50-507: The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army . The regiment was formed by an amalgamation of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) and the Queen's Royal Lancers on 2 May 2015. It serves in the 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team . The Royal Lancers are part of the 3rd (UK) Division . It appears that the regimental amalgamation of
100-827: A battle with Iraqi armour, and Corporal of Horse Glynn Bell was awarded the Military Cross for his actions shortly before the end of the tour. In April 2004, A and C Squadrons deployed during Operation Telic 4 and in June 2007, A and C Squadrons again returned to Iraq during Operation Telic 10. During Operation Herrick 4, D Squadron deployed as the Formation Reconnaissance Squadron for 16 Air Assault Brigade in April 2006. C Squadron deployed with 52nd Infantry Brigade during Operation Herrick 7 in October 2007 and saw action at
150-746: A horsed cavalry role to a motorised one, re-equipping with armoured cars previously used by the Royal Tank Corps. Other regiments followed suit; in April 1939, the Royal Armoured Corps was formed to encompass the eighteen mechanised cavalry regiments of the line alongside the eight battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment , but did not include the Household Cavalry. The remaining two regular cavalry regiments were based in Palestine, and following
200-542: A mounted ceremonial regiment. There are also four yeomanry regiments of the Army Reserve , of these, three serve as light cavalry and one as an armoured regiment . Each yeomanry light cavalry unit has been paired with a regular unit of the same role, the armoured yeomanry unit is paired with the two regular armoured units (and a further armoured unit which is not cavalry). All except the Household Cavalry are part of
250-599: A number more would convert to the armoured role during the Second World War . However, in the reorganisation of the reserve forces in the late 1930s, many Yeomanry regiments were reorganised as artillery units , and transferred into the Royal Artillery . The Royal Armoured Corps itself formed a number of armoured regiments, converted from territorial infantry battalions, and the Reconnaissance Corps (taken into
300-633: A result, the Imperial Yeomanry was created in January 1900 as a volunteer cavalry corps. Some 34,000 men were sent to South Africa on one-year enlistments through 1900 and 1901, the majority coming initially from existing regiments of yeomanry. Many companies were raised and sponsored by yeomanry regiments—for example, the Leicestershire Yeomanry sponsored the 7th (Leicestershire) and the 65th (Leicestershire) Companies—and these regiments later took
350-690: A separate incident, Lieutenant Alex Tweedie and Lance Corporal Karl Shearer died when their Scimitar over-turned into an irrigation canal. The squadron received various decorations for its service: Trooper Chris Finney was awarded the George Cross for his actions during the A-10 incident, Major Richard Taylor received the Distinguished Service Order , Corporal of Horse Mick Flynn received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his actions in
400-725: Is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both regiments together form the Household Cavalry (HCav). The Household Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1992, under the Options for Change reforms, by the union of The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals in order to preserve
450-521: Is still carried by detachments of the regiment on ceremonial occasions. Cavalry regiments of the British Army There are 13 cavalry Regiments of the British Army each with its own unique cap badge, regimental traditions, and history. Of the currently nine regular cavalry regiments, two serve as armoured regiments , three as armoured cavalry regiments, three as light cavalry , and one as
500-487: The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) and the Queen's Royal Lancers was envisaged as part of Army 2020 . The amalgamation was announced in July 2012, and the regiment was formed with an amalgamation parade before their colonel-in-chief, Queen Elizabeth II , at Richmond Castle on 2 May 2015. On 5 April 2017, to mark her 70th anniversary as colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers and its predecessors, The Queen granted
550-760: The Battle of Musa Qala to recover the town of Musa Qala from the Taliban . D Squadron again deployed with 16 Air Assault Brigade, initially around Musa Qala, then east of Girishk during Operation Herrick 8 in April 2008. A, B and C Squadrons deployed on Operation Herrick 11 in 2009, A and B Squadron with 11 Light Brigade Headquarters based out of Camp Bastion and C Squadron as the Battle Group North West Manoeuvre Group, initially based in Musa Q’aleh District Centre and subsequently elsewhere in
SECTION 10
#1732858566059600-585: The Multi-National Division (South-West) , for which the British Armed Forces were responsible. In 1997 two squadrons from the regiment were awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Peace for their work in "returning the lives of members of the severely damaged community of Banja Luka to conditions approaching normality, in which the seeds of long-standing peace might grow." In 1999 D Squadron provided
650-694: The Royal Armoured Corps . It is based in Catterick as part of the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team , one of the three Armoured Brigade Combat Teams of the 3rd (UK) Division . Since 2015, the regiment has deployed soldiers operationally on Operation Elgin (Bosnia / Kosovo), Operation Tosca (Cyprus), Operation Orbital (Ukraine), and as part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Poland. Regimental Commanding Officers included: The regiment retains order of precedence from
700-535: The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards they formed the Household Cavalry. The same year, the remaining four Horse regiments were retitled as the 4th through 7th Dragoon Guards. Some thirty-four regiments of fencible cavalry — regiments raised for home service only—were raised in 1794 and 1795, in response to an invasion scare; all had disbanded by the end of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1802. At
750-690: The Special Reserve , rather than the Territorials, and were no longer considered Yeomanry. The last major use of conventional cavalry by the Army was in the First World War . However, the anticipated war of manoeuvre on the Western Front never took place, and the cavalry forces were never employed in their intended role; instead, many saw intermittent service as dismounted infantry. This was especially true of
800-435: The heavy cavalry (Dragoon and Dragoon Guard regiments). Henceforth, all newly raised regiments of cavalry would be denoted Light Dragoons. By 1783, the 7th to 14th Dragoons had become the 7th to 14th Light Dragoons, changing from heavy to light roles. The various troops of Horse Guards and Horse Grenadier Guards were regimented in 1788, forming the 1st Regiment of Life Guards and 2nd Regiment of Life Guards ; together with
850-531: The Battle Group area of operations. There was another deployment again by D Squadron in late 2010 on Operation Herrick 13 and finally, B squadron deployed with 1st Mechanised Brigade Operation Herrick 18 in April 2013. The Household Cavalry Regiment contributed to security at the London Olympic Games in 2012 and flood relief in the local area during 2014. The regiment moved from Combermere Barracks to
900-577: The British Army's Royal Armoured Corps . The British Army , in the modern sense of the standing army under the Crown, was formed following the Restoration of King Charles II in 1661. At this point, the small standing forces included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Troops of Horse Guards and the Royal Regiment of Horse ; some of these had been raised in exile and some as part of the New Model Army . The horsemen of
950-537: The British Army. The Household Cavalry Regiment was established as part of the Options for Change defence review in 1992. The House Cavalry Regiment's squadrons served in the Yugoslav Wars on rotations over a nine-year period. Deployments to the Former Republic of Yugoslavia included tours by A and D Squadrons in 1995 and C Squadron in 1999 and 2003. They were largely based at Banja Luka , headquarters of
1000-462: The Formation Reconnaissance Squadron for 16 Air Assault Brigade during the 2003 invasion of Iraq . The squadron led the brigade main body into Iraq before conducting a wide range of tasks, including around the Rumalayah oil fields. The squadron was unfortunate to be involved in a friendly-fire incident involving a US A-10 Thunderbolt . Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed in the incident. In
1050-538: The Household Cavalry Regiment conducts surveillance and reconnaissance activities, mounted or dismounted, in all weathers by day or night. The regiment's vehicles enable information-gathering to be conducted whilst mobile, at pace, and whilst under fire. The change in designation from Brigade Reconnaissance Regiment to Armoured Cavalry reflects the evolving role of the Household Cavalry Regiment in preparation for Ajax (Scout SV) . The Household Cavalry Regiment
SECTION 20
#17328585660591100-503: The Royal Armoured Corps in 1944) several mechanised reconnaissance units, all of which were classed with the cavalry. Other war-formed units included twelve Territorial Army battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment , converted from infantry in 1938 and 1939, and six new line cavalry regiments, the 22nd through 27th. These were arbitrarily termed as hussars, lancers or dragoons, but with no meaning; none would survive past 1948. After
1150-693: The Territorial Army, all in the light reconnaissance role, with five regiments of the Royal Artillery , eight of the Royal Engineers and eleven of the Royal Signals titled as "Yeomanry" and retaining lineages from a yeomanry regiment. The 31 British cavalry regiments created by the Childers Reforms in 1881 were amalgamated into eight regiments by 2015. The table below gives an overview of this process. There are currently 9 regiments of cavalry in
1200-548: The War, this is not entirely accurate. All of the yeomanry units raised second- and third-line regiments from new recruits, and on the outbreak of war some seventeen Cavalry Reserve Regiments were formed. Few of these units saw active service, instead serving to train and equip men for the front-line regiments, or as reserve units for home defence. The Tank Corps —the forerunner of the Royal Tank Regiment—was formed in 1917, but
1250-465: The battle honours of their sponsored companies when they returned from overseas service. All Imperial Yeomanry battalions were equipped as mounted infantry , using infantry organisation and terminology (note "battalion" and "company", rather than "regiment" and "squadron"); this proved highly useful in South Africa, where fast-moving infantry was invaluable for a fluid war spread over enormous areas. As
1300-490: The brigade reconnaissance squadron for 4th Armoured Brigade for the occupation of Kosovo on Operation Agricola 1. In 2002, Household Cavalry Regiment soldiers crewed fire appliances during the Fire Brigades Union strike. In 2003, exceptionally, the regiment was tasked at short notice to provide additional armed security at Heathrow Airport, in response to a specific threat. D Squadron deployed in their function as
1350-676: The distinct identities of the regiments. A precedent for the Household Cavalry Regiment has previously been set by the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment - active during the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Second Boer War and latterly during both the First and Second World Wars. The HCR is part of the Household Cavalry , rather than the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC), which encompasses all other armoured and cavalry regiments of
1400-483: The establishment by another five line regiments, along with amalgamating the regiments of the Household Cavalry . The Yeomanry had been reduced even further in the post-war years; most regiments were amalgamated in the 1950s and then reduced to cadres in the late 1960s, with a sizable fraction being converted to infantry, artillery, or support roles. By the end of the Cold War, there were five regiments of "pure" Yeomanry in
1450-502: The first contingent of volunteers returned, and the lessons of the war were absorbed by the Army, it was decided to convert the Yeomanry into mounted infantry along the same lines. The new Yeomanry regiments, appropriately retitled as "Imperial Yeomanry", comprised four companies of mounted infantry with carbines, and a machine-gun section; by 1903, an additional nineteen regiments of Imperial Yeomanry had been raised, with several perpetuating
1500-721: The forces of the Honourable East India Company . The outbreak of the South African War in 1899 caused some sharp setbacks for the British forces, leading to a high demand for additional troops to be despatched, especially light cavalry. However, it was not possible to embody the Yeomanry for overseas service; they were raised to be only liable for service in the British Isles, to resist invasion or for internal security. As
1550-490: The heavy cavalry, with nine regiments of hussars and five of lancers in the light cavalry. By this point, the distinction between heavy and light cavalry regiments had effectively vanished, as both fought in the same manner and were equipped in the same way—with the exception of the lancers, who retained their lances . In 1862 the army received a further four regiments of cavalry, the European light cavalry regiments formerly part of
Royal Lancers - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-499: The lineages of volunteer units in South Africa or of previously disbanded Yeomanry regiments. In 1908, the reserve forces underwent significant reforms; the Yeomanry and the infantry Volunteers were consolidated into the Territorial Force . The Yeomanry dropped its designation of "Imperial Yeomanry", and most regiments converted back from the mounted infantry role to become lancers, hussars or dragoons. Four regiments were assigned to
1650-485: The more senior antecedent regiment, the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) . The Royal Lancers is now the last regiment in the British Army to retain the title of "lancers". It has directly or indirectly inherited the traditions of the six British lancer regiments that were in existence until a series of amalgamations began in 1922. The Regimental Cap Badge is referred to as the 'Motto' and stands for 'Death or Glory'. The historic lance , complete with pennant ,
1700-462: The names of their colonels; in 1751, in an attempt to reduce confusion, regiments were assigned numbers in order of their seniority. The cavalry regiments of the line were numbered in three separate sequences; 1st through 4th Horse, then 1st through 3rd Dragoon Guards, then 1st through 14th Dragoons. "Dragoon Guards" was a new title, and did not denote a Guards' role; it was adopted by the three senior horse regiments in 1746, when George II reduced them to
1750-529: The new, specialist build barracks, Powle Lines, in Bulford Camp in May 2019. In 2014, the Household Cavalry Regiment was re-designated from a Brigade Reconnaissance Regiment to Armoured Cavalry as part of the Army 2020 reforms. The Household Cavalry Regiment's task is to provide timely and accurate information and intelligence to the Brigade Commander in order to enable decision-making. To fulfil this function,
1800-432: The nineteenth century, seeing occasional service quelling riots and helping to maintain public order. By the turn of the century, in 1801, the Household Cavalry establishment consisted of three regiments of guards, while the line cavalry had some twenty-seven regiments of dragoons and dragoon guards. The heavy cavalry consisted of twelve regiments, the 1st to 7th Dragoon Guards and the 1st to 6th Dragoons—the missing regiment
1850-621: The outbreak of war retained their horses until 1940 (the Royal Dragoons ) and 1941 (the Royal Scots Greys ). Following mechanisation, the few remaining distinctions of unit type became meaningless; cavalry regiments moved between the heavy and light armoured roles regardless of their names. Seven regiments of the Yeomanry, previously affiliated with the Royal Tank Regiment, were taken into the Royal Armoured Corps on its formation, and
1900-474: The period were equipped as cuirassiers , with armour on the head and the body; the regulations of Charles II, in 1663, provided for them to be armed with "a sword and a case of pistols ... each Trooper of our Guards to have a carbine besides". By the start of the eighteenth century, the cavalry establishment had been divided into household and line units. The household establishment consisted of four troops of Horse Guards and two of Horse Grenadier Guards, while
1950-528: The regiment the honorific suffix "Queen Elizabeths' Own", to recognise their service to Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . On 8 June 2023, Queen Camilla was appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment. The regiment is an Armoured Cavalry Regiment. Previously equipped with the Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle, it started converting to the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle in 2022. This
2000-600: The regular Army, and a further 4 Yeomanry regiments in the Army Reserve . In British terminology, a cavalry or armoured "regiment" is a battalion -sized unit. Armoured regiments are equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks (being replaced by Challenger 3 ): Regular: Reserve: Armoured cavalry regiments are equipped with Warrior armoured fighting vehicles (being replaced by Ajax); they have no paired reserve units: Light cavalry regiments are equipped with Jackal vehicles: Regular: Reserve: Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Regiment ( HCR )
2050-434: The regular establishment was composed of nine regiments of Horse and eight of Dragoons. The "horse" regiments would in theory fight mounted as cavalry, while dragoons were originally mounted infantry - they would fight dismounted, but were provided with horses for swift movement. By the middle of the century, the term had come simply to mean light cavalry . Regiments were, at this time, known by semi-permanent nicknames or by
Royal Lancers - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-433: The same time, a large number of troops of volunteer cavalry were raised on a county level, consisting of local gentry and yeoman farmers; from the latter they took the description yeomanry . These troops formed into yeomanry regiments, organised broadly by county, around 1800; their history thereafter is complex, with many disbanding, reforming, and changing title intermittently. However, most remained in existence throughout
2150-462: The status of dragoons in order to save money. The first "light horse" regiment was raised in 1745, for service in the Second Jacobite rising , and proved so successful that light troops were added to most cavalry regiments in 1755. In 1759, five complete regiments (the 15th to 19th) of Light Dragoons were formed, and the distinction was made between the light cavalry (Light Dragoon regiments) and
2200-440: The traditions and honours of both "parents" to be perpetuated. Before the Second World War , cavalry recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches tall, but could not exceed 5 feet 9 inches. They initially enlisted for six years with the colours and a further six years with the reserve. In October 1928, a new era began as the 11th Hussars became the first regular cavalry regiment to "mechanise", to change from
2250-410: The war, the regular cavalry was quickly reduced to its pre-war establishment, and reduced further by the 1957 Defence White Paper ; as a result of this, seven regular cavalry regiments were lost through amalgamation, leaving two household, sixteen line regiments. The subsequent round of cuts, in 1969–71, saw a further three line regiments disappear, and the 1990 Options for Change defence review reduced
2300-460: The yeomanry regiments; indeed, the 74th (Yeomanry) Division was composed entirely of yeomanry regiments serving as infantry, and in 1918 many regiments began to be formally converted to infantry units. However, mounted cavalry did play a major role in the Sinai and Palestine theatre , most notably at the Battle of Beersheba . While it generally appears that no new regiments of cavalry were raised during
2350-496: Was intended to be replaced by the Ajax (Scout SV) from 2019; however, after considerable delays, British Army trials of the Ajax were paused in the summer of 2021 due to excessive vibration. The Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle is also currently used. The regiment consists of three Sabre Squadrons of sixteen vehicles each and one Command and Support Squadron. The Royal Lancers forms part of
2400-439: Was not considered as "cavalry" until the 1940s. Following the War, and the subsequent reduction in the strength of the Army, it was apparent that future warfare would involve much less of a role for cavalry. As such, the regular force was reduced from 31 regiments of cavalry to 22. Unlike previous reductions, however, this was carried out by the amalgamation of regiments rather than the disbanding of junior regiments; this allowed
2450-431: Was the 17th Light Dragoons . In 1806, the 10th Light Dragoons became the 10th Hussars , taking a title made popular by Continental cavalry; the 5th, 15th and 18th followed in 1807. In 1816 three more regiments changed their title to "Lancers", and in 1818 two more dragoon regiments became light dragoons. By 1861, the last light dragoons retitled as hussars, leaving three regiments of dragoons and seven of dragoon guards in
2500-479: Was the 5th Dragoons , disbanded for mutiny in 1799 without renumbering younger regiments—while the light cavalry consisted of the 7th through 29th Light Dragoons and two regiments of German cavalry on the British establishment. Many of the light cavalry regiments were disbanded after the Napoleonic Wars ; at their peak in 1794, there had been some 33 regiments of light dragoons, but by 1822 the most junior regiment
#58941