The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a
cavalry regiment
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating a ...
in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but following the
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 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 wa ...
, it was amalgamated with the
3rd The King's Own Hussars
The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...
, forming the
Queen's Own Hussars
The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and Nor ...
in 1958.
History
Formation; 17th Century
In April 1689, several Independent Troops of Scots Horse were formed as a short-term response to the 1689-1691 Jacobite Rising in Scotland. These were re-organised in December 1690 as two regiments, one commanded by Colonel
Richard Cunningham and in line with prevailing practice, it was known as Cunningham's Regiment of Scots Dragoons. In February 1694, it was transferred onto the English military establishment and shipped to
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, where it took part in operations associated with the 1695
Siege of Namur.
All participants in the
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
were financially exhausted, and there was little military activity after the fall of Namur. On 1 October 1696, Cunningham was promoted to Brigadier-General;
Lord Jedburgh
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
succeeded him and the regiment became Jedburgh's Regiment of Dragoons.
Wars of the 18th Century
The regiment spent most of the 1702-1714
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
based in Edinburgh; in 1707, Jedburgh transferred the Colonelcy to
Lord Polwarth
Lord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 (the baronetcy had been created in t ...
, who sold it to
William Kerr in 1709.
[Cannon, p. 20]
In 1711, Kerr's Dragoons joined the field army in Flanders but the war was winding down and the regiment disbanded in 1714, before being reconstituted in July 1715 by
George I George I or 1 may refer to:
People
* Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631)
* George I of Constantinople (d. 686)
* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
* George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9)
* George I of Georgia (d. 1027)
* Yuri Dolgoruk ...
, as HRH the Princess of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons, in honour of
Princess Caroline.
During the
1715 Jacobite rising
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts.
At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...
, it fought at
Sheriffmuir
Sheriffmuir (or Sheriff Muir; Scottish Gaelic: Sliabh an t-Siorraim), the site of the inconclusive 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir (part of the Jacobite rising of 1715), lies on the slopes of the Ochil Hills in Scotland, just inside the Perthshire b ...
, but this was its only significant action until 1743. Renamed The Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons after the coronation of
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089)
* ...
in 1727;
William Kerr finally stepped down in 1741 and
Sir John Cope took over as Colonel.
The unit returned to Flanders in 1742 during the 1740-1748
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
, taking part in the battles of
Dettingen,
Fontenoy,
Rocoux and finally
Lauffeld in July 1747.
[Cannon, p. 35-37] The
1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war and the regiment returned to England.
[Cannon, p. 38]
When the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
began in 1756, the regiment took part in the June 1758
Raid on St Malo
The Raid on St Malo took place in June 1758 when an amphibious British naval expedition landed close to the French port of St Malo in Brittany. While the town itself was not attacked, as had been initially planned, the British destroyed large a ...
, at which 100 enemy vessels were burned, the
Raid on Cherbourg
The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy ...
in August 1758 and the
Battle of Warburg
The Battle of Warburg was a battle fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against a slightly larger French army. The victory meant the Anglo-German allies had successful ...
in July 1760. In 1783, it was classed as 'light dragoons,' light cavalry used for reconnaissance and retitled the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons.
[ During the ]French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
, it fought at Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
in April 1794 and Willems Willems is a patronymic surname of Dutch origin, equivalent to Williams. In 2008, it was the 6th most common surname in Belgium (18,604 peopleand in 2007 it was the 39th most common surname in the Netherlands (17,042 people
People with this surnam ...
in May.[Cannon, p. 35]
Wars of the 19th Century
In 1807, the regiment was designated as Hussar
A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...
s and retitled 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars).[ Sent to Corunna in October 1808 to support Sir John Moore's retreat, they fought at the ]Battle of Sahagún
The Battle of Sahagún (21 December 1808) was a cavalry clash at Sahagún, Spain, in which the British 15th Light Dragoons (Hussars) defeated two regiments of French cavalry during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. Losses to one of ...
on 21 December 1808 and Benavente on 29th. Part of the Queen's Own was shipped home in the ''Dispatch,'' which was wrecked just south of the Lizard
The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...
on 22 January 1809; 104 men were lost from the regiment, only seven in total were saved.
The unit returned to the Peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in August 1813 and made several charges at the February 1814 Battle of Orthes
The Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) saw the Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington attack an Imperial French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France. The outnumbered Fr ...
, Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
reporting that ''the 7th Hussars distinguished themselves on this occasion and made many prisoners.''
In March 1814, the unit moved to Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, where it was used to put down rioting caused by the imposition of the Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...
. When Napoleon was restored in 1815, the regiment returned to the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
; during the rearguard action at Genappe on 17 June, Lord Uxbridge ordered it to attack French lancers
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
under Colonel Jean Baptiste Joseph Sourd. The following day, at the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, the regiment was held in reserve until the evening, but then again undertook a series of charges. Standish O'Grady, then a lieutenant in the 7th Hussars, wrote 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".
In May 1838 the regiment was deployed to Canada as part of the response to the Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...
.
The Indian Mutiny
The regiment was deployed to India in late 1857 as part of the response to the Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
. Cornet William Bankes, died fighting off his attackers in an incident at Musa Bagh
Musa Bagh ( hi, मूसा बाग़, ur, , translation: ''Garden of Moses''), also known as Monsieur Bagh, is an extensive garden complex in the city of Lucknow of the Awadh region of India
India, officially the Republic of Indi ...
in March 1858 and Major Charles Fraser saved three non-swimmers from the regiment stranded in the middle of a sandbank on the River Rapti in December 1858.
The regiment's title was simplified in 1861 as the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars.[
The regiment provided a contingent for the ]Nile Expedition
The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition (1884–85), was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan af ...
in autumn 1884. The regiment was deployed to South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in November 1901 and was stationed at Leeuwkop during the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
.
First World War
The regiment, which had been stationed in Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
at the start of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
landed in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
as part of the 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade
The 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade was a cavalry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the First World War. It took part in the Mesopotamian campaign and was broken up soon after the end of the war.
...
in November 1917. The regiment took part in the action of Khan Baghdadi in March 1918 and the Battle of Sharqat
The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mud ...
in October 1918.After service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1921.[ The regiment, which was re-equipped with ]Mark II
Mark II or Mark 2 often refers to the second version of a product, frequently military hardware. "Mark", meaning "model" or "variant", can be abbreviated "Mk."
Mark II or Mark 2 may refer to:
Military and weaponry
* 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun ...
tanks, transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...
in 1939.[
]
Second World War
The regiment had been converted to tanks in 1937 and subsequently been trained in Cairo giving them a reasonable advantage. Although they might have thought that they were misplaced in Egypt, when Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, that thought quickly slipped their mind. They formed part of the 7th Armoured Brigade
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
in the 7th Armoured Division and were joined by the 8th
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
and the 11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
. On 14 June 1940 the 7th Hussars, with a company of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
and a battery of 4th Royal Horse artillery captured Fort Capuzzo
Fort Capuzzo it, (Ridotta Capuzzo) was a fort in the colony of Italian Libya, near the Libyan-Egyptian border, next to the Italian Frontier Wire. The '' Litoranea Balbo'' ran south from Bardia to Fort Capuzzo, inland, west of Sollum, then ea ...
, while the 11th Hussars captured La Maddalena
La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', sc, Sa Madalena) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy.
The main town of the same name is locat ...
. They took part in the Battle of Sidi Barrani
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in December 1940 and at the Battle of Bardia
The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian ...
in January 1941. Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
created the Afrika Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
under the command of General Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
to re-inforce the Italians: in April 1941, the allied troops in Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...
were cut off by the Germans and Italians but in June 1941 the 7th Armoured Division was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe
Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a significan ...
, having received new tanks and additional personnel. Rommel then started to push the Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
back into Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. The regiment helped delay Rommel's advance although the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Freddie Byass and many others were killed at the Battle of Sidi Rezegh
Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (Ge ...
in November 1941.
In January 1942 the regiment was sent to Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and engaged with the Japanese Army at Pegu
Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
. Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir Harold 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."
The regiment was ordered to destroy its tanks as it crossed the Chindwin River ,
, image = Homalin aerial.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin.
, map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption ...
in May 1942. It then re-deployed to the Italian Front and, having been seconded to the Polish 2nd Corps
The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...
, fought at the first Battle of Ancona
The Battle of Ancona was a battle involving forces from Poland serving as part of the British Army against German forces that took place from 16 June–18 July 1944 during the Italian campaign in World War II. The battle was the result of an Alli ...
in June 1944 and in the battles for the Gothic Line
The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...
in autumn 1944. The Polish Army granted the regiment the privilege of wearing the "Maid of Warsaw" for their "Magnificent work – fine examples of heroism and successful action".
The regiment reached Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
in October 1944 and then took part in the battle for the Po plains in the spring of 1945.
Post-war
The regiment was deployed to Bournemouth Barracks in Soltau
Soltau () is a mid-sized town in the Lüneburg Heath in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has around 22,000 inhabitants. The city is centrally located in the Lüneburg Heath and is known nationwide especially for its touri ...
, in Northern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
in June 1946. It returned to the UK in December 1947 and then moved to Alma Barracks in Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
in 1949 and to Lumsden Barracks in Bad Fallingbostel
Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...
in October 1951.[ The regiment was sent to ]Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in 1954 and returned home in 1957.[ It survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in the ]1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 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 wa ...
, and was amalgamated with the 3rd The King's Own Hussars
The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...
, to form the Queen's Own Hussars
The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and Nor ...
in 1958.[
]
Regimental museum
The regimental collection is moving to a new facility in Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
known as "Trinity Mews": it is due to open in 2019.
Battle honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[
*''Early wars'': Dettingen, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Orthes, Peninsula, Waterloo, Lucknow, South Africa 1901-02
*''The Great War'': Khan Baghdadi, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1917-18
*''The Second World War'': Egyptian Frontier 1940, Beda Fomm, Sidi Rezegh 1941, North Africa 1940–41, Ancona, Rimini Line, Italy 1944–45, Pegu, Paungde, Burma 1942
]
Victoria Crosses
*Lieutenant General Sir Charles Craufurd Fraser
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Craufurd Fraser (31 August 1829 – 7 June 1895) was a British 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 Commo ...
*Cornet William George Hawtry Bankes
William George Hawtry Bankes VC (11 September 1836 – 6 April 1858) 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 Commonwealt ...
Regimental Colonels
The regimental colonels were as follows:[
;The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (1690)
*1690–1696: Brig-Gen. Richard Cunningham
*1696–1707: Lt-Gen. ]William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian
Lieutenant-General William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian, (1661 – 28 February 1722) was a Scottish peer who held a number of minor military and political offices. He was known by the courtesy title of Lord Newbattle until 1692, when he su ...
, KT (Lord Jedburgh)
*1707–1709: Col. Patrick Hume, Baron Polwarth
*1709–1714: Lt-Gen. Hon. William Kerr
*''disbanded 1714''
;The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (reformed 1715)
*1715–1741: Lt-Gen. Hon. William Kerr (''reappointed'')
;The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (1727)
*1741–1760: Lt-Gen. Sir John Cope, KB
;7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons - (1751)
*1760–1763: Gen. John Mostyn
*1763–1779: F.M. Sir George Howard, KB
*1779–1795: Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, KB (senior)
;7th (or Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons - (1783)
*1795–1801: Gen. Sir David Dundas, GCB
*1801–1842: F.M. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...
, KG, GCB, GCH
;7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) - (1807)
*1842–1846: Lt-Gen. Sir James Kearney, KCH
*1846–1864: Gen. Sir William Tuyll
General Sir William Tuyll (died 26 December 1864) was a British army officer.
Career
Tuyll served as aide-de-camp to Lord Uxbridge during the Peninsular War, and the Walcheren Campaign in 1809. He became lieutenant-colonel on half-pay of the 25 ...
, KCH
;7th (Queen's Own) Hussars - (1861)
*1864: Gen. James Alexander St. Clair Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn
*1866–1873: Maj-Gen. Sir John Scott, KCB
*1873–1879: Col. Charles Hagart, CB
*1879–1884: Gen. Henry Roxby Benson
Henry Roxby Benson (2 November 1818 – 23 January 1892) was a 19th-century British General.
Life
Benson was born Camberwell into a distinguished Welsh family, the second son of merchant Thomas Starling Benson and his second wife, Elizabeth M ...
, CB
*1884–1896: Lt-Gen. William Thomas Dickson
*1896–1907: Maj-Gen. Robert Hale
*1907–1924: Maj-Gen. Sir Hugh McCalmont, KCB, CVO
;7th Queen's Own Hussars - (1921)
*1924–1946: Maj-Gen. Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, KG, PC, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO, ADC
*1946–1948: Col. Geoffrey Fielden, OBE
*1948–1952: Col. Thomas Anson Thornton, CVO
*1952–1958: Maj-Gen. Ralph Younger
Major-General Ralph Younger (12 July 1904 – 2 August 1985) was a British Army officer.
Military career
Younger was commissioned into the 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1925. He served as commanding officer of the 3rd Carabiniers in Burma in 1942 ...
, CB, CBE, DSO, MC
*1958 Amalgamated with 3rd The King's Own Hussars
The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...
to form the ''Queen's Own Hussars
The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and Nor ...
''
See also
*British cavalry during the First World War
The British cavalry were the first British Army units to see action during the First World War. Captain Hornby of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards is reputed to have been the first British soldier to kill a German soldier, using his sword, ...
References
Bibliography
*Anon. A Short History of the Seventh Queen's Own Hussars from 1689 to 1932. Gale & Polden
Gale and Polden was a British printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media m ...
Ltd. Aldershot. 1932.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:7th Queen's Own Hussars
Cavalry regiments of the British Army
Hussar regiments of the British Army
1689 establishments in England
Military units and formations established in 1689
Queen's Own Hussars 007
H07
Military units and formations disestablished in 1958
Caroline of Ansbach