The 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, raised in 1787. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) in 1881.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised by General James Marsh for service in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

due to fears that war with France was imminent as the 77th (Hindoostan) Regiment of Foot in October 1787. In accordance with the Declaratory Act 1788 the cost of raising the regiment was recharged to the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

on the basis that the act required that expenses "should be defrayed out of the revenues" arising there. First assembled in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

in early 1788, the regiment arrived in India in August 1788, and saw action at the siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 in the

Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...

and the capture of the Dutch settlements in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1795. It also saw action at the Battle of Seedaseer in March 1799 and formed part of the storming part at the siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The regiment also took part in skirmishes at Panjalamcoorchy in March 1801 and Caliarcoil in October 1801 during the

Polygar Wars The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars (''Palaiyakkarars'') of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company's Madras Regiment between March 1799 to May 1802 or Jul ...

. The regiment then embarked for England in February 1807. On 29 May 1807 one of the ships carrying the soldiers home, the

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

'', was off the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

when she sprang a leak. She sank almost due south of Cape Agulhas. There was no loss of life; the East Indiaman ''St Vincent'', which was in company, managed to get all 203 or 209 persons on board ''Ganges'' off, including a number of soldiers from the regiment.

Napoleonic Wars

The regiment was given a county designation, becoming the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot in 1807. It took part in the disastrous

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

in autumn 1809 and, having been granted permission to bear the plumes and motto of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

as a badge in commemoration of twenty years service in India in February 1810, it embarked for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in June 1811 for service in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. It saw action at the Battle of El Bodón in September 1811, the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and the siege of Badajoz in March 1812. The regiment then fought at the Battle of Bayonne in April 1814 before returning home in August 1814.

The Victorian era

The regiment embarked for

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in February 1824 and lost many men to

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

there before returning home in June 1834. It embarked for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in November 1837 and for

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

in February 1842. It then embarked for Jamaica again in January 1843 and went on to Halifax in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in January 1846 before embarking for home in May 1848. It sailed for Malta in March 1854 and, having landed at Scutari in April 1854, saw action at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septe ...

in September 1854, the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and at the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. Sergeant John Park and Private Alexander Wright were awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for their actions during the war. The regiment returned home in July 1856. The regiment embarked for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in June 1857 and then sailed for India in April 1858 to help suppress the Indian Rebellion before embarking for home again in April 1870. The regiment became 77th (the East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) in June 1876 and were permitted to bear the coronet and cypher of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge on its colours and badges from December 1876. It embarked for India again in August 1880.Woollright, p. 121 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 77th was linked with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 50 at Hounslow Barracks. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment).

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were: * Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: Seringapatam * Peninsular War: Ciudad Rodrigo,

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

, Peninsula * Crimean War: Alma, Inkerman,

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

Victoria Cross recipients

*Sergeant John Park,

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(19 April 1855) *Private Alexander Wright, Crimean War (22 March 1855 and 19 April 1855)

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were:

77th (Hindoostan) Regiment of Foot

*1787–1804: Gen. James Marsh *1804–1808: Gen. Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey

77th (the East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot - (1807)

*1808–1811: Gen.

Richard Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan Richard Ford William Lambart, 7th Earl of Cavan (10 September 1763 – 21 November 1837), styled Viscount Kilcoursie from 1772 to 1778, was a British military commander throughout the Napoleonic era and beyond. He became head of the British Army ...

, KC *1811: Gen. Sir Charles Hastings, Bt. *1811–1815: Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Picton, GCB *1815–1834: Lt-Gen. Sir George Cooke, KCB *1834–1840: Lt-Gen. Sir Archibald Campbell, Bt., GCB (of Ava) *1840–1851: Lt-Gen. Sir John Macleod, CB, KCH *1851–1854: Gen. Sir George Brown, GCB, KH *1854–1861: Gen. Sir George Leigh Goldie, KCB *1861–1875: Gen. Henry Robinson-Montagu, 6th Baron Rokeby, GCB *1875–1881: Gen. Henry Hope Graham, CB

References

Sources

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 77 Military units and formations established in 1787 Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Military units and formations in Middlesex Middlesex Regiment 1787 establishments in Great Britain Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Peninsular War