Origins The regiment was originally raised in
Lincolnshire by
Viscount Castleton as '''Lord Castleton's Regiment of Foot''' in 1689, during the
Nine Years' War. In 1691 travelled to
Flanders. In 1694 the colonelcy of the unit changed and it became '''Colonel Thomas Sanderson's Regiment of Foot'''. With the signing of the
Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 the war came to an end. Sanderson's Regiment returned to England, where it was disbanded on 4 March 1698. By 1702 England was involved in the
War of the Spanish Succession. Sanderson was commissioned to reform his regiment as marines. It subsequently took part in the campaign led by the
Earl of Peterborough and was involved in the
capture of Barcelona in September 1705. The regiment's title changed with the name of its colonel: Thomas Pownall (1704–1705) and
Charles Wills (from 1705). The regiment was sent to
Menorca on garrison duty in 1724 The regiment served in Ireland again from 1732 to 1743 and then sailed with the expedition under General
James St Clair to
capture the Breton port of Lorient in September 1746 during the
War of the Austrian Succession: they also destroyed the
French fortifications near
Quiberon and returned to England. Troops from the regiment served as marines again on board
Lord Anson's fleet at the
First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747. The regiment was sent to Ireland again in 1749. The regiment returned to England in 1755 the
Raid on St Malo in June 1758 and the
Raid on Cherbourg in August 1758 Their most notable action during the war was the
capture of Belle Île in June 1761. The regiment served in Gibraltar again from 1763 to 1771 and in Ireland again from 1775 to 1781.
American War of Independence In 1781 the regiment embarked for North America where they arrived in
Charleston to take part in the southern campaign of the
American War of Independence.
Coalition Wars '' (
Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1802) The regiment arrived back in England in 1791 and provided support to the
French Royalists at the
Siege of Toulon in autumn 1793 during the
French Revolutionary Wars. In March 1801 the regiment formed part of the British expedition to liberate
French-occupied Egypt and took part in the
Battle of Mandora and then the
Battle of Alexandria later that month. The regiment returned to England in 1802 and formed a second battalion in the following year. In January 1807 the 1st Battalion sailed for India where it remained throughout the war. The 2nd Battalion embarked for
Portugal in March 1809 for service in the
Peninsular War. It fought at the
Siege of Badajoz in March 1812: the battalion's losses were 6 officers including the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel George Grey, and 132 other ranks. It also saw action at the
Battle of Salamanca in July 1812. It went on to fight at the
Siege of Burgos in September 1812 before returning home in December 1812. The battalion subsequently landed in Holland and fought at the
Battle of Quatre Bras and the
Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. At Waterloo the 2nd Battalion,
73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Battalion, 30th Regiment of Foot formed a defensive square to defend their ground against successive French attacks. By the beginning of 1816 the 2nd Battalion were once more in Ireland. In April 1817 the order came for disbandment of the 2nd Battalion. Lieutenant
Edward Macready wrote in his journal: "This brave corps ... will be remembered as long as the names of Fuentes de Onoro, Badajoz, Salamanca, Muriel, Quatre Bras and Waterloo are emblazoned in the highest pages of British achievement." It was back in Ireland again from 1844 to 1846.
The Victorian era The regiment landed at
Scutari in May 1854 and was present at the
Battle of Alma in September 1854, the
Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and the
Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 during the
Crimean War. The regiment remained there until 1869, and was involved in repelling the
Fenian raids.
Amalgamation The regiment was posted to Ireland in 1869, moving to Jersey in 1871. 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 30th was linked with the
59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 15 at
Burnley Barracks in
Lancashire. It sailed for India in January 1880. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot to form the
East Lancashire Regiment. == Battle honours ==