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1702
Meredith's
The 37th Foot Regiment (later the 1st Battalion The Hampshire Regiment) was formed on 13th February, 1702 by Colonel Thomas Meredith.
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1702
The War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) has been described as ‘the first world war of modern times’ with major campaigns fought in Spain, Italy and Germany as well as at sea.
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1704
The Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim fought on 13th August, 1704 was one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), saving Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army and preventing the collapse of the Grand Alliance.
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1706
The Battle of Ramillies
The Battle of Ramillies fought on May 23, 1706 was an overwhelming victory for the Grand Alliance forces of England, Holland and Denmark over the army of King Louis XIV of France during the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-14).
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1708
The Battle of Oudenarde
The Battle of Oudenarde (in present day Belgium) was fought on 11th July 1708 between the Grand Alliance forces of Britain, Holland and Austria on the one side and those of King Louis XIV of France on the other during the War of the Spanish Succession.
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1709
The Battle of Malplaquet
The Duke of Marlborough’s fourth and final victory of the War of the Spanish Succession came at the Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11th September 1709 between the forces of the Grand Alliance and France.
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1711
To Quebec, wrecked in the St Lawrence
Tory hostility to Marlborough had centred on his concentrating British energies in Flanders at the expense of diversionary attacks on the French and their allies elsewhere in the world. To that end the new Tory government dispatched five regiments, among the Windress’, to North America in 1711 to help the British colonists in the fight against their French neighbours in Canada.
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1743
Battle of Dettingen
In 1740 Europe was engulfed by war once more when France, Saxony, Prussia and Bavaria repudiated the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 by which the Austrian Emperor Charles VI had attempted to secure the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa to all his Habsburg lands. The War of the Austrian Succession pitted these powers against Britain, Hanover and Austria.
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1746
Battle of Culloden
On 16th April 1746 the Jacobite Rebellion was brought to an end at the battle between the Highland Army of Prince Charles Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and the Royal Troops of King George II. The Royal victory secured the House of Hanover on the English throne. The 8,000 Royal troops were commanded by the King’s son, William, Duke of Cumberland. His cousin, Prince Charles, led the 7,000-strong Highland force.
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1756
Formation of the 2/37th
In early 1756, as Britain’s relations with France continued to be strained, the army was authorised to raise ten new regiments. As part of this expansion, the 37th provided men to Brudenell’s, then numbered 53rd, which became the 51st Regiment (K.O.Y.L.I.). ‘Brudenell’s’ were to fight alongside the 37th in the Westphalia campaign and to share with them the laurels of Minden..
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1757
Formation of the North and South Hampshire Militia
A convenient marker point to positively identify the County’s (Southampton) Militia was the Militia Act of Charles II in 1661 which acknowledged emphatically the King’s sole right to control the Militia – this act provided for the levying of the Militia by the Lords Lieutenant and for its organisation by Companies and Regiments.
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1758
Formation of the 67th Foot
On 21st April 1758 the 2nd battalions were separated from their original corps and numbered as separate units from the 61st onwards. The 2/20th became the 67th with Wolfe as its first Colonel. The new regiment’s officers all came from the 20th and most had only recently been promoted or commissioned.
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1759
Battle of Minden
Throughout the Seven Years War, 1759 was heralded as the ‘Year of Victories’; Britain, Prussia and Portugal were allied against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden and Poland. The Battle of Minden was to be the first time that dismounted infantry had ever beaten massed bands of cavalry.
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1761
Capture of Belle Isle
The capture of the French island of Belle Isle, 20 miles off the Brittany coast, was a joint naval/army expedition during the Seven Years War. The war had begun in 1756 following clashes in North America before the focus switched to Europe, with France seizing the island of Minorca while Britain, encouraged by the Southern Secretary William Pitt, launched a series of naval attacks on the French coast, including the Raid on Rochefort (1757) and the Raid on Cherbourg (1758).
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1764
Death of Thomas Thetcher
To members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) the name Thomas Thetcher, a grenadier in the North Regiment of the Hants Militia, is synonymous with the foundation of their organisation. But the curious link between Thetcher’s grave in the churchyard of Winchester Cathedral and AA is less well known to the wider public.
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1776
American War of Independence
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 which ended the Seven Years War left Britain in control of Canada and the 13 American colonies. Politically and culturally, Britain and the colonies seemed very close, but the picture changed rapidly in the 1770s. Several reasons lay behind this.
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1776
The 37th Foot in America
The 37th were ordered out to America in November 1775 as part of a substantial British force. The 477-strong regiment included 20 men from Brunswick and Hesse, these German states supplying some 2,000 soldiers for the expedition.
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1782
The 37th Foot and 67th Foot become the North and South Hampshire Regiment
On 31st August 1782 British army regiments were directed to assume county titles and to start building up recruiting connections within their counties. This was the result of measures taken during the war with America to encourage recruiting.
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1786
The Court Martial of Captain Robert Hedges
The Court Martial of Captain Robert Hedges, of the 67th Regiment, took place in St John’s, Antigua, between 30th January and 13th March 1786. Two charges were brought against Hodges by his commanding officer, Major Browne.
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1803
Raising of the 2/67th
The 2/67th was formed under the Army of Reserve Act of July 1803 to counter the renewed threat from Napoleonic France. The Act allowed 50,000 troops to be raised and formed into 2nd battalions of existing regiments.
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1805
The 67th moves to India
In April 1805 the 67th was selected for service in India, where several regiments were overdue relief. It was to remain on the sub-continent until 1826 and earn the nickname ‘The Tigers’.
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1810
The 2/67th at Cadiz and Barossa
Six companies of the 2/67th under Lieutenant Colonel William Prevost arrived at Cadiz in December 1810 (four companies remained in England) to find the garrison besieged by a powerful French army.
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1819
Capture of Assighur by the 67th
The capture of the formidable fortress of Assighur, the ‘Gibraltar of the East’, came at the end of the campaigns against the Pindaris and Mahrattas in India between 1817 and 1819.
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1826
The 67th return to England after 21 years and authorisation to carry the Royal Bengal Tiger on the Regimental Colours
In February 1826, after spells in Sholapore and Poona, the regiment was sent to Rangoon to reinforce British troops engaged in the Burmese war.
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1833
Ireland, Barbados and British Guyana
In February 1833 the service companies moved from Gibraltar to Barbados where they arrived on 29th March. In the autumn two companies were detached to Grenada, a third following in January 1834.
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1857
The 37th and the Indian Mutiny
The Indian Mutiny was a rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company that ran from May 1857 to July 1859.
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1859
Formation of the Hampshire Rifle Volunteers and the Administrative Battalions
The war scare of 1859 brought a sudden realisation to the country that its defences were inadequate, and public opinion was so aroused that the government agreed to the Volunteer Corps, disbanded in 1814, being reformed.
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1860
Taku Forts
The 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment who had been called in as reinforcements for the assault on the Taku Forts from behind, to avoid a defeat as had been seen the previous year, and by the end of the battle were to have won four Victoria Crosses.
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1864
The 67th in Yokohama, Japan
The detachment of the 67th took no part in this action, instead remaining at Yokohama until December 1864. Its presence there had a salutary and sobering effect on the anti-foreign faction.
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1872
The 67th in Burma
The 67th had been home for six years when, in September 1872, it received orders to move to Burma. Eight companies under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Jebb embarked the troopship HMS Malabar at Portsmouth, while two remained at Shorncliffe as a depot.
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1878
The 67th Regiment and the Second Afghan War
On 20th November 1878 three British forces invaded Afghanistan from India. Afghan resistance was mixed but eventually overcome and in May 1879 (following the death of Sher Ali) the two sides signed a treaty at Gundamuk which allowed the British to take the Khyber Pass and the Kurum Valley and to establish a mission in Kabul.
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1881
The 37th and 67th united as the Hampshire Regiment
The Hampshire Regiment – an amalgamation of the 37th and 67th – was created under the Childers scheme following the earlier Cardwell reforms, which had allowed soldiers to join their local regiment. Significant alterations in establishment accompanied the 1881 reorganisation. Battalions now had two Lieutenant Colonels, three or four Majors, four or five Captains, 16 subalterns, an Adjutant and a Quartermaster.
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1885
King Theebaw and the Third Anglo Burmese War
In October 1884 the French declared that they would be happy to share Burma with the British, this was not acceptable to the British who issued the Burmese an ultimatum about the teak logging rights. This was to the effect that the Burmese should compensate the British for losses and that the King would have to accept an ambassador and occupying troops.
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1899
Death of Lieutenant Colonel Edward H Le Marchant
On 23rd March, the Battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Henry Le Marchant, was shot dead by a ghazi.
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1899
The 2nd Hampshire and the Boer War
The Boer War of 1899-1902 was preceded by more than a century of conflict between the Boers (Dutch settlers) and the British Empire.
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1902
The Barberton Rail Crash
On the 24th March 1902, orders were received for the 2nd Hampshire, then quartered at Barberton, to proceed to Johannesburg.
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1903
Aden and Somaliland
In an attempt to protect the route to India, 1st Hampshire were deployed to Aden and Somaliland to police the entrance to the Suez Canal
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1908
Formation of the Territorial Force
The Territorial Force (TF), which existed from 1908 to 1920, was the volunteer reserve element of the British Army. It was created under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of 1907, brought in by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane.
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1914
The Outbreak of the First World War
War was declared on 4th August and on 23rd August 1st Hampshire deployed to France and fought its first battle at Le Cateau on 26th August. 3 days later the Commanding Officer Lt Col SCF Jackson was captured and spent the rest of the War in captivity.
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1914
The Territorial Battalions deploy to India
At the outbreak of the First World War much of the British Regular Army was stationed in India and needed to be replaced by Territorials from Britain. India was known as ‘the Jewel in the Crown’ due to its colonial and trading importance and needed to be protected at all costs.
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1914
The Battles of the Marne and the Aisne
After the retreat from Le Cateau, southwards towards Paris, 1st Hampshire then took part in the Allied counter-offences on the Marne and Aisne rivers. These battles effectively ended Germany’s hopes for a swift victory on the Western Front.
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1914
The Defence of Ploegsteert Wood by 1st Hampshire
Towards the end of 1914, the momentum of the German advance was coming to an end and 1st Hampshire found themselves at Ploegsteert Wood (known as Plugstreet Wood) just to the south of Ypres, where they held the position against sizeable odds. Here Lieutenant William Trimmer was killed while gallantly leading his platoon when it was overrun.
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1915
The Dardanelles
During 1915 the Navy were ordered to create an opening to the Black Sea, capture Constantinople and provide a supply route to Russia via the Port of Odessa and also go ‘around the back’ of the German positions on the Western Front.
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1915
The Second Battle of Ypres
Second Ypres lasted from April to June 1915 and is best remembered for the first use of gas by the Germans in WW1
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1915
Mesopotamia
The campaign in Mesopotamia, which is now modern day Iraq, was fought primarily between the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire in late 1915, and into 1916.
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1915
Salonika
In October 1915 English and French forces landed in Salonika, a Greek port. These troops had been sent to provide military assistance to the Serbians following an attack by Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops.
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1916
The Somme
For several months, the Germans had been attacking the French at Verdun who were suffering heavy losses. To ease the pressure, the British agreed to attack the Germans north of Verdun in order to draw some Germans away from the French. The Campaign which was to last from 1st July to 18th November involved 5 Hampshire Battalions and cost around 1,300 Hampshire Regiment lives.
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1917
Arras
Between 9th April and 16th May 1917 the British attacked German army defences near Arras in France in a plan to engage them on open ground.
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1917
3rd Ypres
The Third Ypres, from July to November 1917 was also known ‘Passchendaele’ and was an Allied assault on German lines in Flanders whose aim was to break-through German defences and destroy German submarine bases on the Belgian coast; it failed to achieve this.
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1917
Palestine
8th Hampshire reached El Arish, on the coastline of Egypt, February 25th 1917. The Fifty-Fourth Division was left at Gaza, meaning the 8th Hampshires remained in Gaza, while the 2/4th and 2/5th Hampshire took part in further operation.
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1917
Aden
In 1918, the 1st/7th Hampshire reached Aden, where they helped to defuse part of the ‘local war’ between the Turks and troops in Aden, which had been happening since 1915, since Turkey had entered the War.
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1918
Persia
In January 1918, the 1/4th Hampshire entered into Persia to support the White Russians and in order to secure the oil wells in Baku, or at least deny them from the enemy.
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1918
The Final Advance: Western Front - Background
The period 8th August – 11th November 1918, commonly known as the ‘Final Advance’ or the ‘Hundred Days’
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1918
The Final Advance - Phase One
The Elimination of the Salients: 8th August – 14th September 1918
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1918
The Final Advance - Phase Two
Breaking the Hindenburg Line and the Advance to Victory:
27th September – 11th November 1918
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1919
2nd Hampshire in Russia
Demobilisation started in the last days of 1918. As part of this the 2nd Hampshire were being detailed for reduction to cadre, a small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose.
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1919
1/9th Hampshire in Russia
By the end of 1918, having spent most of the war in India, comprising of 32 officers and 945 other ranks, with the commanding officer Lt Col Robert Johnson they were sent as reinforcements for the British in Russia.
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1919
Irish War of Independence
The Irish Republican Party on 21st January 1919 declared independence from Great Britain.
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1920
1st Hampshire in Turkey and Egypt 1920 - 1925
On 30th March 1920, having been back in England for less than a year, 1st Hampshire left England and sailed for Constantinople in Turkey to join the Army of the Black Sea.
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1936
Palestine
Following the end of World War One and the Versailles Peace Treaty, Britain was responsible for the mandate of Palestine.
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1939
Training at Home
On 1st Aril 1939 the order was given to double the size of the Territorial Army. The 4th Hampshire became the 1/4th in central Hampshire and the 2/4th in the north of the county.
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1939
Dunkirk
The 2nd Hampshire left for France as part of the 1st Division which formed a major part of the British Expeditionary Force.
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1940
11th (Royal Militia Island of Jersey) Battalion
On 21st June 1940 SS Hodder arrived in Southampton Water, carrying 11 Officers and 193 Other Ranks of the Royal Jersey Militia.
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1941
The Siege of Malta
On 21st February the 1st Hampshire left Egypt for Malta to be part of the Malta Infantry Brigade, serving with 2nd Devons and 1st Dorsets.
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1940-43
The North Africa Campaign
The North Africa Campaign was fought from 10 June 1040 to 13 May 1943, with the Hampshire Regiment taking part in the latter stages of the campaign from 1942-43.
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1942
The Battle of Tebourba Gap
2nd Hampshire sailed for North Africa on 11th November 1942, arriving in Algiers on 21st.
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1943
The Battle of Sidi Nsir, Tunisia
The 128th Brigade as part of 46th Division, left UK for North Africa on 6th January to reinforce the meagre and tired 1st Army.
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1943
The Invasion of Sicily
The Invasion of Sicily meant that Hitler had to divert troops from the Eastern Front to Italy as the threat to mainland Europe was now imminent. Following the success of this operation and the assault landings at the toe of Italy 1st Hampshire were to go home to England for the first time since 1920.
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1943
The Salerno Landings
Having defeated the Germans in Sicily, it was now time for the Allies to turn their attention to Italy. Within 24 hours of landing at Salerno the Italians surrendered.
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1943 - 1944
The Italy Campaign after Salerno
Once the area around Salerno had been secured, the Allies began the slow and arduous task of moving up the length of Italy with the 2nd, 1/4th and 5th Battalions in 128 (Hampshire Brigade) and the 2/4th who were in 28 Infantry Brigade. During this time, Hampshire soldiers won 2 Victoria Crosses and numerous other awards.
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1944
D Day
When the 1st Hampshire left its sealed camp in the New Forest on 31st May 1944 bound for the port of Southampton, it was with the purpose of assaulting the enemy’s defences at Arromanches for ‘Operation Overlord’.
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1944
The Story of Fritz the Dog
Fritz was a German military Pyrrenean Mountain Dog captured by Captain Cecil Thomas DSO and his platoon during the D Day Landings on 6th June 1944.
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1944
7th Hampshire in North West Europe
After landing on 22th June 1944, 7th Hampshire would go on to fight bitter battles in Normandy before crossing the River Seine at the end of August. Next they took part in Operation Market Garden in Holland before entering Germany, celebrating VE Day near Bremerhaven.
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1946
Palestine
Instead of peace in Palestine, the conclusion of World War II brought renewed troubles to the area and once again there was a need for the county regiment to maintain internal security.
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1946
The Territorial Battalions Post War
The end of the War in Europe saw 128 Brigade with the 1/4th and 5th Hampshire going into Austria to guard the Austrian/Yugoslav border, to keep the peace and deal with the many displaced persons.
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1954
Malaya
A State of Emergency was declared in Malaya 18 June 1948 following attacks on planters by Malay Chinese Terrorists.
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1955
Ulu Langat Operation
This is the story of an action fought near the village of Ulu Langat in Selangor, Malaya resulting in the killing of 11 Communist Terrorists (CTs) and the capture of a twelfth.
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1960
The Caribbean
On 3rd February 1960 1st Royal Hampshire sailed from Southampton on HMT Dunera for the West Indies.
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1966
Borneo
The Indonesian–Malaysian Confrontation during 1963–1966 was an undeclared ‘limited’ war aimed against the new Malaysian Federation by Indonesia.
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1968
UN Tour of Cyprus
The 1st Battalion formed part of the multinational United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNIFCYP) from October 1968 to March 1969.
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1947 - 1989
The Cold War
Between 1947 and 1991 The Cold War was a sustained state of political and military tension between powers in the Western Bloc, dominated by the USA with NATO among its allies, and the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact.
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1969 - 1991
Northern Ireland
The ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland last from 1968 until 1998 following the Good Friday Agreement. Up to our amalgamation in 1992 The Royal Hampshire Regiment completed either tours of the Province, two of which were residential ie our families came too.
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1979
Londonderry Roulement Tour
The 4th Roulement Tour of Northern Ireland (unaccompanied) that 1st Royal Hampshire was to undertake was in the City Centre of Londonderry; the place where ‘the Troubles’ had first started in 1969.
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1982
Fermanagh Roulement Tour
The 5th unaccompanied tour of Northern Ireland for 1st Royal Hampshire began in January 1982
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1982
Falkland Islands and South Georgia
With the Falklands Conflict being over in the summer of 1982, 1st Royal Hampshire who had not long returned from a tour of Fermanagh found themselves being sent to the Falklands for a 6 month tour as Garrison Battalion with responsibility for South Georgia as well.
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1992
Amalgamation with The Queen's Regiment
As a consequence of the end of the Cold War, the Government saw an opportunity to reduce the size of the British Armed Forces, this was carried out under the Study entitled ‘Options for Change’. On 9th September The Royal Hampshire Regiment amalgamated after 290 years of existence, with The Queen’s Regiment to form The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires).
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