99th ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot The 99th ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army , formed in 1824 and amalgamated into The Duke of Edinburgh ' s ( Wiltshire Regiment ) in 1881 . The regiment was raised in 1824 as the 99th Regiment of Foot , taking a county title in 1836 as the 99th ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot . In 1874 it was renamed to the 99th Duke of Edinburgh ' s ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot , taking its title from Prince Alfred , Duke of Edinburgh . History of the 99th . The 99th Regiment of Foot was raised in 1824 in Edinburgh by Major - General Gage John Hall . It was a distinct unit , unrelated to earlier units designated as the 99th Regiment of the British Army , including the 99th Regiment of Foot ( Jamaica Regiment ) , 99th Foot which was re - designated as the 100th Regiment of Foot . In 1832 , the new 99th Regiment received its county title , becoming the 99th ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot . During its early years , the 99th spent much of its time in the Pacific . The first detachments of the 99th Regiment arrived in Australia with transported convicts aboard the transport ship " North Briton " , destined for Tasmania , in 1842 . The rest of the 99th arrived on with successive shipments of convicts . The 99th rotated through various colonial posts during much of 1842 until being ordered to Sydney , Australia . However , the 99th soon earned an unsavory reputation , alienating the locals to such an extent that an additional regiment had to be assigned to Sydney . The 11th Regiment of Foots ' s principal job was keeping the men of the 99th under control . The 99th remained in Tasmania for three years before being dispatched to New Zealand to take part in the New Zealand land wars . Detachments of the 99th took part in the Hutt Valley Campaign , seeing action at the Battle of Battle Hill . Three government soldiers and at least nine Ngāti Toa were killed . Following the capture of Te Rauparaha in 1846 , the Regiment would depart New Zealand and return to Australia , although detachments would be sent as needed to reinforce the British forces in New Zealand for the next few years to keep the peace . For its service in the First Maori War , the regiment earned its first battle honour : New Zealand . In 1856 , the regiment rotated back to the British Isles . The 99th spent its next two years at various garrisons in Ireland , until in 1858 , it was ordered to join the Aldershot garrison . While at Aldershot , the regiment earned its reputation as an extraordinarily well drilled and well turned out regiment . Following its tour of duty at Aldershot , the regiment rotated to India in 1859 . After serving at various Indian stations , the 99th was called to active service to form part of General Sir Hope Grant ' s force during the Second Opium War . Assigned to the 2nd Division , commanded by Major - General Sir Robert Napier , the 99th took part in the Third Battle of Taku Forts and the Battle of Palikao . The regiment also participated in the sack of Peking , where among the loot carried off , the regiment took a Pekinese dog which belonged to the Chinese Empress . The dog , named Lootie , was taken back to England where it was presented to the Queen Victoria . For its service in China , the regiment earned the battle honour : Pekin 1860 . Rather than return the 99th to India , the regiment was ordered to join the Hong Kong garrison , securing the new Kowloon territory acquired by the Convention of Peking . The regiment would remain in Hong Kong until 1865 . From 1865 until 1868 , the 99th served in South Africa . While in South Africa , Prince Alfred , the Duke of Edinburgh , inspected the regiment as part of a tour of the colony . The regiment impressed him so much that he took a continued interest in the regiment for the rest of his life . This culminated in permission being granted to re - title the regiment . In 1874 , the 99th ( Lanarkshire ) Regiment of Foot became the 99th ( Duke of Edinburgh ’ s ) Regiment . After returning to England in 1868 , the regiment returned to South Africa in 1878 in time to take part in the Anglo - Zulu War . Assigned to Lord Chelmsford ' s column , they marched to the relief of British forces under Colonel Charles Pearson besieged by the Zulu impis . At the Battle of Gingindlovu , the 99th helped defeat a Zulu impi s which tried to overrun the British while laagered . Although it would not participate in the final battle at Ulundi , the 99th was honoured for its service in Anglo - Zulu War , being awarded the battle honour South Africa 1879 . It would be the last battle honour earned by the 99th as an independent regiment . In 1881 , following up on the earlier Cardwell Reforms of 1872 , the 99th was merged with 62nd Regiment of Foot as part of the Childers reforms to the British Army . The new regiment would be known as The Duke of Edinburgh ' s ( Wiltshire Regiment ) . Battle honours . New Zealand , Pekin 1860 , South Africa 1879