The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, raised in 1755. 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 wa ...

it amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1881.

History

Early history

The regiment was originally raised by Colonel James Abercrombie as the 52nd Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. It was re-numbered as the 50th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment's first action was when it embarked on ships and took part in the Raid on Rochefort in September 1757 during the

. In its early years the regiment wore a uniform of black facings and white lace; when they wiped sweat away with their cuffs the dye stained their faces, giving rise to the nickname the "Dirty Half-Hundred" ("half-hundred" equals fifty)." The regiment embarked for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in June 1760 and saw action at the Battle of Corbach in July 1760, the Battle of Warburg later that month and the Battle of Villinghausen in July 1761 as well as the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762. It returned home in March 1763. The regiment was posted to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

in 1772, and then to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1776.Fyler, p. 49 At this point, troops were transferred to other regiments and the officers returned to England to raise a new force; as such, the regiment did not see action in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The men of the regiment served on various ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

and saw action at the

First Battle of Ushant The Battle of Ushant (also called the First Battle of Ushant) took place on 27 July 1778, and was fought during the American Revolutionary War between French and British fleets west of Ushant, an island at the mouth of the English Channel o ...

in July 1778. The regiment adopted a county designation and became the 50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot in 1782. The regiment embarked for

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 = Gibr ...

in August 1784 and then moved to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

in January 1793 for service in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

and took part in the Siege of Calvi in July 1794. It returned to Gibraltar in 1797 and moved to

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...

in 1799 before embarking for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

in 1800. The regiment fought at the Battle of Mandora in March 1801, the Battle of Alexandria later that month and the

Siege of Cairo The siege of Cairo, also known as the Cairo campaign, was a siege that took place during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French and British with Ottoman forces and was the penultimate action of the Egyptian Campaign. British commander ...

in May 1801. The regiment then proceeded to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in October 1801 and to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

in May 1802.

Napoleonic Wars

Fuite précipitée des Anglais à La Corogne (17 janvier 1809)

A second battalion was raised in 1804 to increase the strength of the regiment. The 1st battalion embarked for

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

in July 1807 and saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 during the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal ...

before returning home in November 1807. It then embarked for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

in May 1808 for service under General

Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

and saw action at the

Battle of Roliça In the Battle of Roliça (17 August 1808) an Anglo-Portuguese army under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated an outnumbered Imperial French division under General of Division Henri François Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal. ...

in August 1808 and the Battle of Vimeiro later that month. In January 1809 the battalion took part in the

Battle of Corunna The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Bri ...

, commanded by

Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, (; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a Major General of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the military conquest o ...

, carrying out successive

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

charges to keep the French at bay, at which General Sir John Moore shouted "Well done, 50th! Well done, my Majors!". The battalion was subsequently evacuated from the Peninsula. Both battalions then embarked from the Downs in July 1809 and saw action in the disastrous Walcheren Campaign. It was the last regiment to leave

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

in December 1809. The 1st battalion returned to Portugal in September 1810 and took part in the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811, the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

in October 1811 and the

Battle of Almaraz The Battle of Almaraz was a battle of the Peninsular War which took place on 18–19 May 1812, in which the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Lord Hill destroyed a French pontoon bridge across the River Tagus, in Almaraz, Spain. The bridge was p ...

in May 1812 as well as the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the

Battle of the Pyrenees The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive (the author David Chandler recognises the 'battle' as an offensive) launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s or ...

in July 1813, the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 and the Battle of the Nive in December 1813 as well as the

Battle of Orthez The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...

in February 1814 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment returned to Ireland in July 1814.

The Victorian era

Shaam Singh Attari leading his last charge at the Battle of Sobraon

The regiment was deployed to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in January 1819 and landed in

in March 1819. It was renamed the 50th (or Duke of Clarence's) Regiment of Foot, in honour of the future King William IV in 1827. It then became the 50th (the Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot in honour of the King's wife, Queen Adelaide in 1831. The regiment travelled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in detachments as escorts to prisoners in 1834,Fyler, p. 198 with detachments then stationed at Sydney, Norfolk Island, and Tasmania, before being relieved and transported to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

in 1841. It fought in the Gwalior Campaign in December 1843 and were prominent at the

Battle of Mudki The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845, between the forces of the East India Company and part of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The British army won an untidy encounter battle, suffering heavy casu ...

in December 1845, the Battle of Ferozeshah later that month and the

Battle of Aliwal The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and Sikh forces in northern India (now Punjab). The British were led by Sir Harry Smith,Smith, Sir Harry. ‘'The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith Bar ...

in January 1846 as well as the

Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1846, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the decisive battle of th ...

in February 1846 during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Ryan, who had commanded the regiment in the early battles of the campaign and then commanded the 2nd Brigade at Sobraon, died two months later from the wounds he had received in that battle. The regiment arrived back in England in July 1848. The regiment embarked for

in February 1854 from where it sailed to Varna in June 1854 for service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. The regiment fought at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septem ...

in September 1854, the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and in the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. The regiment left the Crimean Peninsula in May 1856. The regiment landed in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in November 1863 for service in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

. It joined a field force which marched into the interior of the country as part of Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron's West Coast campaign and while encamped at Nukumaru near

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

came under sustained attack from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

in January 1865 during the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...

: a total of 11 private soldiers from the regiment and 23 Māori died in the engagement. The regiment moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

in June 1867 and then left for England in March 1869.Fyler, p. 288 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 50th was linked with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 46 at

Maidstone Barracks Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in Maidstone, Kent. History Maidstone Barracks Permanent barracks were first established in Maidstone as part of the British response to the threat of the French Revolution in 1797. Maidstone Barr ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. On 1 July 1881 the

came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

Battle Honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *French Revolutionary Wars 1793-1802: Egypt (With the Sphinx) *Peninsular War 1808-14: Vimiero, Corunna, Almaraz, Vitoria,

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

Nive The Nive (; eu, Errobi; oc, Niva) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by ...

, Orthes, Peninsula *Gwalior Campaign 1843: Punniar *First Sikh War 1845-46: Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, Sobraon *Crimean War 1854-55: Alma, Inkerman, Sevastapol *Third Maori War 1863-66:

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Colonels

The regiment's colonels were as follows:

50th Regiment of Foot

*1755–1756: Gen James Abercromby *1756–1759: F.M. Studholme Hodgson *1759–1760: F.M. John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden KB *1760–1764: Lt-Gen Edward Carr *1764–1774: Gen Sir William Boothby Bt *1774–1775: Gen Michael O'Brien Dilkes *1775–1776: Col Hon George Monson (died in office in 1776) *1777–1798: Gen Sir

Thomas Spencer Wilson General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, 6th Baronet (25 January 1727 – 29 August 1798) was an officer of the British Army and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1780. The son of Sir Thomas Wilson, 4th Baronet, he was educated at ...

Bt *1798–1839: Gen Sir James Duff

50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot

*1839–1842: Gen Sir George Townshend Walker Bt GCB *1842–1844: Lt-Gen Sir

Hudson Lowe Sir Hudson Lowe (28 July 176910 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of the Emperor Napoléon. Early life The son of John Lowe, ...

KCB GCMG *1844–1849: Lt-Gen Sir John Gardiner KCB *1849–1851: Major-Gen Sir

Dudley St Leger Hill Major-General Sir Dudley St Leger Hill, KCB (1790 – 21 February 1851) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. Biography Hill was born in Carlow, Ireland, the son of Dudley Hill, a solicitor of Carlow and Dublin, and his wife, La ...

KCB *1851–1852: Lt-Gen William Francis Bentinck Loftus *1852–1853: Major-Gen James Allan CB *1853–1854: Lt-Gen Sir George Arthur Bt KCH *1854–1861: Gen Sir Richard England GCB KH *1861–1862: Lt-Gen George Morton Eden *1862–1872: Lt-Gen Marcus John Slade *1872–1881: Gen Sir Edward Walter Forestier-Walker KCB

References

Sources

* {{Regiments of Foot Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1755 Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Peninsular War Military units and formations disestablished in 1881