| 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
| Active | 10 December 1756–1 July 1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1756–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Onebattalion (two battalions 1795–1796 and 1803–1816) |
| Garrison/HQ | Maindy Barracks,Cardiff |
| Nicknames | The Ups and Downs The Old Agamemnons[1] |
| Engagements | Seven Years' War Napoleonic Wars Fenian raids |
The69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was aninfantry regiment of theBritish Army, raised in 1756. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form theWelch Regiment in 1881.
The formation of the regiment was prompted by the expansion of the army as a result of the commencement of theSeven Years' War. On 25 August 1756 it was ordered that a number of existing regiments should raise a secondbattalion; among those chosen was the24th Regiment of Foot. The 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot was formed on 10 December 1756 and renumbered as the 69th Regiment of Foot on 21 April 1758.[2] The regiment took part in theRaid on St Malo in June 1758 and then formed part of a force which successfully capturedBelle Île in spring 1761.[3] It embarked for theWest Indies later that year and took part in theInvasion of Martinique in January 1762 before returning home in 1763.[3] The regiment returned to the West Indies in November 1781 and took part in theBattle of Saint Kitts in January 1782 and, while serving asmarines, in theBattle of the Saintes in April 1782.[4] In August 1782 the regiment took a county title as the69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot.[2] The regiment returned home in 1785.[3]
Detachments from the regiment embarked as marines in early 1793 and were in combat on thethird-rateHMSLeviathan at the capture ofToulon in December 1793,[5] the attack on theTour de Mortella in February 1794[5] and at theGlorious First of June in June 1794.[6] They transferred to the third-rateHMSAgamemnon and served underLord Nelson at theBattle of Genoa in March 1795,[3] and then, after Nelson's transfer into the third-rateCaptain in June 1796, with him at theBattle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797.[6] At Cape St Vincent, Matthew Stevens, a soldier from the regiment, was the first to board the Spanish shipSan Nicolas.[6]
The main part of the regiment returned to the West Indies in 1796 to take part in aBritish invasion of Saint-Domingue,[7] where almost half of them caught yellow fever.[8] After returning home in 1798, the regiment took part in theAnglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799.[9] It moved toJamaica in July 1800 and returned home again in June 1802.[10]
A second battalion was raised in 1803.[2] The 1st battalion embarked forIndia in 1805 and helped to suppress theVellore mutiny in July 1806[10] and theTravancore Rebellion in spring 1809.[11] It went on to see action during theInvasion of Île Bonaparte in July 1810, theInvasion of Isle de France in December 1810 and theInvasion of Java in August 1811.[12]
Meanwhile the 2nd battalion embarked for theNetherlands in 1813 and took part in theSiege of Bergen op Zoom in March 1814.[13] It served at theBattle of Quatre Bras and theBattle of Waterloo.[13] At Quatre Bras theKing's Colour was captured by the enemy[14] and Lieutenant-ColonelCharles Morice, commanding officer of the battalion, was killed in a French cavalry charge.[15] The two battalions amalgamated again in 1816.[2]
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The regiment embarked for the West Indies in November 1831 and was stationed inSaint Vincent before moving toDemerara in 1835.[16] It sailed forHalifax inNova Scotia in January 1839 before returning home in September 1842.[17] It arrived inMalta in December 1847 and then went on toBarbados in 1851 before returning to England in May 1857.[18] It departed forBurma later that year and then went on to India in 1862 before returning home in May 1864.[19] It embarked for Canada in August 1867 and while, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Bagot, helped to defeat aFenian Raid at theBattle of Trout River in May 1870.[20] It embarked forBermuda later that year and moved to Gibraltar in 1873 before returning home in 1878.[3]
As part of theCardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 69th was linked with the41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 24 atMaindy Barracks inCardiff.[21] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form theWelch Regiment.[2]
The regiment's nickname "The Ups and Downs" is said to refer to its being composed of old veterans and raw recruits.[22] Alternatively, it may come from the number, which reads the same upside down.[22]
Battle honours won by the regiment were:[2]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[2]
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