59th ( 2nd Nottinghamshire ) Regiment of Foot The 59th ( 2nd Nottinghamshire ) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army , formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France . It was amalgamated with the 30th ( Cambridgeshire ) Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form The East Lancashire Regiment as part of the Childers Reforms . Formation and numbering . In 1754 war broke out between Great Britain and France . As a consequence of what would eventually become the Seven Years ' War , the size of the British Army was increased . On 23 December 1755 Lieutenant - General Sir Charles Montagu raised the 61st Regiment of Foot in the counties of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire . Following the disbandment of two junior regiments , the 61st was renumbered as the 59th Regiment of Foot in the following year . Early service in North America . Shortly after its formation , the regiment moved from England to Ireland , where it performed garrison duty until 1763 . In that year the 59th Foot sailed to Nova Scotia where they remained until 1772 when they stationed in Boston , Massachusetts . The 59th were in Boston when the American War of Independence broke out , and suffered severe casualties . The remains of the regiment returned to England in 1776 to reform . Garrison duties 1782 – 1794 . In 1782 , the closing stages of the Anglo Spanish War , the 59th were assigned to the Gibraltar garrison , remaining there for ten years . From 1792 – 1794 the regiment was based in England and the Channel Islands . In 1782 all regiments of the line without a royal title were given a county designation and the regiment became the 59th ( 2nd Nottinghamshire ) Regiment of Foot ( the 45th Foot being designated the 1st Nottinghamshire ) . French Revolutionary Wars . Flanders campaign . With the outbreak of war with revolutionary France , the 59th formed part of the British force dispatched to Flanders , arriving in 1794 . The campaign was a major reverse for the British and their allies , and the regiment was evacuated back to England in 1795 . West Indies . Later in 1795 the 59th Foot sailed to the West Indies , where they were to remain for seven years . They were stationed in Saint Vincent , where they suppressed uprisings by the Maroons . They returned to England in 1802 . Napoleonic Wars . Formation of second battalion . In August 1804 , while stationed in England , a second battalion of the 59th Foot was raised . The 1st Battalion sailed in the following year for the Cape of Good Hope , while the 2nd Battalion was to remain on garrison duty in England , Ireland and the Channel Islands until 1808 . Cape of Good Hope . The Cape of Good Hope , which had been captured by the British in 1795 , had been returned to the Dutch under the Treaty of Amiens . On 7 January 1806 the 1st Battalion of the 59th was part of a brigade that landed on the cape , and within two days the Dutch forces had surrendered . Although the regiment suffered only light casualties ( two dead and six wounded ) this was to be the 59th ' s first battle honour . Corunna and Walcheren . The 2nd Battalion , meanwhile , sailed for Spain in 1808 . On 16 January 1809 it took part in the Battle of Corunna , a British tactical victory which allowed for the evacuation of their forces from the Iberian peninsula . From England , the battalion was dispatched to the Netherlands in July 1809 , taking part in the fruitless Walcheren Campaign . The unit was to remain in England and Ireland until 1812 . Mauritius and Java . From the Cape , the 1st Battalion sailed to India . In November 1810 the battalion took part in the invasion of Mauritius . In the following year they invaded Java . They remained in Java until 1815 , when they returned to India . Peninsular War . In 1812 the 2nd Battalion returned to Spain . They took part in the Battle of Vittoria ( June 1813 ) , the Siege of San Sebastián ( July – August 1813 ) , the Battle of the Bidassoa ( October 1813 ) , the Battle of Nivelle ( November 1813 ) and the Battle of the Nive ( December 1813 ) . Waterloo campaign . From France the 2 / 59th had sailed to Ireland . When Napoleon returned to France , triggering the " Hundred Days " , the battalion was part of the British force dispatched to Belgium . While they were present in the Waterloo area , they did not take part in the hostilities . Having formed part of the army of occupation in France , the 2nd Battalion returned to England in 1816 , where they were disbanded . Indian subcontinent 1816 – 1829 . On the disbandment of the 2nd Battalion , the 1st was redesignated simply as the 59th ( 2nd Nottinghamshire ) Regiment of Foot . The unit moved from India to Ceylon in 1817 , returning to India in the following year , where it fought in the Third Anglo - Maratha War . In 1825 – 1826 they took part in the siege and capture of the Jat fortress of Bharatpur ( awarded as the honour " Bhurtpore " ) . The regiment returned to England in 1829 . China . For the next twenty years the 59th was engaged in garrison duties in England , Ireland , Malta and the West Indies . In 1849 they sailed to China to become part of a small force enforcing the terms imposed on China following the First Opium War . In 1856 Britain deemed the terms of the treaty to have been broken , and the Second Opium War commenced . In January 1858 the 59th Foot , along with members of the Royal Marine Light Infantry and the Royal Navy occupied the city of Canton . Second Anglo - Afghan War . In 1858 the 59th Foot moved to South Africa , subsequently returning to the United Kingdom in 1861 . From 1867 – 1878 the regiment again served in India and Ceylon . From India the 59th crossed into Afghanistan in November 1878 as part of an invasion force , seeking to stem Russian influence in the region . In April 1880 they fought in the Battle of Ahmed Khel . Later in 1880 the 59th Foot returned to England . Amalgamation . Under the " localisation scheme " of the infantry carried out by Edward Cardwell in 1873 , the 59th foot had been paired ( or " brigaded " ) with the 30th ( Cambridgeshire ) Regiment of Foot . The two regiments recruited in a single " Brigade District " forming part of Lancashire and shared a depot at Burnley . On 1 July 1881 the process of amalgamation was completed when the Childers Reforms came into effect . The 30th and 59th Foot became the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the East Lancashire Regiment . Following a series of amalgamations , the lineage of the 59th is now continued by the Duke of Lancaster ' s Regiment . Battle honours . The 59th Foot was awarded the following battle honours to be borne on the regimental colours . The year in brackets is the year of the award of the honour , not of the action it commemorates .