1702 for the War of the Spanish Succession

Seven new cavalry and fifty new infantry regiments were raised in 1702 for the War of the Spanish Succession.

• 31st Foot, raised as Marines
• 32nd Foot
• 33rd Foot, raised by Earl of Huntingdon in Gloucestershire
• 34th Foot, raised by Lord Lucas in East Anglia
• 35th Foot, raised in 1701 in Belfast by the Earl of Donegall
• 37th Foot, raised in Ireland
• 39th Foot, raised in Ireland by Richard Coote

Act of Union 1707

The Act of Union in 1707 (the treaty that effected the union of England and Scotland under the name of Great Britain) made the army truely a British Army.

1747 Precedence for Regiments established.

1751 Regimental precedence became regimental titles.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, as Britain consolidated its colonial empire, the army grew in size and developed as an effective fighting force. The army established standing forces in the colonies and distinguished itself during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-15). Reforms were carried out to improve its organization and efficiency in the late 1800s. In particular, the reforms that began in 1881 established the Regimental System on which is based the British Army we all recognise today. The first phase of restructuring addressed the composition and county affiliations of Regiments.

Regiments were formalised as comprising two Battalions:

• 1st Battalion - overseas

• 2nd Battalion - at home recruiting and providing drafts

The second phase of the restructuring in 1881 officially eliminated regimental numbers and established one form of title for the regiments. This has been the subject of subsequent change and flipping between titles/subtitles, and while officially dropped regimental numbers remained the basis for precedence and indeed survive to today.