However, the 9th and 16th battalions were later formed from troops from the kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin in present day Kerala.

In August 1758, they were formed into regular companies of 100 men each with a due proportion of Indian officers, havildars, naiks, etc.

[4] In 1748, Major Stringer Lawrence, a veteran of action in Spain, Flanders and the Highlands, was hired by the East India Company to take charge of the defence of Cuddalore.

The elephant crest symbolises its gallantry in the Battle of Assaye under Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington.

A British mercenary force to eliminate the native rulers like the Mysore Kingdom and the Polygars such as Puli Thevan, Dheeran Chinnamalai, Maruthu brothers, Kattabomman, Pazhassi Raja, etc., at its zenith in the 1800s, the regiment consisted of 52 battalions.

This resulted in the British reducing the strength of the Madras Regiment, since the southern borders were relatively peaceful.

These battalions were with a reduced strength of 600 men, as they were intended to perform duties of garrison troops only.

What remained were four Indian Territorial Force (ITF) and one University Training Corps battalions.

This decline was arrested in 1941, when Sir Arthur Hope, the then Governor of Madras put in efforts to revive the regiment.

[5][9] After independence, the infantry battalions of the Travancore "Nair Pattalam", Cochin and Mysore State forces were amalgamated into the Madras Regiment.

This militia was raised in 1704 at Padmanabhapuram as body guards for the Maharajah of Travancore, and saw action in the Battle of Colachel by defeating the Dutch forces.

The army was made up of soldiers from Nair warrior clans, however after the 1940s, non-Nairs were permitted to join.

[10][11] Post-independence saw the consolidation of the Regiment and re-affirmation of the versatility and valour of the South Indian troops, when the battalions of the Regiment fought fierce battles during the 1947–48 Jammu & Kashmir Operations, the 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict, the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 and Operation Pawan in 1987–89 as a part of the IPKF.

The elephant faces west as seen from the front, and has an arched back, a slightly curved trunk, tusks pointing upwards, and a sagging belly, with the tuft of the tail resting at the rear edge of its left thigh.

[13] During the Victorian era, European officers within the Madras regiments largely followed British regulations, as photographic evidence and surviving uniforms conform to the standard British pattern tunics, including but not limited to the 1856, 1867, and 1881 pattern officer's tunics.

It was adopted on 07 January 1949 following a proposal by the then Commanding Officer of 4 Madras (WLI) - Lieutenant Colonel MK Sheriff.

It was adopted in November 1979 and consists of a dark green background with yellow, scarlet and white stripes.

[19] The Madras Regimental Centre is presently located in Wellington and is commanded by an officer of the rank of Brigadier.

[22] The museum of Madras Regimental Centre is located in the Shrinagesh Barracks Complex and was inaugurated in 1993.

[23] The Madras Regiment Record Office was formed in Madukkarai in October 1942 and moved to Wellington in 1947.

[26] Let those who come after, see to it that these names be not forgotten, For they who at the call of duty, left all that was dear to them, Endured hardships, faced dangers, and finally passed out of sight of men, In the path of duty and self-sacrifice, Giving their lives that we might live in freedom.