34th Regiment of Foot

Also known as The Border Regiment.

Chronology

• 1702 raised in East Anglia as Lord Lucas's Regiment of Foot
• 1712 disbanded
• 1715 reformed
• 1751 numbered the 34th Regiment of Foot
• 1782 became the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
• 1881 amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion The Border Regiment
• 1959 amalgamated with The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to become 2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Border Regiment as part of the King's Division
• 2006 merged with the other regiments of North West England to become The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Service in India

• 1801 Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (Kaffir War)
• 1802 India
• 1805 Wallajabad
• 1806-10 Bellary
• 1812-14 Secunderabad
• 1816 Vellore
• 1817-18 3rd Maratha War (Pindari Campaign)
• 1819 Bangalore
• 1820 Madras
• 1822 Wallajabad
• 1823 Madras then to England
• 1857 Indian Mutiny - see below
• 1861-62 Fyzabad
• 1865-67 Moorar then to England
• 1876-78 Ferozepore
• 1879-80 Bengal/Afghanistan
• 1881 Agra
• 1885 Sialkot
• 1889 Burma then to England

Indian Mutiny

The 34th Foot landed in India during the Indian Mutiny after having spent approximately one year back in England following their involvement in the Crimean War (where they served in the siege of Sebastopol and the attack upon the Redan). The 34th saw significant service during the Mutiny following their arrival in Calcutta in October of 1857, serving at Cawnpore, at the final siege and reduction of the city of Lucknow and finally in the Trans-Gogra Campaign against the fleeing rebels in Nepal in early 1859. See the 88th Regiment of Foot for details on some of these actions.

Bibliography

John Kitzmiller, In Search of the Forlorn Hope: A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and their Records (1640 to WWI), 2 vols (Salt Lake City: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988), ISBN 0961926031

Philip Haythornthwaite, The Colonial Wars Source Book (London: Arms & Armour, 1996), ISBN 1854091964; (London: Caxton, 2000) ISBN 185409436X

Norman K Crowder, British Army Pensioners Abroad (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub Co, 1995), ISBN 0806314605

Death by duel at Vellore June 1805

Murder by pistol duel of Captain James Bull by Lieutenant Richard Sandys (Sands) 5 June 1805 at Vellore, Madras Presidency

• Memoirs of George Elers, Captain in the 12th Regiment of Foot (1777-1842) 1903, page 171 Archive.org
• A collection of the charges, opinions, and sentences of general courts martial: as published by authority; from the year 1795 to the present time by Charles James 1820, page 231 Google Books

External Links

34th Regiment of Foot Wikipedia
The Border Regiment Wikipedia
King's Own Royal Border Regiment Wikipedia

Historical books on-line

A historical account of the services of the 34th & 55th regiments, the linked line battalions in the 2nd or Cumberland & Westmorland subdistrict brigade, from the periods of their formation until the present time by George Noakes 1875 (Archive.org) Note: content is only given for first three and a bit chapters and the history of the two regiments is intertwined.
The 34th landed at Madras in 1803, page 50
The following pages are also relevant: page 58, page 61 page 131 for service from 1857
Page 72 advises that the practice of providing an evening meal was started in the 34th Regiment and was later adopted generally in the Army.
Diary of 2/4th Battalion the Border Regiment, 1914-19 (archive.org)