42nd Regiment of Foot

Below is some genealogy information on the 42nd Regiment of Foot of the British army that may help searches for military ancestors.

Description: Formed in 1661. They gained their nickname 'Black Watch' shortly after the Jacobite rising of 1715. They were assigned the role of watching out for crime in the Highlands. The task was considered a dark deed and coupled with the dark Government tartan used, the name stuck. In 1739 they were renamed the 43rd Highland Regiment of Foot. They saw action in the Jacobite rebellion. In 1748 they were renamed the 42nd Highland Regiment of Foot. They saw action in the American War of Independence. They saw action in the Napoleonic war, fighting in the Peninsular Wars, Quatre-Bras and Waterloo. They saw action in the Crimean war. In 1881 they amalgamated with the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot to form The Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch). They saw action in the Boer Wars, fighting at Magersfontein, Modder River and Paardenburg. During the First World War they fought across the Western, Middle-Eastern and Balkan fronts at battles such as Mons, Marne, Aisne, the Ludendorff Offensive, the 1st battle of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Bridge, Festubert, Loos, the Somme (1916), the 2nd battle of Ypres, Arras, the Hindenburg Line, Passchendaele, Cambrai, the 1st battle of the Somme (1918), Lys, Selle and Doiran. During the Second World War they fought across the Western, African and Far-Eastern fronts at battles such as the Dunkirk evacuations, the Normandy landings, El-Alamein and the invasion of Italy. In 1931 they were renamed The Black Watch. In 2006 they merged with the Royal Scots, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, The Highlanders and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, forming the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Their nickname is The Forty Twas, Black Jocks, or the Black Watch

If you are interested in your genealogy, why not find out about your family tree here or take a look at our packages.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

|

| |

|