A significant organisational change occurred in 1751; previously, regiments were considered the property of their Colonel, changed names when transferred from one to another and were disbanded as soon as possible.[10] As part of a package of reforms driven by the increasing professionalisation of the military, each regiment was now assigned a number, based on precedence or seniority in the Army list; Colonel Peregrine Hopson's Regiment became the 29th Regiment of Foot.[11]
George Boscawen replaced Hopson as Colonel in 1752 and his brother, Admiral Edward Boscawen presented him with 10 black youths taken in the 1759 Invasion of Guadeloupe. They were employed as regimental drummers, a tradition that continued until 1843.[12]
Soldier of the 29th Foot in 1742
Together with the 14th Regiment of Foot, the 29th was posted to Boston in 1768.[13] On 5 March 1770, members of the Grenadier company under Captain Thomas Preston were involved in the Boston Massacre, when five colonists died during a riot in front of the Boston customs house.[14] The 29th was later dubbed the Vein Openers, for allegedly drawing first blood in the American Revolution.[8]
On 31 August 1782, the unit was renamed the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot by a royal warrant giving county titles to all regiments that did not already have a special title.[1] This was an attempt to improve recruitment, but no depot was established in the county and recruits were liable to serve in any regiment.[21]
The regiment returned to England after the Anglo-French War ended in 1783; in 1791, it was given the regimental march known as 'The Royal Windsor,' allegedly composed by Princess Augusta, with the help of Lord William Cathcart.[22]
The French Revolutionary Wars broke out in 1792 and in 1794, members of the 29th took part in the British naval victory known as the Glorious First of June, serving as marines on HMS Brunswick and Ramillies.[23] The regiment was awarded a naval crown for its participation in the battle, during which the Brunswick sank the French ship Le Vengeur du Peuple and disabled the Achille.[24] At the end of December 1794, a battalion of 21 officers and 640 men, formed from those in the 29th who were not detached to warships, embarked on the troopshipMaria for the Caribbean island of Grenada, where discontent would lead to an insurrection in the coming months, known as Fédon's Rebellion or the Brigand's War.[25] On their return to England in July 1796, the battalion had been reduced by battle casualties and disease to 5 officers and 87 men.[26] It later fought in a more conventional role at Alkmaar in October 1799, during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.[27]
In 1808, the 29th joined Wellington's army engaged in the 1807-1814 Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal.[28] At Roliça on 17 August, it suffered heavy losses assaulting an entrenched French position, which was taken only after a prolonged defence; at Vimeiro four days later, it held off an attack by Brenier's Brigade, allowing two other British battalions to first regroup, then repulse the attack.[29]
I wish very much that some measures could be adopted to get recruits for the regiment, it is the best Regiment in this Army, has an admirable internal system and excellent Non-Commissioned Officers.
After the Battle of Grijó in May,[30] it was engaged at Talavera in July; on 27th, with two other battalions, it attacked French positions on the hill called Cerro de Medellin. This was taken by the evening and then held throughout the next day, despite a series of French attacks and artillery bombardment; two French colours were captured in a bayonet charge that drove the French regiments from the field.[31]
At the Battle of Albuera on 16 May 1811, it suffered heavy losses, including Ensigns Edward Furnace and Richard Vance killed saving the regimental colours.[32] After this, it returned to England to refit and recruit more men.[33]
Transferred to Bengal in 1842, during the First Anglo-Sikh War the regiment fought at the Battle of Ferozeshah in December 1845 and the Battle of Sobraon on 10 February 1846.[35] At Sobraon, the 29th, along with two battalions of Indian Sepoys twice unsuccessfully assaulted the Sikhearthworks before finally breaking through on the third assault: the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Taylor was killed in the assault.[35]
In 1873 a practical system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted. The 29th Sub-District, consisting of the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire was created, with headquarters at Norton Barracks, three miles from the city of Worcester. The barracks became the depot for the regiment along with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot and the militia of the two counties.[39] On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment became the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Regiment, while the 36th became the 2nd battalion.[1]
Garter Star badge
The regimental badge of the regiment and later of the Worcestershire Regiment show the influence of the Coldstream Guards on the regiment. The Coldstream Guards and the 29th are the only two regiments to have the elongated star and garter of the Order of the Garter as their regimental badge with its motto "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" translated "Shame be to him who evil thinks" earning a third nickname The Guards of the Line.[8]
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonial occasions. The Regiment has consistently provided formations on deployments around the world and has fought in the majority of the major conflicts in which the British Army has been engaged.
The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years.
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named the 9th Regiment of Foot.
The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881.
The 50th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 97th Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1881.
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments and named the 10th Regiment of Foot. After the Childers Reforms of 1881, it became the Lincolnshire Regiment after the county where it had been recruiting since 1781.
The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch in 1881.
The 38th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot to form the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1881.
The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881.
The 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1741. The regiment saw action during Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War as well as the Peninsular War, the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Xhosa Wars. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Sherwood Foresters in 1881.
The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment in 1958, to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Subsequently, the regiment amalgamated with the Green Howards and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form the Yorkshire Regiment on 6 June 2006.
The 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Worcestershire Regiment in 1881. Its lineage is continued today by the Mercian Regiment.
The 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 59th Regiment of Foot to form the East Lancashire Regiment in 1881.
The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922.
The 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881.
The 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, which was raised in 1756 and saw service through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Wiltshire Regiment in 1881.
The 85th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881.
The 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army raised in 1846 as the 2nd Bellochee Battalion. It was designated as the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis in 1903, and became 4th Battalion 10th Baluch Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to Pakistan Army, where it continues to exist as 11th Battalion of The Baloch Regiment.
The 98th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1824 as the 98th Regiment of Foot, before assuming the title of the 98th Regiment of Foot in 1876. Later, in 1881, following the Childers Reforms of the British Army, the regiment was amalgamated with the 64th Regiment of Foot to become the Prince of Wales's Regiment. As the 64th Foot was senior to the 98th, the 98th became the 2nd Battalion in the new regiment. Throughout the course of the regiment's existence it served mostly overseas in South Africa, China and India.
Major-General George Johnstone was a British Army officer. He was commissioned into the infantry 1780, serving in Grenada during Fédon's rebellion in 1795–96. He was afterwards transferred to command a regiment of fencibles in New Brunswick, where he served for a year as acting Lieutenant Governor. In 1810, he was given command of a Highland regiment which served on garrison duty in Cape Colony. Johnstone was promoted to major general in 1814 and given command of the 6th Brigade in the 1815 Waterloo campaign. His brigade was not engaged in the 18 June Battle of Waterloo as they were posted to the extreme right flank, protecting the approaches to Brussels and Ostend. His men fought in the subsequent advance to Paris and helped to storm the fortress of Cambrai on 24 June.
↑ Everard, Hugh Edward (Autumn 1973). Southern, J (ed.). "From 'The History of Thomas Farrington's Regiment'". The Black Perspective in Music. 1 (2): 10–13. doi:10.2307/1214455. JSTOR1214455.
Regimental titles in italics indicate they were disbanded or renumbered before 1881.
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