1856 – 1881, Abyssinia and the Cardwell Reforms

33^rd Regiment

Early in 1857 the Regiment was sent back to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Their time there, however, was short lived as they were almost immediately called to India where a serious mutiny had broken out amongst the sepoys.  The local troops had wearied of the treatment dished out by the occupying British and had risen up in revolt.  The 33^rd Regiment were deployed in 1858 to Bombay to take their part in the quelling of the mutiny. Much to the disgust of the Regiment they were denied either a Battle Honour or the award of the Indian Mutiny medal due to the fact that as a Regiment they had not played a part in any of the major operations of the conflict. 

After another nine years garrisoning parts of India, the 33^rd were sent to deal with the increasing situation in Abyssinia where King Theodore was holding a number of Europeans captive.  Reaching the town of Magdala, where the prisoners were being held, involved a march of almost 400 miles through rugged wilderness.

On the 13 April, 1868, the 33^rd led the assault on Magdala, carrying the Regimental Colours into battle for the last time.  The enemy stronghold, which stood 10,000 feet above sea level, was quickly captured and the hostages rescued with two of the Regiment being awarded the Victoria Cross for the part they had played in the attack.

“For their conspicuous gallantry, in the assault of Magdala, on the 13^th April 1869. Lieutenant General Lord Napier reports that while the head of the column of attack was checked by the obstacles at the gate, a small stream of officers and men of the 33^rd Regiment and an officer of engineers, breaking away from the approach to Magdala, and climbing up a cliff, reached the defences and forced their way over the wall, and through the strong and thorny fence, thus turning the defenders of the gateway.  The first two men to enter, and the first in Magdala, were Drummer Magner and Private Bergin of the 33^rd Regiment.” (London Gazette, 28^th July, 1868)

The next decade saw the Regiment return to India before being, in 1879, sent for a short period under the command of Lt Col Chadwick to Natal. By 1881 they had returned to service in India.

76^th Regiment

At the time of the Indian Mutiny, the 76^th were still serving in Canada.  In September, 1857, initially expecting to be returned to India, the Regiment left Fredericton, New Brunswick, and embarked in the steamship Jura for Cork, proceeding then to Dublin.  It reached Dublin on 13^th October and occupied quarters in Beggar’s Bush and Ship Street Barracks.  The Regiment had served with distinction in Canada since April 1853 and had forged genuine links with the people of Fredericton. On their departure, The Mayor, W.H. Needham, said of the 76^th:

‘The Mayor and Councillors of the city of Fredericton….cannot allow you and the Regiment you command to leave our shores without expressing our deepest regret at the sudden departure, from among us, of those who by their urbabity and uniform soldier-like conduct have endeared the name of a British soldier, and especially the soldiers of Her Majesty’s 76^th Regiment, to us all’.

The Regiment remained in a variety of postings in Ireland until 19^th February, 1861, when it was moved initially to Glasgow and then to Aldershot the following year.  In 1863 the 76^th Regiment returned to India, the;

‘very field of strife in a land where other days that emblem, the ‘elephant’….was won by the gallantry and heroism of the 76^th.’

The 76^th Regiment remained in India until 1871 when they returned to England, later be formally linked with 33^rd.

The Cardwell Reforms

From 1868 a succession of much needed modernising  reforms were instigated by the Secretary of State for War, Mr Cardwell.  Many radical changes were made to the organisation and administration of the Army.  In 1872 the infantry regiments were linked together in pairs and in this way, the 33^rd and 76^th were linked with a common training depot at Halifax.

In 1881 this process was taken a step further when the linked regiments were amalgamated to form completely new ones.  Initially this caused some confusion; the title of the new Regiment was to be The Halifax Regiment (Duke of Wellington’s).  As the 33^rd was at that time in India, the Commanding Officer of the 76^th was deputed to represent both Regiments.  In order to avoid any confusion with Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Commanding Officer went to London to see the Duke of Cambridge, the Commander in Chief.  As a result the title of the Regiment was changed after only two months.  Thus the 33^rd and 76^th Regiments of Foot became the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions, The Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, respectively.