The 37th Foot and 67th Foot become the North and South Hampshire Regiments, 1782
On August 31 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. Several major cities, such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester, had raised regiments which bore their names while Warwickshire, having undertaken to raise a regiment, had ‘adopted’ the 6th Foot, just back from the West Indies. In April 1778 the regiment had therefore assumed the title of ‘Warwickshire’ and other regiments had been ‘recommended’ to particular counties and areas.
Under the 1782 reorganisation the plan was made general. The 37th was assigned to North Hampshire and the 67th to South. However, no steps were taken to make the connection effective and a further 90 years were to pass before regiments were given permanent depots or linked with their county’s Militia. Thus, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, when volunteering from the Militia became an important means of recruiting, regiments recruited from any county.
