transferred to the Honourable East India Company as The Bombay Regiment in March 1668. [1] In 1688 it was renamed The Bombay (European) Regiment – "European" indicating it was composed of white soldiers, not Indian sepoys. [1] The regiment saw action at the Battle of Plassey in June 1757 during the Seven Years' War. [2] It also fought at the Battle of Buxar in October 1764 during the Oude Campaign. [2] It next saw action at the siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. [2] It fought at the Battle of Seedaseer in March 1799 and the siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. [2]
The regiment fought at the Battle of Khadki in November 1817 during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. [3] It then embarked for the Arabian Peninsula in October 1820 and saw action in operations against Omani pirates at Jalan Bani Bu Ali in March 1821. [2]
The regiment took part in the Conquest of Aden in 1839 and was then renumbered as the 1st Bombay (European) Regiment later in the year (on the creation of the 2nd Bombay (European) Regiment), and designated the 1st Bombay (European) Fusiliers in 1844. [1] It took part in the siege of Multan in April 1848 and the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. [2] It also fought at various skirmishes during the Indian Rebellion. [2]
After the Crown took control of the Presidency armies in the aftermath of the Mutiny, the regiment became the 1st Bombay Fusiliers in November 1859 and then the 1st Royal Bombay Fusiliers in May 1861. [1] It was then renumbered as the 103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) on transfer to the British Army in September 1862. [1] [Note 1] The regiment arrived in England in February 1871. [2]
As part of the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 103rd was linked with the 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers), and assigned to district no. 66 at Naas Barracks in County Kildare. [5] On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. [1]
The regiment received the following battle honours granted by the Honourable East India Company: [3]
In 1844 the regiment was granted a number of honorary distinctions recording its past service. The awards were made by the Governor-General of India on 6 November 1844 in the following terms: "With the approval of the Right Honourable the Governor-General of India in Council, the Honourable the Governor in Council is pleased to direct, that the honorary distinctions specified below be borne upon the Colours and appointments of the 1st Bombay European Regiment, Fusiliers": [6]
Colonels of the Regiment were: [1]
The 102nd Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1742. It transferred to the command of the British Army in 1862. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 103rd Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in the American Revolutionary War sparked Anglo-Mysorean hostilities in India. The great majority of soldiers on the company side were raised, trained, paid and commanded by the company, not the British government. However, the company's operations were also bolstered by Crown troops sent from Britain, and by troops from Hanover, which was also ruled by Britain's King George III.
The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company, Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his succeeding son Tipu fought the wars on four fronts: with the British attacking from the west, south and east and the Nizam's forces attacking from the north. The fourth war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu, and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, which took control of much of the Indian subcontinent.
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The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army created in 1881 and disbanded in 1922. It was one of eight 'Irish' regiments of the army which were raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with the regiment's home depot being located in Naas. The regiment was created via the amalgamation of the Royal Bombay Fusiliers and Royal Madras Fusiliers, two army regiments stationed in India, with militia units from Dublin and Kildare as part of the Childers Reforms. Both battalions of the regiment served in the Second Boer War.
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