were killed or wounded while serving in the colour party and at the 1854 Battle of the Alma the colour party of the 21st (Royal North British Fusilier) Regiment of Foot lost 3 officers and 17 sergeants. Colours were first regulated by order of George II in 1747. The recent Jacobite rising of 1745 had prompted the king to set in place army reforms to standardise uniforms, drill and tactics. He was keen to ensure the soldiers' loyalty to the crown rather than the colonel of their regiment (regiments up to this time were known by their colonel's name rather than an ordinal number). The colours of line infantry regiments had previously varied in number and design according to the whims of their colonel; many bore the personal arms of their commander, rather than any national or royal insignia. George's reforms standardised the colours to two per regiment: a "king's colour" (known as a "royal" or "queen's colour" during the reign of a queen), based on the union flag and a "second colour" (later known as the "regimental colour") with a field in the colour of the regiment's facings defaced by the new regimental numbers. It was common for infantry colours to be consecrated by an Anglican priest, and by 1825 it became the norm that colours would be consecrated when being formally presented to the regiment, though there were exceptions. Preventing capture Regiments usually took great care to avoid their colours from falling into the hands of the enemy. During the surrender at Saratoga the colours of the 9th Regiment of Foot were smuggled back to England by their colonel, which was viewed by the Americans as a violation of the terms of the surrender. The colours of the 94th Regiment of Foot were saved during the surrender following the 1880 Battle of Bronkhorstspruit by being hidden beneath the bed of a wounded soldier's wife, in an ambulance allowed to return to British lines. On other occasions the colours have been deliberately destroyed to prevent their capture. The colours of the 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) were burnt by their colonel at the 1811 Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro when he feared they were at risk of capture and on several occasions regiments threatened with capture while being transported at sea have weighted their colours and thrown them overboard. On some occasions regiments have