7th Queen's Own Hussars
Encyclopedia
- "7th Hussars" redirects here. For the 7th Hussars in the French Army, see 7th Hussar Regiment (France)7th Hussar Regiment (France)The 7th Hussar Regiment was a regiment of hussars in the French Army. Its most notable commanders were Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais and Jean Baptiste Antoine Marcellin de Marbot....
.
The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment
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...
, first formed in 1690. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into The Queen's Own Hussars in 1958.
The regiment was first raised as The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons in 1690, by the regimenting of various independent troops, ranked as the 7th Dragoons and named for Queen Mary
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
. The regiment was briefly disbanded in 1714, with its squadrons joining the 1st and 2nd Dragoons, but reformed the following year as The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Dragoons, named for Princess Caroline
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
. The regiment was retitled on Caroline's coronation as Queen Consort, becoming The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons in 1727, and formally titled as the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons in 1751.
The regiment was designated light dragoons in 1783, becoming the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, and as hussars in 1807 as the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars), with the title simplified in 1861 as the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars. After service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1921.
The regiment was transferred to 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 survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in the 1957 Defence White Paper
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...
, and was amalgamated with the 3rd The King's Own Hussars
3rd The King's Own Hussars
The 3rd Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into The Queen's Own Hussars in 1958.-The Glorious Revolution:...
, to form The Queen's Own Hussars the following year.
Formation, Scotland & Flanders
Owing to the 7th Hussars losing their earliest documents twice within their first fifty years, their beginning is something of a mystery. It is certain that a commission was delivered to Colonel Richard Cunningham in 1690 ordering him to relinquish his foot command and take over a regiment of dragoons. The regiment was formed from Eglintoun's Horse and Cardross's Dragoons to be six troops strong. By February 1691 Cunningham's Dragoons were an established unit of King WilliamWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
's Army in Scotland. The 7th could always boast of being one of the only two surviving regiments of cavalry raised in Scotland.
The first years of Cunningham's Dragoons service north of the border were without note, all the troops being dispersed among the highlands. In March 1692 the regiment was brought to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to assist in law and order duties. In 1694 it was sent to Flanders to join the King's Army. They were present at the capture of Namur in 1695
Siege of Namur (1695)
The Siege of Namur, 2 July–1 September 1695, was the second siege of the city of Namur in the Nine Years' War. The Allied forces of the Grand Alliance retook the city from the French, who had captured it in the first siege in 1692...
. Two years later the regiment came home to Scotland for a dozen years policing the lowlands. In 1709 the Hon William Ker took over the Colonelcy and led the regiment onto the continent for the final year before the treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
in which there were only minor skirmishes, from where they were ordered to Ireland. In August 1713 Parliament reduced the Army. Ker's Dragoons, despite their seniority, were one of the first to go. Within 18 Months George I, the new King, had re-raised the regiment to help him to deal with the Old Pretender and the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
Army, adding, the first title of the regiment, the "Princess Of Wales' Own Regiment of Dragoons".
At the end of October Ker's marched up to Scotland and fought the rebels in November at Sheriffmuir. The Battle was indecisive and apart from Ker himself having three horses shot from under him, the regiment did nothing exemplary. When George II took the throne in 1727 there was no Princess of Wales so the regiment was re titled "The Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons".
1742-1806
In 1742, The Queen's Own mobilized for the War of the Austrian SuccessionWar of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
and by June 1743 they were formed up in a disadvantageous position near the village of Dettingen near the valley of Maine. They spent the morning of the 27th June, standing next to the 3rd Hussars exposed to the devastating fire from the French guns, but in the afternoon, stationed with the 4th and 3rd Hussars they charged, pushing the French Cavalry back and eventually with the support of the foot, broke the enemy's ranks. Both sides withdrew to lick their wounds until the Battle of Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...
in 1745. The Queen's Own charged again and again, sustaining fifty casualties but achieving their task. In 1746 the regiment was caught in the action at Roucoux
Battle of Rocoux
The Battle of Rocoux was a French victory over an allied Austrian, British, Hanoveran and Dutch army outside Liège during War of the Austrian Succession.-Preliminary maneuvers:...
, which developed as Fontenoy had done and Lauffeld
Battle of Lauffeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...
in which the cavalry saved the British from a major defeat. The regiment returned to England landed back in England in 1749.
Two years later George II signed a warrant numbering Regiments, thus the 7th Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons, who were also given the right to bear the Queen's Cipher, still used today. In 1756 the 7th moved back up to Scotland and had a light troop added to the establishment, who distinguished themselves in 1758 with raids on St Malo, where they destroyed over one hundred French ships, and at Cherbourg. During the Seven Years War the Queen's own were sent in 1760 to the continent, fighting at Warburg and then tediously marching and skirmishing for three years before coming home.
For the next thirty years the regiment soldiered quietly at home, north and south of the border. In 1783 the 7th were converted to the (Queen's Own) Light Dragoons. A decade later, after the French Revolution, Britain was at war with the Netherlands. April 1794 brought the battle of Beaumont which was a cavalry victory glowingly reported by the Fortescue as "the greatest day in the history of the British horse" because the British mounted mounted regiments routed 25,000 French troops with their flanking attacks. A fortnight later the British repeated their success in much the same manner at Willems, charging the French squares nine times until they broke and then massacring the fleeing enemy. It was the same story at Mouvaux some days later when the 7th rescued their Colonel who had been captured during the fray by the enemy. The campaign ended a year later and the regiment went home for four peaceful years, during which their most celebrated patrons joined, Lord Henry Paget, Later the Marquis of Anglesey and John Gaspard Le Marchant, the founder of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. There was a minor campaign on the continent in 1795 to rescue Holland which failed. Back in England George, the Prince of Wales, decided to bestow first on his own regiment, the 10th, the distinction of being Hussars in 1806. Lord Paget
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
, now Colonel of the 7th Hussars was a friend of the Prince and thus the 7th were the second regiment to be granted the magnificent uniforms in the same year.
Corunna to Waterloo
In October 1808 the 7th Hussars embarked for CorunnaA Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
to reinforce Sir John Moore
Sir John Moore
Sir John Moore may refer to:*Sir John Moore, 1st Baronet, British admiral *John Moore , British general...
's Army. Moore had started the retreat before the 7th Hussars had reached the Army. Two minor conflicts brought the cavalry some renown during the retreat, the first at Sahagun
Battle of Sahagún
The Battle of Sahagún was a cavalry clash in which the 15th Light Dragoons defeated two regiments of French cavalry during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. One of the French regiments lost so heavily that it was subsequently disbanded...
in which two regiment of French Cavalry were overwhelmed, the second at Benavente
Battle of Benavente
The Battle of Benavente was a cavalry clash in which the British cavalry of Lord Paget defeated the elite Chasseurs à Cheval of the French Imperial Guard during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. The French chasseurs were broken and forced into the River Esla; their commanding officer,...
when the over-enthusiastic leading elements of the French advance were pushed back into the river they had just crossed. The remainder of the retreat over the mountains in the January snow and ice were disastrous, 150 effective soldiers were left of the 749 Queen's Own who had landed two months before. The Coup-de-Grace was delivered to the regiment when one of the troopships was wrecked on the way home, drowning sixty more of the regiment.
The remainder reconstituted and served in Ireland for three years before being recalled to London for ceremonial duty owing to the Life Guards being overseas, and proceeding from there to the Peninsula as part of the Hussar Brigade arriving in September 1812. The 7th crossed the Pyrenees and wintered near Bayonne, not fighting until Battle of Orthes in February 1814, where they mauled the retreating French infantry and were the only Cavalry regiment mentioned by Wellington in his dispatches. In June the regiment arrived home for service along the south Coast and an interlude keeping order during the Corn Law Riots in London.
A year later the 7th were hurriedly mobilised after Napoleon had escaped from Elba. Their Brigade Commander was the late Commanding Officer, Major General Sir Hussey Vivian
Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian
Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian GCB, GCH, PC , known as Sir Hussey Vivian from 1815 to 1828 and Sir Hussey Vivian, Bt from 1828 to 1841, was a British cavalry leader who came of a Cornish family.-Early career:Educated at Harrow and Exeter College, Oxford, Vivian entered...
and the Colonel of the Regiment General Henry Paget, Lord Uxbridge
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
was overall commander of the entire British Cavalry. On the eve of the Battle of Waterloo the 7th were Honoured by Uxbridge by being given the charge on the advancing enemy in Genappe, who were Polish Lancer
Lancer
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used in mounted warfare by the Assyrians as early as and subsequently by Greek, Persian, Gallic, Han-Chinese, nomadic and Roman horsemen...
s. After a spirited and fearless succession of charges only nineteen of the 120 men of the 7th Hussar squadron were left in the saddle. For the Battle of Waterloo itself, the 7th were on the extreme right of the allied line, 300 yards north of the Chateau of Hougoumont. Until 5pm they were not used, but then they charged more than twelve times. Standish O'Grady, 2nd Viscount Guillamore
Standish O'Grady, 2nd Viscount Guillamore
Standish Darby O'Grady, 2nd Viscount Guillamore from Cahir Guillamore, County Limerick, was an Anglo-Irish politician and British Army officer....
, then a lieutenant in the 7th Hussars mentions is a letter to his father:
"We charged twelve or fourteen times, and once cut off a squadron of cuirassiers, every man of whom we killed on the spot except the two officers and one Marshal de Logis, whom I sent to the rear".
For three years the regiment was part of the Army of Occupation around Paris. In October 1818 the Duke of Wellington held a final grand parade before the regiment sailed to England in January and back up to Scotland by July after a forty year absence. They were to have two generations of peace during which the Marquis of Anglesey remained their Colonel up to 1842. Until 1838 the 7th moved from billet to billet around Britain before being sent with the King's Dragoon Guards to Canada to punish the French republicans who were in minor rebellion. The 7th were not given the chance of action as the revolt petered out but they were kept on until 1842 in Canada. For the next fifteen years the regiment soldiered in England when once again an uprising in the Empire called them far from home, this time to India.
The Indian Mutiny
William George Hawtry Bankes
William George Hawtry Bankes VC was an English 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.He was 21 years old, and a Cornet in the 7th Hussars , British Army during the Indian...
, the only officer left, rallied the troops and drove off the attackers receiving eleven wounds of which he later died. Lucknow fell to the British who then rounded up the remnants of the mutineers. There were numerous fierce little actions which combined with the intolerable heat to cause casualties. In one of these battles by the river Rapti the 7th won their second Victoria Cross when as the regiment were pursuing a band of rebels over the river, they came under heavy fire from the far bank and notwithstanding the peril Major Charles Fraser
Charles Fraser
Charles Fraser may refer to:* Charles Fraser , botanist and explorer of Australia* Charles Fraser , ice hockey player* Charles Fraser , missionary with the Scottish Missionary Society to Russian Tatary...
dived into the river to save three non-swimmers stranded in the middle of the sandbank.
In April 1859 the regiment arrived at Amballa. The mutiny was over and they spent eleven years in India containing only one notable skirmish at Shabkadr on the North West frontier when the 7th charged the tribesmen three times before the enemy took flight. In 1871 The Queen's Own moved back to Aldershot, and three years later had an infusion of royal blood when Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, was given a Captain's Commission. The regiment did a short stint in South Africa in 1881 and provided two Officers and forty four soldiers for the socially elite camel corps
Camel Corps
Several military units bore the name of Camel Corps:*The U.S. Camel Corps, a mid-nineteenth century experimental unit that used camels for transport*The Imperial Camel Corps, an Allied unit that fought in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I...
three years later. 1886 found the complete regiment back in India for a decade during which they excelled at polo then a spell in England preceded the 7th Hussars being sent to "Drives" to herd up the Boers with a new type of operation which exhausted the horses. After they were finished the 7th were kept on in South Africa until 1905. Then they had six quiet years in England before another tour in India.
1905-1938
They were stationed at Bangalore until the start of World War I, moving to SecunderabadSecunderabad
Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...
with detachments keeping order in Delhi. In 1917 that the regiment sailed to the river Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
near Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
to fight against the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
as part of 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade
11th Indian Cavalry Brigade
The 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a formation of the British Indian Army that served in the Mesopotamian Campaign during World War I. It was formed in September 1917 of three cavalry regiments sent from India and an artillery battery sent from the Western Front. Its machinegun squadron and other...
. They moved to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
from where the first attack was launched in March 1918 against a division of the enemy in Action of Khan Baghdadi
Action of Khan Baghdadi
The Action of Khan Baghdadi was an engagement during the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I.The 15th Indian Division had been at Ramadi since its capture of the town in September 1917...
; the 7th in their Brigade had the role of cutting off the enemy retreat, first destroying the baggage column, then routing the enemy division in fifteen minutes. Six months of stagnation around Baghdad took place (as the Turks had withdrawn) until another offensive was mounted by the British and they again encircled the enemy at Battle of Sharqat
Battle of Sharqat
The Battle of Sharqat was between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the final conflict that ended as a result of the signing of armistice....
. On 30 October, as they were preparing to attack again, news came through that Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
had surrendered but the 7th were to remain as an occupying force until May 1919.
The inter war years the regiment had a short and uneventful tour of India up to 1923, then at Aldershot before sailing to Egypt in 1935. They were transferred to 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 May 1936. Training with Mark II tanks proved valuable practice.
World War 2
The Second World War started and the 7th were called into battle against the Italians in North West Africa in June 1940. The first action was taking Fort CapuzzoFort Capuzzo
Fort Capuzzo was a fort in the Italiancolony of Libya, near the Libyan-Egyptian border. It is famous for its role during the World War II.Within a week of Italy's 10 June 1940 declaration of war upon Britain, the British Army's 11th Hussars captured Fort Capuzzo...
(which they had to capture twice in a month) and Maddalena. In January 1941 the 7th were involved in the fighting around Bardia
Bardia
Bardia is a geographic region in the Democratic Republic of Nepal.Bardia comprises a portion of the Terai, or lowland hills and valleys of southern Nepal. The Terai is over 1,000 feet in elevation, and extends all along the Indian border...
and Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...
. Then came the attack on Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
. At Beda Fomm
Beda Fomm
Beda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern Cyrenaica, Libya located between the much larger port city Benghazi to its north and the larger town of El Agheila further to the southwest...
came the final destruction of the Italians and the 7th fought for 36 hours helping to capture 20,000 prisoners and 112 tanks.
Rommel
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
's Africa Korps then started to push the allies back into Egypt. On 21 November 1941 the 7th Hussars were ordered to a blocking position north of Sidi Rezegh, where they encountered German advance in the shape of fifty panzers, whose armament completely outclassed the Mark VI. For four days the regiment carried out its mission, holding off a German armoured division until by the 28th November, the 7th had only two surviving tanks, had lost their Commanding Officer (killed) among many other casualties, missing and prisoners. They went back to Abassia to refit until embarking in January 1942 for Rangoon in Burma, where again they were part of 7th Armoured Brigade.
The 7th moved straight up to Pegu to fight the marauding Japanese. Pegu was untenable so the British began their historic retreat northwards using the 7th Hussar Stuart tank
Stuart tank
The M3 Stuart, formally Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II and supplied to British and Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war—and used thereafter by U.S...
s to smash road blocks, cover the withdrawal and carry the wounded. Field Marshal Alexander spoke highly of the regiment when he said:
Without them we should never have got the Army out of Burma; no praise can be too high for them
Soon the British had been pushed back beyond Prome and at the start of May 1942 when they crossed the river Chindwin, the regiment had to destroy their tanks, and became pedestrians for the final 150 miles of the retreat. On 17 May the remnants of the division staggered into Imphal
Imphal
Imphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Kangla Fort used to be the home of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force and on November 2004 it was handed over to state of Manipur by Prime minister Dr....
. The 7th had covered nearly one thousand miles in three and half months losing forty six killed and fifty wounded. The regiment moved back to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, were equipped with Sherman Tanks but spent two years idle until May 1944 when they joined the advance up Italy seconded to the 2nd Polish corps. They fought first for Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
, a hard forty eight hour battle; and then in August for the Gothic Line
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
earning the praise of the Polish who granted the 7th Hussars the privilege of wearing the Maid of Warsaw for their "Magnificent work - fine examples of heroism and successful action". By October the allies were nearing Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and prepared to sit out the winter which provided the Queen's Own time to practice in new "swimming tanks"" and conduct foot reconnaissance into enemy territory. Both these factors proved vital in the battle for the Po plains and ensured that by 2 May 1945 the German Army in Italy had had to surrender.
1946-Amalgamation
The 7th then marched north ending up in June 1946 at SoltauSoltau
- Middle Ages :The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis...
, in Northern Germany, as part of the occupying Army. They spent a year before sailing back to Yorkshire, after twelve years abroad in December 1947. Two years of sorting out in England, with a large change in personnel, renewed the 7th for a five year tour in Fallingbostel near Soltau, before they were sent as the first armoured regiment in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1954.
It was a quiet tour and on the boat home in August 1957 the 7th Queen's Own Hussars found that they were to be amalgamated the following year.
The 7th Hussars had a long and close affiliation with the Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry, Officers from the 7th Hussars had fought with the LY in 1915 at the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge from 12 to 14 May that year and specifically Captain D P Tolemache (7th H), Brigade Major of the 7th Cav Brigade, who led the final charge of "A" Squadron of the Leicestershire Yeomanry
Leicestershire Yeomanry
The Leicestershire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry and mounted infantry in the South African War and First World War and provided two field artillery regiments of the Royal Artillery in the Second World War,...
who had single handedly held the line for the whole Brigade during 24 hours of intense battle. Major B R Liebert (7th H) was attached to the LY and was commanding B Squadron, he fell along with many in the front line under intense artillery and infantry attacks. The 7th Hussars and the Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry were affiliated from 1915 to 1956 whereupon both Regiments became victim to amalgamations.
Principal Battles & Campaigns
1808-1809 Peninsula, 1808 Sahagun, 1809 Carrion, 1809 Benevente, 1809 Corunna, 1813-1814 Peninsula, 1814 Orthes, 1814 Toulouse, 1815 Hundred Days, 1815 Waterloo, 1838-1839 Canada, 1858 Indian Mutiny, 1858 Lucknow,1881 Transvaal, 1896 Rhodesia, 1901-1902 South Africa, 1914-1918 The Great War, 1918 Khan Baghdadi, 1918 Sharqat, 1939-1945 Second World War; 1940 Egyptian Frontier, 1940 Beda Fomm, 1941 Sidi Rezegh, 1942 Burma, 1944 Ancona.
The Hussars were responsible for riot control during the 1956 riots in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Notable Hussars
Prince Arthur, Duke of ConnaughtField Marshal Earl Haig
Earl Haig
Earl Haig is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the World War I, he was Commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium...
Field Marshal Sir John Stanier
Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone , was a close relative of the shared British and Canadian royal family, as well as a British military commander and major-general who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, the...
Major Dermot Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall
Dermot Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall
Dermot Richard Claud Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall LVO was an Irish soldier, landowner and member of the House of Lords....
Victoria Crosses
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Craufurd FraserCornet William George Hawtry Bankes
William George Hawtry Bankes
William George Hawtry Bankes VC was an English 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.He was 21 years old, and a Cornet in the 7th Hussars , British Army during the Indian...