The 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) 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 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 was ...

it amalgamated with the 103rd Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

History

Formation

The regiment was raised by the Honourable East India Company as the Madras Europeans from independent companies in 1742 – "European" indicating it was composed of British soldiers, not Indian

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s. It saw action at the

siege of Arcot The Siege of Arcot (23 September – 14 November 1751) took place at Arcot, India between forces of the British East India Company led by Robert Clive allied with Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah and forces of Nawab of the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib, allie ...

in autumn 1751 during the Second Carnatic War and went on to fight at the

Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, ...

in June 1757, the

Battle of Condore The Battle of Condore took place near Masulipatam on 9 December 1758 during the Third Carnatic War, part of the Seven Years' War. An Anglo-Indian force under the command of Colonel Francis Forde attacked and defeated a similarly sized French fo ...

in December 1758 and the

Battle of Wandiwash The Battle of Wandiwash was a battle in India between the French and the British in 1760. The battle was part of the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and British colonial empires, which itself was a part of the global Seven Years' ...

in January 1760 during the Seven Years' War. It also fought at the siege of Pondicherry in September 1760 during the Third Carnatic War. It became the 1st Madras Europeans, on formation of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

and 3rd Madras Europeans, in 1766. It went on to become the 1st Madras European Regiment in 1774. After that it took part in the siege of Nundydroog in October 1791 and the siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War.

Early nineteenth century

The regiment next took part in expedition to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

seeing action at the capture of Amboyna in February 1796 and its recapture in February 1810, the capture of Ternate in April 1801 and its recapture in August 1810 and the capture of

Banda Banda may refer to: People *Banda (surname) *Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician *Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor *Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician *Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh warr ...

in March 1796 and its recapture in August 1810.

The Victorian era

The regiment returned to India in 1816 and took part in the Battle of Mahidpur in December 1817 during the Third Anglo-Maratha War. It was deployed to Burma in 1824 for service in the First Anglo-Burmese War: it formed part of an army which advanced up the River Irrawaddy to the Kingdom of Ava. It returned to India arriving in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1826. It transferred to

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

in 1835 and became the 1st Madras (European) Fusiliers in 1843. After returning to India in early 1852 it was deployed to the Province of Pegu in April 1852 during the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The regiment fought at the siege and relief of Lucknow in November 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 for ...

. Three members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the siege. After the Crown took control of the Presidency armies in the aftermath of the Rebellion, the regiment became the 1st Madras Fusiliers in July 1858 and then the 1st Royal Madras Fusiliers in May 1861. It was then renumbered as the 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) on transfer to the British Army in September 1862. The regiment embarked for England in 1870 and was then deployed to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in April 1876 and to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1879. 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 attention ...

of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 102nd was linked with the

103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) 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 amalgama ...

, and assigned to district no. 66 at Naas Barracks in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Plassey the tiger

The 102nd kept a tiger, named Plassey, during their deployments in India and the regiment's garrison at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East 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 south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. Named after the Battle of Plassey, the Bengal tiger cub was among a pair captured by Captain Frank Thackwell of the

5th Royal Irish Lancers The 5th Royal Irish Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War. It amalgamated with the 16th The Queen's Lancers to become the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early wa ...

, and later gifted to the 102nd. Plassey was among the other mascots of the 102nd, that being a dog and an antelope. Plassey came to be such a symbol of the regiment that the

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

showed him. After the regiment was shipped back to Europe, Plassey stayed with the Dover garrison, where he lived alongside a pair of leopards. However, after having "alarmed" residents, Plassey was sent to the

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

, where he died in 1877.

Battle honours

Battle honours won by the regiment were:

Victoria Crosses

*Private Thomas Duffy,

Indian Mutiny 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 fo ...

(6 September 1857) *Private John Ryan, Indian Mutiny (26 September 1857) *Private

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857)

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment included: ;102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) *1862–1881: Gen. Sir Robert John Hussey Vivian, GCB

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:102nd Regiment Of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) Infantry regiments of the British Army Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1742 Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1742 establishments in British India