, the first colonel of the regiment
Formation The formation of the regiment was prompted by the expansion of the army as a result of the commencement of the
Seven Years' War. On 25 August 1756 it was ordered that a number of existing regiments should raise a second
battalion; among those chosen was the
20th Regiment of Foot. The 2nd Battalion of the 20th Regiment of Foot was formed on 10 December 1756 and renumbered as the 67th Regiment of Foot on 21 April 1758. It embarked for
Portugal in 1762 and moved on to
Menorca in 1763. After returning home in 1771, it was posted to
Ireland in 1775. In 1782 the regiment took a county title as the
67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. It moved to
Jamaica in 1798 and then with numbers depleted by disease returned to England in 1801. and took part in the closing stages of the
siege of Ryghur in May 1818 and most of the
siege of Asirgarh in March 1819 during the
Third Anglo-Maratha War. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion embarked for Portugal in November 1810 for service in the
Peninsular War and fought at the
Battle of Barrosa in March 1811 and the
siege of Tarragona in June 1813 before taking part in operations on the East coast of Spain in the closing stages of the War. The battalions were amalgamated again in May 1817.
The Victorian era The regiment returned from India in November 1826. It embarked for
Gibraltar in 1832 and moved on to the West Indies in 1833: it was initially based at
Saint Kitts but moved to
Demerara in 1837 and to Barbados in 1839 before returning home in 1840. It embarked for India in 1858 and them moved on the
China in 1860 for service in the
Second Opium War. It saw action in the
Battle of the Taku Forts in August 1860 and the
Battle of Palikao in September 1860 before taking part in the capture of
Peking later that month. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the
37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to form the
Hampshire Regiment (later the
Royal Hampshire Regiment). ==Battle honours==