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 24th 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 the Raid on St Malo in June 1758 and then formed part of a force which successfully captured Belle Île in spring 1761.[3] It embarked for the West Indies later that year and took part in the Invasion 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 the Battle of Saint Kitts in January 1782 and, while serving as marines, in the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782.[4] In August 1782 the regiment took a county title as the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot.[2] The regiment returned home in 1785.[3]
The main part of the regiment returned to the West Indies in 1796 to take part in a British invasion of Saint-Domingue,[7] where almost half of them caught yellow fever.[8] After returning home in 1798, the regiment took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799.[9] It moved to Jamaica in July 1800 and returned home again in June 1802.[10]
Private, 69th Regiment, c1880. From the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes MET DPB874232
The regiment embarked for the West Indies in November 1831 and was stationed in Saint Vincent before moving to Demerara in 1835.[16] It sailed for Halifax in Nova Scotia in January 1839 before returning home in September 1842.[17] It arrived in Malta in December 1847 and then went on to Barbados in 1851 before returning to England in May 1857.[18] It departed for Burma 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 a Fenian Raid at the Battle of Trout River in May 1870.[20] It embarked for Bermuda later that year and moved to Gibraltar in 1873 before returning home in 1878.[3]
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 69th was linked with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot, and assigned to district no. 24 at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff.[21] On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment.[2]
Traditions
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]
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