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HistoryThe regiment was formed as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot in 1689, becoming known, like other regiments, by the names of its subsequent colonels. It became the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1751, having been deemed 24th in the infantry order of precedence since 1747. In 1782 it became the 24th Royal Welsh Regiment of Foot. The 1st Warwickshires were the 6th (1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot.
In 1741, during the War of Jenkin's Ear, the regiment was part of the amphibious expedition to the Caribbean and participated in the disastrous British defeat at the battle of Cartagena de Indias.
In 1756, during the Seven Years War, the regiment was part of the garrison on Minorca and surrendered to the French on June 28.
In 1758, during the Seven Years War, the regiment was part of the amphibious expedition against, or descent on, the coast of France and participated in the disastrous British defeat at the battle of Saint Cast.
In 1776 the regiment was sent to Quebec where it subsequently fought American rebels who had invaded the province during their War of Independence. The regiment was part of the 5,000 British and Hessian force, under the command of Gen. John Burgoyne, that surrendered to the American rebels in the 1777 Saratoga Campaign and remained imprisoned until 1783.
In 1804 a 2nd Battalion was raised but its life was relatively short when it was disbanded in 1814, having seen service in the Peninsular War.
In 1810 the vast majority of the 1st Battalion was captured at sea by the French; they were released the following year. They had been on the East Indiamen Astell, Ceylon and Windham when a French frigate squadron captured the last two at the Action of 3 July 1810 near the Comoros Islands.
In 1814 the 1st Battalion took part in The Gurkha War, which saw the British and the Gurkhas gain mutual respect. After the war, the British began recruiting Gurkhas,who became part of the British Indian Army. When India became independent in 1947, four Gurkha regiments transferred to the British Army.
On 23 July 1829, after a brief period in Lancashire preparing for their third trip to North America, the 1st Battalion departed Manchester by canal boat arriving at Paddington four days later. During the tedious nine weeks crossing the Atlantic, the Regiment's Colonel, Sir David Baird died.
In October 1829 the Regiment began a twelve year sojourn in Upper and Lower Canada. It participated in the suppression of an insurgency in the valley of the Richelieu River at the end of 1837 and the suppression of the Rebellion of 1838 in the Montreal area.
When ordered home to Britain in June 1841 it left almost 200 men behind as voluntary reinforcements for other regiments in Canada. This was in addition to hundreds of men who had deserted in the previous twelve years... 111 deserters in the years 1837 and 1838 alone.
