The Calcutta Light Horse was raised in 1872 and formed part of the Cavalry Reserve in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. The regiment was disbanded following

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's independence in 1947.

Operation Creek

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

since the

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 Sou ...

, they are most noted for their part (with members of the Calcutta Scottish) in Operation Creek against the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

merchant ship ''.'' The operation was organised by SOE's India Mission. It was kept covert, to avoid the political ramifications of contravening

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

neutrality in Goa, and was not revealed until thirty-five years afterwards, in 1978. The ''Ehrenfels'' was known to be transmitting information on Allied ship movements to

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s from

Mormugao Mormugao is a seaport city situated in the eponymous Mormugao taluka (municipality) of the South Goa district, South district, in the Goa state, India. It has a deep natural harbour and remains Goa's chief port. Towards the end of the Indo-Po ...

harbour in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

territory of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. The Light Horse embarked on the barge ''Phoebe'' at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and sailed around India to

. After the ''Ehrenfels'' was sunk in March 1943 by the team of British saboteurs, British intelligence dispatched an open message over the air falsely warning that the British would invade Goa. The crews of the other two German merchant ships in the harbour, the ''Drachenfels'' and ''Braunfels'', received the message and scuttled their ships in Goa's harbour in the belief that they were protecting their ships from capture by the British. Italian ships in the harbour were also destroyed. In 1951 all three German merchant ships were salvaged. As the end credits of the 1980 film ''

The Sea Wolves ''The Sea Wolves'' is a 1980 war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven. The film, which is based on the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by James Leasor, is a fictionalised account of Operation Creek during the Second World War. ...

'' state, "''during the first 11 days of March 1943, U-boats sank 12 Allied ships in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. After the Light Horse raid on Goa, only one ship was lost in the remainder of the month.''"

Members

* Honorary Colonel

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

(1947) * Colonel Archie Pugh 1890-1922 (1912-1922 as Colonel) * Colonel Bill Grice * Colonel John Pugh * Corporal John Raymond * Sir Owain Jenkins * Ralph Wesley Dennis

Media

In 1978

James Leasor James Leasor (20 December 1923 – 10 September 2007) was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, ''Boarding Party'', about an incident from ...

wrote an account of the ''Ehrenfels'' mission in the book ''Boarding Party: The Last Charge of the Calcutta Light Horse''. The film ''

'' based on the book was made in 1980, with actors

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

and

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

Legacy

* The ''Light Horse Bar'' at the Saturday Club in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

is named after the regiment. The club was founded in 1878 and is located on Wood Street. The bar houses a collection of regimental memorabilia. * The ''Calcutta Light Horse Bar'' at the

Oriental Club The Oriental Club in London is an exclusive Private Members’ Club established in 1824 Charles Graves describes it as fine in quality as White's but with the space of infinitely larger clubs. It is located in Stratford Place, near Oxford S ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

is named after the regiment. *

British Eventing British Eventing (BE) is the Great Britain governing body for the equestrianism, equestrian sport of eventing, which combines a single rider and horse pairing competing in dressage, showjumping and Cross-country equestrianism, cross country. The ...

presents a ''Calcutta Light Horse Trophy'' to the owner of the British horse gaining the highest number of points during a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

season.

Notes

References

* * Republished in paperback as ''The Sea Wolves'' (1980) with a special foreword by

Lord Mountbatten of Burma Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...

. {{Authority control 19th century in Kolkata 20th century in Kolkata

Military units and formations established in 1872 Indian World War II regiments 1872 establishments in India