1st King's Dragoon Guards
Encyclopedia
The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment
in the British Army
. The regiment was formed in 1685 as The Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary
, consort of King James II
. It was renamed The King's Own Regiment of Horse in 1714 in honour of George I
. The regiment attained the title 1st King's Dragoon Guards in 1751.
The regiment served as horse cavalry until 1937 when it was mechanised with light tanks. The regiment became part of the Royal Armoured Corps
in 1939. The regiment merged with The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in 1959 to form 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
.
became Colonel-in-Chief
of the regiment, which he remained until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. At the same time the double-headed Austrian eagle became the cap-badge of the regiment (see illustration above) until it, too, was replaced, in 1915. On Dec 2, 1908 the Emperor instituted the Inhaber-Jubiläums-Medaille für Ausländer (Commander's Jubilee Medal for Foreigners) to celebrate his 60 years on the throne. Some of the 40 Golden, 635 Silver and 2000 Bronze medals were awarded to officers, NCOs and private soldiers in the regiment. In 1938, the Austrian eagle returned as the regiment's cap badge, but without the scroll.
, India as part of the Lucknow Cavalry Brigade. The regiment was ordered to France and arrived at Marseilles on 7 November. The KDGs formed part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division
serving on the Western Front
. The regiment returned to India in 1917 and joined 1st (Peshawar) Division
and during 1919 took part in the Third Afghan War.
. On 2 May 1919 Afghan troops seized control of wells on the Indian side of the border. The Afghan Amir Amanullah
was warned to withdraw, but his answer was to send more troops to reinforce those at the wells and to move other Afghan units to various points on the frontier. The KDGs were mobilised on 6 May and formed part of the British Indian Army
's 1st Cavalry Brigade. The regiment served throughout the Third Afghan War and saw action at the Khyber Pass
and Dakka
. On 8 August a peace treaty with Afghanistan was officially signed and the KDGs returned to Risalpur on 28 August
in 1944, claimed that the King's Dragoon Guards was the first British unit to reach Naples in 1944, and that many of its officers immediately went on a looting spree, cutting paintings from their frames in the prince's palace.
Battle honours
Cavalry regiments of the British Army
There are currently nine regular cavalry regiments of the British Army, with two tank regiments provided by the Royal Tank Regiment, traditionally classed alongside the cavalry, for a total of eleven regiments. Of these, five serve as armoured regiments, and five as formation reconnaissance...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. The regiment was formed in 1685 as The Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
, consort of King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. It was renamed The King's Own Regiment of Horse in 1714 in honour of George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
. The regiment attained the title 1st King's Dragoon Guards in 1751.
The regiment served as horse cavalry until 1937 when it was mechanised with light tanks. The regiment became part of the Royal Armoured Corps
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
in 1939. The regiment merged with The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in 1959 to form 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
.
The Habsburg connection
In March 1896 Emperor Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
became Colonel-in-Chief
Colonel-in-Chief
In the various Commonwealth armies, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its patron. This position is distinct from that of Colonel of the Regiment. They do not have an operational role. They are however kept informed of all important activities of the regiment, and pay occasional visits to its...
of the regiment, which he remained until the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. At the same time the double-headed Austrian eagle became the cap-badge of the regiment (see illustration above) until it, too, was replaced, in 1915. On Dec 2, 1908 the Emperor instituted the Inhaber-Jubiläums-Medaille für Ausländer (Commander's Jubilee Medal for Foreigners) to celebrate his 60 years on the throne. Some of the 40 Golden, 635 Silver and 2000 Bronze medals were awarded to officers, NCOs and private soldiers in the regiment. In 1938, the Austrian eagle returned as the regiment's cap badge, but without the scroll.
First World War (1914-18)
At the commencement of war in 1914 the KDGs were stationed in LucknowLucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, India as part of the Lucknow Cavalry Brigade. The regiment was ordered to France and arrived at Marseilles on 7 November. The KDGs formed part of 1st Indian Cavalry Division
1st Indian Cavalry Division
The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army. The division sailed for France from Bombay on October 16, 1914 , under the command of Major General H D Fanshawe. The division was re designated the 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916. During the war the Division...
serving on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. The regiment returned to India in 1917 and joined 1st (Peshawar) Division
1st (Peshawar) Division
The 1st Division was a Regular Division of the British Indian Army it was formed after the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. During World War I it remained in India for local defence but it was mobilised for action on the North West Frontier on several occasions during the period.The...
and during 1919 took part in the Third Afghan War.
Third Afghan War (1919)
The KDGs remained in garrison at Meerut until October 1918 when they exchanged stations with 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers and moved to RisalpurRisalpur
Risalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 15 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and...
. On 2 May 1919 Afghan troops seized control of wells on the Indian side of the border. The Afghan Amir Amanullah
Amanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
was warned to withdraw, but his answer was to send more troops to reinforce those at the wells and to move other Afghan units to various points on the frontier. The KDGs were mobilised on 6 May and formed part of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
's 1st Cavalry Brigade. The regiment served throughout the Third Afghan War and saw action at the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
and Dakka
Ghora Dhaka
Ghora Dhaka, also known as Ghora Dakka, is one of the tourist mountain resort towns of the Galyat area in northeast Pakistan. It is part of the Ayubia area and is located in the Abbottabad District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 34°1'49N 73°24'30E and has an altitude of...
. On 8 August a peace treaty with Afghanistan was officially signed and the KDGs returned to Risalpur on 28 August
Second World War (1939-1945)
The Regiment fought with distinction in North Africa and Sicily and Italy, landing at Salerno against concentrated enemy opposition. They were the first Allied unit into Naples. The Welsh writer Norman Lewis, in his celebrated account of life in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in 1944, claimed that the King's Dragoon Guards was the first British unit to reach Naples in 1944, and that many of its officers immediately went on a looting spree, cutting paintings from their frames in the prince's palace.
Post-War
The Regiment was posted to Home Duties at Omagh, Northern Ireland before moving to Germany in 1952 as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), initially stationed in Hamburg and later Celle and Wolfenbüttel. In 1956 the KDG were sent on active service in Malaya during the Emergency and were stationed at Ipoh. During this time they took part in counter-insurgency operations in both mounted operations (armoured car) and on foot in the dense jungles. The regiment returned to BAOR in 1959.Battle honoursBattle honours of the British and Imperial ArmiesThe following battle honours were awarded to units of the British Army and the armies of British India and the Dominions of the British Empire. From their institution until the end of the Second World War, awards were made by, or in consultation with, the British government, but, since 1945, the...
- Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen, Warburg, Beaumont, Waterloo, Sevastopol, Taku Forts, Pekin 1860, South Africa 1879, South Africa 1901-02
- The Great War: Somme 1916, Morval, France and Flanders 1914-17
- Between the Wars: Afghanistan 1919
- The Second World War: Beda Fomm, Defence of Tobruk, Tobruk 1941, Tobruk Sortie, Relief of Tobruk, Gazala, Bir Hacheim, Defence of Alamein Line, Alam el Halfa, El Agheila, Advance on Tripoli, Tebaga Gap, Point 201 (Roman Wall), El Hamma, Akarit, Tunis, North Africa 1941-43, Capture of Naples, Scafati Bridge, Monte Camino, Garigliano Crossing, Capture of Perugia, Arezzo, Gothic Line, Italy 1943-44, Athens, Greece 1944-45
Notable members of the regiment
- Banastre TarletonBanastre TarletonGeneral Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British soldier and politician.He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence. He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming that he had fired upon surrendering Continental...
- cavalry officer during the American Revolution, nicknamed "Bloody Ben" - Alfred HuttonAlfred HuttonAlfred Hutton was a Victorian officer of the King's Dragoon Guards, antiquarian and swordsman. He originated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues Egerton Castle, Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson...
- author, antiquarian and swordsman - Francis YounghusbandFrancis YounghusbandLieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
- soldier, explorer, spiritualist - Sir David Dundas, 1st BaronetSir David Dundas, 1st BaronetGeneral Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British general who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1809 to 1811.-Military service:...
- Colonel, 1813–1820 - John DooganJohn DooganJohn Doogan was born Aughrim, County Galway and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
- a private who received the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, First Boer War 28 January 1881 Laing's Nek, South Africa - James Lockhart LittleJosey LittleJames Lockhart Little known as Josey or the captivating captain was a soldier and steeplechase rider whose most notable racing victory was on board Chandler to win the 1848 Grand National....
- Rider who won the 1848 Grand National1848 Grand NationalThe 1848 Grand National Steeplechase was the tenth official annual running of a handicap steeplechase horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday, March 1. It attracted a, then record, field of twenty-nine competitors for a prize valued at £1,015 to the winner.The race was won by...
steeplechaseSteeplechaseSteeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
External links
- British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945
- Regimental museum - qdg.org.uk
- Service in First World War - 1914-1918.net
- 1st King's Dragoon Guards: late 19th century officer's uniform from webshots.com
- 1st King's Dragoon Guards: early 19th century officer's uniform from webshots.com