during the siege. After the Crown took control of the Presidency armies in the aftermath of the Rebellion, the regiment became the 1st Madras Fusiliers in July 1858 and then the 1st Royal Madras Fusiliers in May 1861. It was then renumbered as the 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) on transfer to the British Army in September 1862. The regiment embarked for England in 1870 and was then deployed to Gibraltar in April 1876 and to Ceylon in 1879. As part of the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 102nd was linked with the 103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers), and assigned to district no. 66 at Naas Barracks in County Kildare. On 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 103rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) to form the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Plassey the tiger The 102nd kept a tiger, named Plassey, during their deployments in India and the regiment's garrison at Dover. Named after the Battle of Plassey, the Bengal tiger cub was among a pair captured by Captain Frank Thackwell of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers, and later gifted to the 102nd. Plassey was among the other mascots of the 102nd, that being a dog and an antelope. Plassey came to be such a symbol of the regiment that the cap badge showed him. After the regiment was shipped back to Europe, Plassey stayed with the Dover garrison, where he lived alongside a pair of leopards. However, after having "alarmed" residents, Plassey was sent to the London Zoo, where he died in 1877. Battle honours Battle honours won by the regiment were: Victoria Crosses Private Thomas Duffy, Indian Mutiny (6 September 1857) Private John Ryan, Indian Mutiny (26 September 1857) Private John Smith, Indian Mutiny (16 November 1857) Colonels of the Regiment Colonels of the Regiment included: 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) 1862–1881: Gen. Sir Robert John Hussey Vivian, GCB Notes References Further reading External links Infantry regiments of the British Army Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1742 Military units and formations disestablished in 1881 1742 establishments in British India