50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot
| 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1755 to 1881 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of Great Britain (1755–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Size | One battalion (two battalions 1804–1814) |
| Garrison/HQ | Maidstone Barracks, Kent |
| Nickname(s) | "The Dirty Half-Hundred" |
| Engagements |
Seven Years' War Napoleonic Wars Gwalior Campaign First Anglo-Sikh War Crimean War New Zealand Wars |
The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 97th (The Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot to form the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1881.
The regiment was originally raised by Colonel James Abercrombie as the 52nd Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the Seven Years' War. It was re-numbered as the 50th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, in 1756. The regiment's first action was when it embarked on ships and took part in the Raid on Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. In its early years the regiment wore a uniform of black facings and white lace (when they wiped sweat away with their cuffs the dye stained their faces giving rise to the nickname the "Dirty Half-Hundred" where half-hundred is a play on fifty).
The regiment embarked for Germany in June 1760 and saw action at the Battle of Corbach in July 1760, the Battle of Warburg later that month and the Battle of Villinghausen in July 1761 as well as the Battle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762. It returned home in March 1763.
The regiment was posted to Jamaica in 1772, and then to New York in 1776. At this point, troops were transferred to other regiments and the officers returned to England to raise a new force; as such, the regiment did not see action in the American Revolutionary War. The men of the regiment served on various ships of the Royal Navy as marines and saw action at the First Battle of Ushant in July 1778. The regiment adopted a county designation and became the 50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot in 1782.
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