52nd Regiment of Foot

Also known as The Oxfordshire Light Infantry

Chronology

• 1755 raised as 54th Regiment of Foot
• 1757 renumbered as the 52nd Regiment of Foot
• 1781 became the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot
• 1803 became the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Light Infantry
• 1881 amalgamated with the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot to become the regiment later known as the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
• 1908 became the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
• 1958 re-titled as the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)
• 1966 amalgamated with the two other regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade to become the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets
• 1992 1st Battalion disbanded

Regimental Journal

• The Oxfordshire Light Infantry Chronicle , 1895(-1908). An annual record of the First and Second Battalions, formerly the 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry. Volumes 4-17 are available at the British Library
• The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Chronicle from Volume 18 is also available at the British Library and a broken range of editions is available at the National Army Museum

Histories

• The 52nd Light Infantry Fort William, Calcutta, 1929 is available at the National Army Museum

External Links

Historical Books Online

• Historical Record of the Fifty - Second Regiment (Oxfordshire Light Infantry) from the year 1755 to the year 1858 by W S Moorsom 1860 Google Books. Page 26 details the circumstances of the service in Madras from 1783 including the loss of life when the ship blew up on arrival.
• A Sketch of the War with Tippoo Sultaun: or A Detail of Military Operations from the Commencement Of Hostilities At The Lines Of Travancore In December 1789, Until The Peace Concluded Before Seringapatam In February 1792 by Roderick Mackenzie, Lieut. 52d Regiment may be downloaded as pdfs Volume I, Volume II from DSpace at West Bengal State Central Library. These volumes are also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website.
• The History of Lord Seaton's Regiment, (the 52nd Light Infantry) at the Battle of Waterloo, Volume 2 by William Leeke 1866 Google Books contains a section on the Regiment during the Indian Mutiny, page 389
• Reminiscences of school and army life, 1839 to 1859 by John Arthur Bayley 1875 Archive.org. The author went to India in 1852.
• An unrecorded chapter of the Indian mutiny: being the personal reminiscences of Reginald G. Wilberforce, late 52nd Light Infantry, compiled from a diary and letters written on the spot 1894 Archive.org
• Standing Orders of the 52nd Light Infantry 1853 Google Books
• The Story of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the old 43rd and 52nd regiments) by Sir Henry John Newbolt. 1915. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.

Other

• 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot Wikipedia
  
• Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Wikipedia
  
• Royal Green Jackets Wikipedia
  
• 52nd (the Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) including deployments Regiments.org, an archived site.
  
• The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry including deployments: 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion Regiments.org, an archived site.
  
• The Museum for the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust covers the 43rd and 52nd Regiments. The collection is now owned by the Royal Green Jackets Museum Trust.
  
• The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum covers the 43rd, 52nd and 60th Regiments,and the Rifle Brigade.
  
  • Some regimental archives are available at Hampshire Archives and Local Studies
• This link from www.1914-1918.net advises that the 1st (Garrison) Battalion was formed in Portland in September 1915, and moved to India in February 1916, where it then remained.
  
• There was a company called the No. 1 Reserve Battalion which appears to have been stationed in India from June 1916 to 1918 at Bangalore.
• British era cemeteries in the Khyber Pass, including that at Landi Kotal jang.com.pk March 2008. "A good number of them [graves] belong to the soldiers of 2nd battalion of the Oxford Light Infantry (O.L.I.)" and there is reference to the Tirah Campaign. Some photographs of headstones are included in this additional link by Dr Ali Jan