During the intervening 300 years, it spent much time on garrison
duty in the Empire. At Dettingen it won the distinction of wearing
the oak leaf whilst parading for Royalty and also on certain
Regimental days. The story is that the 22nd protected the king, who
was commanding the field, from being taken prisoner by the French.
The king picked a sprig of oak from a nearby tree and presented it
to them. The taking of Louisburg in Nova Scotia was its most famous
18th-century event; the Grenadier Company going on with Wolfe to
Quebec. A 22nd Grenadier appears to have been present at the death
of Wolfe along with Ensign Browne. The regiment proceeded after the
Seven Years War to the West Indies finally taking its place in New
York for the American War.
A spell in India led to the 22nd being the only English Regiment
in Sir Charles Napier's force to conquer the Scinde. The great
battle at Meeanee on 17 February 1843 is celebrated as the
Regimental Day. The Regiment spent most of the 19th century in the
Indian sub-continent or its dependencies. A 2nd Battalion was
raised in 1814 for a short while and re-raised in 1858. It fought
in the Boer War in South Africa in 1900. This battalion was
amalgamated with the 1st at the end of the Second World War. In the
Great War 38 battalions were raised by the Cheshire Regiment. At
the outset of the war in 1914 the 1st Battalion was exposed to the
brunt of two German Army Corps at the village of Audregnies near
Mons. Their heroic stand saved the British Expeditionary Force from
a disaster and is celebrated as a second Regimental Day on 24
August. This Battalion was in every major action in France
throughout the war and won 35 Battle Honours.
The Territorial and New (Kitchener's) Army Battalions fought in
France, Gallipoli, Sinai, Palestine, Salonika and Mesopotamia. The
12th Battalion won the French Croix de Guerre. Over 8,000 officers
and men gave their lives. Between the wars the two regular
battalions served in India, Sudan, Palestine and Malta and became
noted for their sport and athletic prowess.
Just prior to the Second World War the Regiment was armed with
the Vickers Machine Gun and became a Support Regiment for the
duration of the war. At the outbreak of war the 4th, 5th, 6th and
7th Battalions TA were re-established. A 30th Battalion (Home
Defence) and 39 Home Guard Battalions made up the Regimental roll.
The 2nd Battalion was at Dunkirk, North Africa and Italy before
returning to be part of the initial landing at Normandy. The 1st
Battalion was in North Africa and Malta during the siege and
finally in NW Europe. The 6th and 7th Battalions fought in
Italy.
Since the war the 1st Battalion has served in numerous
operational areas: Malaya, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Bosnia under
the United Nations and Iraq. The regiment was amalgamated in 2007
and the 1st Battalion of the new regiment is called the 1st
Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire).