The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot to become the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Regiment in 1881. History Formation in 1694 to end of the 18th Century The regiment was formed on 16 February 1694 during the Nine Years War by Colonel Thomas Farrington as Thomas Farrington's Regiment of Foot. Disbanded after the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, it was reformed in 1702 when the War of the Spanish Succession began; while intended for the West Indies, a notoriously unhealthy posting, Farringdon's protests meant instead it joined Marlborough's army in Flanders in 1704. Too late for the Blenheim campaign, it fought at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706 and the siege of Ostend in June. Lord Mark Kerr became Colonel when Farringdon died in October 1712, but with the war winding down, it became part of the Gibraltar garrison. It remained there for the next 30 years, including the Siege of Gibraltar during the 1727-1729 Anglo-Spanish War. During the 1740-1748 War of the Austrian Succession, it was based in British North America and helped capture the French North American stronghold of Louisbourg in October 1745. In 1746, 27 soldiers died in the Port-la-Joye Massacre, in part because they were unarmed. In response, officers were ordered to carry swords and side arms even off duty, leading to the nickname, the Ever Sworded. The regiment remained in North America after the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returned Louisbourg to France; in 1749, it helped establish the town of Halifax, Nova Scotia during Father Le Loutre's War. A significant organisational change occurred in 1751; previously, regiments were considered the property of their Colonel, changed names when transferred from one to another and were disbanded as soon as possible. As part of a package of reforms driven by the increasing professionalisation of the military, each regiment was now assigned a number, based on precedence or seniority in the Army list; Colonel Peregrine Hopson's Regiment became the 29th Regiment of Foot. George Boscawen replaced Hopson as Colonel in 1752 and his brother, Admiral Edward Boscawen presented him with 10 black youths taken in the 1759 Invasion of Guadeloupe. They were employed as regimental drummers, a tradition that continued until 1843. Together with the 14th Regiment of Foot, the 29th was posted to Boston