"The drums and bells of arms to have the King's cypher painted on them, in the same manner, and the rank of the regiment underneath." [Sidenote: 1754] The regiment remained in Great Britain until the year 1754, when it proceeded to the island of Minorca to relieve the thirty-third regiment, which returned to England. [Sidenote: 1755] [Sidenote: 1756] The island of _Minorca_, at which the KING'S OWN were stationed, and where they were eventually called upon to perform most arduous and trying services, is the second of the Balearic islands, situated in the Mediterranean near the coast of Spain. This island had fallen successively under the dominion of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Moors, the Arragonese, and the Castilians, and in 1708 it was captured by the British for the house of Austria; but at the peace of Utrecht, when the Austrian family was excluded from the throne of Spain, it was ceded to Great Britain; it had remained a part of the possessions of the British crown, and was garrisoned by a company of artillery and four regiments of foot. In this small island, which is diversified with hills and valleys, and in some parts rich in vegetation and abounding with the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life, the KING'S OWN passed two years, during which time a dispute between the governments of France and England, respecting the extent of their possessions in North America, had occasioned a war between the two kingdoms, and in the early part of 1756 the French made preparations at Toulon and Marseilles for the capture of Minorca. At this period the KING'S OWN occupied extensive quarters in the several towns on the island, and their regimental head-quarters were at Ciudadella, the capital. The other corps were at _Port-Mahon_, which is stated to be one of the finest harbours in the world, and at _Fort St. Philip_; and the brave Lieut.-General Blakeney was lieut.-governor and commander-in-chief on the island. The regiments on the island were not discouraged at the preparations making in France; on the contrary, an officer, in a letter published at the time, observed,--"Our spirits are so good, our garrison so hearty, and our supplies so ample, that if our works do not defend us, and we defend our works until we can be relieved by a strong hand, we deserve to be buried in their ruins." The French armament, commanded by Marshal Duke de Richelieu, arrived at Minorca in the middle of April, and effected a landing at Ciudadella on the 18th of that month; and as no part of the island was fortified to resist so powerful a force, excepting _Fort St. Philip_, situate on a rocky promontory at the entrance to the harbour of Port Mahon, the KING'S OWN were withdrawn from the interior, and effected their retreat to the fort with the loss of one corporal taken prisoner by the enemy.