Few regiments have been engaged in services which have called into exercise the moral and physical energies of the officers and soldiers to a greater extent than the duties in which the SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT has been employed; and none have displayed the heroic virtues of the British military character more fully than this meritorious corps. Whether at the Fort of ST. PHILIP, in Minorca,--in the valley of the Tagus, at TALAVERA,--on the plains of SALAMANCA,--on the lofty PYRENEES,--or in the southern provinces of FRANCE, the same valour, constancy, patience, and perseverance, have shone forth with a splendour which has elevated the reputation of the corps; and its conduct in quarters has also elicited the commendations of the general officers under whom it has served. Deriving its origin from the Third Regiment of Foot, or the BUFFS, the SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT has inherited the same spirit which animated the officers and soldiers of that veteran corps during the wars of three centuries. 1844. SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF THE SIXTY-FIRST, OR, THE SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. GRANVILLE ELLIOTT. _Appointed 21st April, 1758._ GRANVILLE ELLIOTT served with distinction in the army of the Emperor of Germany, and returned to England with the reputation of a brave and experienced officer; he was admitted into the British service, by King George II., in 1758, with the rank of major-general, and was appointed colonel of the SIXTY-FIRST Regiment, on its formation from the second battalion of the Third Foot, or the Buffs. He commanded a brigade, under Charles, Duke of Marlborough, in the expedition to St. Maloes in 1758; and afterwards proceeded to Germany, where he served as major-general, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. His experience in continental service induced him to suggest to the British government the advantage of having a considerable portion of light cavalry in the army. The subject was previously under consideration, and the formation of regiments of light dragoons was commenced in the following year. He died in Germany in 1759. GEORGE GRAY. _Appointed 19th July, 1759._ GEORGE GRAY was many years an officer in the household cavalry, and in July, 1749, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the first troop, now first regiment, of Life Guards. In 1759, King George II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the SIXTY-FIRST Regiment, from which he was removed, in 1768, to the Thirty-seventh. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1761, and to that of lieut.-general in 1770. He died in 1773. JOHN GORE. _Appointed 9th May, 1768._