The 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment 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 by the

Honourable 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 ...

in 1766. Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation w ...

it amalgamated with the

51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot The 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) to form the King's Own Yorkshire ...

to form the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

History

Early history

The regiment as first raised by the

as the 2nd Madras Europeans, when it was formed from the 1st Madras Europeans in 1766. It served in India until it was disbanded in 1799. It was re-raised as the 2nd Battalion, The Madras European Regiment in 1822 but disbanded again in 1830.

The Victorian era

The regiment was re-raised as the 2nd Madras (European) Regiment in 1839 and re-designated the 2nd Madras (European) Light Infantry in 1842. It was deployed to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in 1853 during the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese Empire and British Empire during the 19th century. The war resulted in a British victory with more ...

and then saw action in India in 1857 during the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. After the Crown took control of the

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three Presidencies of British India, presidencies of the East India Company's Company rule in India, rule in India, later the forces of the the Crown, British Crown in British Raj, India, composed pr ...

in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion, the regiment became the 2nd Madras Light Infantry in November 1859. It was then renumbered as the 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) on transfer to the

in September 1862. It embarked for England in 1874. As part of the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attentio ...

of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 105th was linked with the

, and assigned to district no. 8 at

Pontefract Barracks Pontefract Barracks is a former military installation in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and were completed in 1879. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Refo ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the

to form the

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: ;2nd Madras (European) Regiment *1839: Col. Archibald Brown Dyce ;105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) *1862–1866: Lt-Gen. Archibald Brown Dyce *1866–1881: Gen.

George Alexander Malcolm General George Alexander Malcolm, CB (21 January 1810 – 2 June 1888), was a British Army officer. He served in the First Opium War and became the first Chief Secretary for Administration, Colonial Secretary of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong in 1 ...

, CB

References

External links

* {{Regiments of Foot Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1839 British light infantry Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 Honourable East India Company regiments 1839 establishments in British India