page_title: Duke of Wellington's Regiment
section_title: Duties of Empire (1881–1914)
hierarchical_section_title: Duke of Wellington's Regiment / Duties of Empire (1881–1914)
caption_attribution_description: Illustration of men of The Duke of Wellington's Regiment between the 1880 and 1914
context_page_description: The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.
  In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days the regiment was named Huntingdon's Regiment after its Colonel. As Colonel succeeded Colonel the name changed, but in 1751 regiments were given numbers, and the regiment was from that time officially known as the 33rd Regiment of Foot. In 1782 the regiment's title was changed to the 33rd Regiment, thus formalising an association with the West Riding of Yorkshire which, even then, had been long established. The first Duke of Wellington died in 1852 and in the following year Queen Victoria, in recognition of the regiment's long ties to him, ordered that the regiment's title be changed to the 33rd Regiment. In 1881, following the Childers Reforms, the 33rd was linked with the 76th Regiment of Foot, who shared their depot in Halifax.
context_section_description: The 2nd battalion was stationed at Bermuda from 1886, transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1888, then to the West Indies in 1891. In April 1893 the battalion, under Lt-Col. E. Nesbitt, set sail for the Cape Colony, posting one company on St Helena en route. In October a detachment of 3 officers and 51 NCOs and men were despatched up-country to serve with the Bechuanaland Border Police in the Matabele Uprising, in a complicated arrangement due to the fact that the BPP was at the time run by the British South Africa Company.
  Some detachments of the battalion stayed on to serve in the Second Matabele War (1896-7), being stationed in the colony of Natal in between. 13 Officers and 320 NCOs and men proceeded on active service. Some served on the staff, some with mounted infantry, some with the Matabeleland Relief Force and other service companies. The battalion was sent to India in 1897.
  The regiment began the first year of the 20th century at war when both battalions met in South Africa, as reinforcements for British forces fighting Boers, in the Second Boer War. The 1st battalion had arrived there before war started in 1899, the 2nd battalion arrived in early 1900, and took part in the Relief of Kimberley, in February 1900, which had been under siege by the Boers since October 1899. The battalion also took part in the Battle of Paardeberg.
  The 3rd (Militia) Battalion (the former 6th West York Militia) was embodied in January 1900 for service in South Africa, and 500 officers and men left Queenstown for Cape Town the following month. Most of the battalion returned to the United Kingdom in late May 1902.
  All three Volunteer Battalions also sent service companies to support the Regular battalions, and received the Battle Honour South Africa 1900–1902.
  Following the end of the war in South Africa, the 1st battalion returned to York, while the 2nd battalion went to British India, first to Rangoon then in late 1902 to Lebong in Bengal.
caption: Uniforms of The Duke of Wellington's Regiment as worn 1902–14, by Harry Payne
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