30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot
The 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot to form the East Lancashire Regiment in 1881.
30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot
1702–1881
The Triple X's
Pale yellow facings
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
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.[1] 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.[2][3][4]
By 1702 England was involved in the European conflict which became known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Sanderson was commissioned to reform his regiment as marines.[4] In February 1702 Thomas Sanderson's Regiment of Marines (or the 1st Regiment of Marines) was reraised in Lincolnshire.[2] The unit took part in the capture and defence of Gibraltar in July 1704.[5] It subsequently took part in the campaign led by the Earl of Peterborough and was involved in the capture of Barcelona in September 1705.[6] The regiment's title changed with the name of its colonel: Thomas Pownall (1704–1705) and Charles Wills (from 1705).[1]
War of the Austrian Succession[edit]
In 1714 the regiment was converted to conventional infantry as Charles Willis's Regiment of Foot[1] and deployed to Ireland later that year.[7] The regiment was sent to Menorca on garrison duty in 1724[7] and was again in Gibraltar during the siege of 1727.[8] The regiment served in Ireland again from 1732 to 1743[9] 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.[10] Troops from the regiment served as marines again on board Lord Anson's fleet at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747.[11] The regiment was sent to Ireland again in 1749.[11]
Seven Years' War[edit]
On 1 July 1751 a royal warrant was issued declaring that in future regiments were no longer to be known by their colonel's name, but by the "Number or Rank of the Regiment". Accordingly, Colonel the Earl of Loudoun's Regiment was renamed as the 30th Regiment of Foot.[1] The warrant also for the first time regulated the uniform clothing of the army, and provided that the 30th should wear pale yellow facings on their red uniform coats.[12] The regiment returned to England in 1755[11] and took part in the Raid on Rochefort in September 1757,[13] the Raid on St Malo in June 1758[14] and the Raid on Cherbourg in August 1758[14] as well as the Battle of Saint Cast in September 1758 during the Seven Years' War.[15] Their most notable action during the war was the capture of Belle Île in June 1761.[16] The regiment served in Gibraltar again from 1763 to 1771[17] and in Ireland again from 1775 to 1781.[18]
American War of Independence[edit]
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.[18] The regiment then spent nine years on Antigua, Saint Lucia and Dominica.[3] In 1782 all regiments of the line without a royal title were given a county designation and the regiment became the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot.[2] In 1791 the regiment was called to put down a rebellion by the Maroons.[19]
The 30th Foot was granted the following battle honours and honorary distinctions to be borne on their colours. The year shown is the year of the award, not the action.[46]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[1]