Given at our Court at St. James’ the 9th day of November 1759, in the 33rd year of our reign.

To our trusty and well-beloved Cousin and Councillor John Viscount Ligonier, Master-General of our Ordnance.

These preliminaries of clothing and armament being settled, Colonel Hale’s next duty was to raise the men. Being a Hertfordshire man, the son of Sir Bernard Hale of Kings Walden, he naturally betook himself to his native county to raise recruits among his own people. The first troop was raised by Captain Franklin Kirby, Lieutenant, 5th Foot; the second by Captain Samuel Birch, Lieutenant, 11th Dragoons; the third by Captain Martin Basil, Lieutenant, 15th Light Dragoons; and the fourth by Captain Edward Lascelles, Cornet, Royal Horse Guards. If it be asked what stamp of man was preferred for the Light Dragoons, we are able to answer that the recruits were required to be “light and straight, and by no means gummy,” not under 5 feet 5½ inches, and not over 5 feet 9 inches in height. The bounty usually offered (but varied at the Colonel’s discretion) was three guineas, or as much less as a recruit could be persuaded to accept.

Whether from exceptional liberality on the part of Colonel Hale, or from an extraordinary abundance of light, straight, and by no means gummy men in Hertfordshire at that period, the regiment was recruited up to its establishment, we are told, within December. the space of seventeen days. Early in December it made rendezvous at Watford and Rickmansworth, whence it marched to Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon, and thence a fortnight later to Coventry. Meanwhile orders had already been given (10th December) that its establishment should be augmented by two more troops of the same strength as the original four; and little 1760. 28th Jan. more than a month later came a second order to increase each of the existing troops still further by the addition of a sergeant, a corporal, and 36 privates. Thus the regiment, increased almost as soon as raised from 300 to 450 men, and within a few weeks again strengthened by one-half, may be said to have begun life with an establishment of 678 rank and file. To them we must add a list of the original officers:—

Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant.—John Hale, 7th November 1759.

Major.—John Blaquiere, 7th November 1759.

Captains.

Franklin Kirby4thNov.
Samuel Birch5th„
Martin Basil6th„
Edward Lascelles7th„
John Burton7th„
Samuel Townshend8th„

Lieutenants.

Thomas Lee4thNov.
William Green5th„
Joseph Hall6th„
Henry Wallop7th„
Henry Cope7th„
Yelverton Peyton8th„