The 22nd Dragoons was the title held by five separate

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, thre ...

raised and disbanded between 1716 and 1945. The last regiment of this name existed during the Second World War, from 1 December 1940 until 30 November 1945.

History

The first regiment to bear the title 22nd Dragoons was raised in 1716. Also known as Viscount Mountjoy's Regiment of Dragoons, it appeared on the Army List on 16 February 1716, but was disbanded in 1718. In 1779, John, Lord Sheffield raised a light dragoon regiment that was styled 22nd (Light) Dragoons, but this was disbanded in 1783. On 24 February 1794, William, Viscount Feilding raised the next regiment to use the title 22nd (Light) Dragoons; this regiment lasted slightly longer, being disbanded in 1802 with the onset of peace. However, the 25th Dragoons (raised for service in India by F E Gwyn on 9 March 1794) was renumbered 22nd (Light) Dragoons in that year. This 22nd (Light) Dragoons regiment served throughout the Napoleonic Wars, which began in 1803. The regiment served in India, where it remained until 1813. During this period it participated in the British

Invasion of Java (1811) The Invasion of Java in 1811 was a successful British amphibious operation against the Dutch East Indian island of Java that took place between August and September 1811 during the Napoleonic Wars. Originally established as a colony of the Dutch R ...

. The regiment was disbanded in 1820. On 1 December 1940, the regiment was restored to the Army List. The new 22nd Dragoons was formed from cadres taken from the

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922. It served in the Second World War. However following the reduction of forces at the end of the Cold War and proposals contained in the Options for Change ...

and

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World W ...

. The cap badge initially assigned to the regiment was simple.Anon, ''Cap badges''. Later, its regimental crest, used on the headstones of the regiment's dead, combined the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards' Star of St Patrick with

Enniskillen Castle Enniskillen Castle is situated in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was originally built in the 16th century and now contains the Fermanagh County Museum and a museum for the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and Royal Inn ...

to represent the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards - the 4th/7th and Inniskillings are now amalgamated as the

Royal Dragoon Guards The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Based in Battlesbury Bar ...

and have adopted a cap badge that is very similar to this. The regiment was assigned to 29th Armoured Brigade in

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...

, but later was transferred to 30th Armoured Brigade in the same division. This changeover was due to the regimental loyalties of the brigade commanders. In 1942, 30 Armoured Brigade was transferred to 42nd Armoured Division before finally joining

79th Armoured Division The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy Hob ...

in 1943.

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 B12028

All three regiments of the 30th Armoured Brigade were re-equipped with

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

Crab flail tank Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal En ...

s -

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...

tanks modified by attaching a large jib, covered in chains, to the front of the vehicle. The idea being that the tanks would clear a path through a minefield by slowly driving along flogging the ground ahead of them and, hopefully, exploding the mines; to be effective, the tanks had to drive at no more than one and half miles per hour. Tank units thus equipped were not generally used as entire regiments, rather they were split up into troop or squadron-sized formations in support of organised set piece attacks. As such, the regiment came ashore in the first wave of the

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

landings on the morning of 6 June 1944, with A Squadron, reinforced by two troops of C Squadron and supported by two troops of the

Westminster Dragoons The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of th ...

, landing on

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

and B Squadron landing on

Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...

. Later in the day, the final two troops of C Squadron landed on Juno, where they remained for several days on beach clearance duties. Once the beaches were cleared, the regiment saw sporadic action in the fighting through Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany, where they were at the end of the war; the regiment was disbanded in Germany on 30 November 1945. The regiment was awarded ten battle honours for operations in the North West Europe Theatre. One of the Regiment's personnel was

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He found prominence in the films of the Boulting brothers, including ' ...

who later became a well-known actor and who commanded a Troop of B Squadron's Sherman Crabs that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day.

Battle honours

*''Second World War'': Normandy Landing, Odon, Caen, Falaise, Le Havre, Lower Maas, Venlo Pocket, Reichswald, Rhine, North-West Europe 1944–45

Notes

References

* Anon, ''Regimental Badges and Service Caps'', London: George Philip & Sons, 1941. *

History

Battle honours

Notes

References

Further reading