after whom the regiment was named
Formation The regiment was raised by General
James Marsh for service in
India due to fears that war with France was imminent as the
77th (Hindoostan) Regiment of Foot in October 1787. In accordance with the Declaratory Act 1788 the cost of raising the regiment was recharged to the British
East India Company on the basis that the act required that expenses "should be defrayed out of the revenues" arising there. the regiment arrived in India in August 1788, and saw action at the
siege of Seringapatam in February 1792 in the
Third Anglo-Mysore War and the capture of the Dutch settlements in
Ceylon in 1795. It also saw action at the
Battle of Seedaseer in March 1799 and formed part of the storming part at the
siege of Seringapatam in April 1799 during the
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The regiment also took part in skirmishes at Panjalamcoorchy in March 1801 and Caliarcoil in October 1801 during the
Polygar Wars. The regiment then embarked for England in February 1807. On 29 May 1807 one of the ships carrying the soldiers home, the
East Indiaman Ganges, was off the
Cape of Good Hope when she sprang a leak. She sank almost due south of
Cape Agulhas. There was no loss of life; the East Indiaman
St Vincent, which was in company, managed to get all 203 or 209 persons on board
Ganges off, including a number of soldiers from the regiment.
Napoleonic Wars The regiment was given a county designation, becoming the
77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot in 1807. and, having been granted permission to bear the
plumes and motto of the
Prince of Wales as a badge in commemoration of twenty years service in India in February 1810, it embarked for
Spain in June 1811 for service in the
Peninsular War. It saw action at the
Battle of El Bodón in September 1811, the
siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and the
siege of Badajoz in March 1812. The regiment then fought at the
Battle of Bayonne in April 1814 before returning home in August 1814.
The Victorian era The regiment embarked for
Jamaica in February 1824 and lost many men to
fever there before returning home in June 1834. It embarked for
Malta in November 1837 and for
Corfu in February 1842. It then embarked for Jamaica again in January 1843 and went on to
Halifax in
Nova Scotia in January 1846 before embarking for home in May 1848. It sailed for Malta in March 1854 and, having landed at
Scutari in April 1854, saw action at the
Battle of Alma in September 1854, the
Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and at the
siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854. Sergeant
John Park and Private
Alexander Wright were awarded the
Victoria Cross for their actions during the war. The regiment returned home in July 1856. The regiment embarked for
New South Wales in June 1857 and then sailed for India in April 1858 to help suppress the
Indian Rebellion before embarking for home again in April 1870. The regiment became '''77th (the East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (The Duke of Cambridge's Own)''' in June 1876 It embarked for India again in August 1880. 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 77th was linked with the
57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 50 at
Hounslow Barracks. On 1 July 1881 the
Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the
Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment). ==Battle honours==