The Governor General's Bodyguard was a cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the British Indian Army. The regiment was, in effect, the Indian equivalent of the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

of 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 ...

History

The regiment was first formed in 1773 as the Governor's Troop of Moghuls for the first

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

. It was composed of various contingents raised from various parts of India. The regiment saw extensive service. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egyptian campaign that removed a French force that had invaded Egypt. In 1811 the regiment was involved in the campaign to seize

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

in the Dutch East Indies (now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

) from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, which was successfully achieved (Java and other Dutch territories were not returned to the Dutch until 1816, after the conclusion of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

). In 1824 the

First Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

began and the regiment took part in that conflict, winning the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

"Ava". The regiment saw service in the Gwalior War of 1843, fighting at the Battle of Mahrajapore (29 December) that saw a British victory against the Mahrattas. The regiment saw extensive service in the

First Sikh War A Sikh War may mean: *The Mughal-Sikh Wars *The Afghan–Sikh Wars *The Gurkha-Sikh War (1809) *The Sino-Sikh War (1841-1842) *The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) *The Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military con ...

in 1845. This war saw the most battle honours awarded to the regiment in a single campaign. It was involved in the first engagement of that conflict, at

Mudki Mudki, also spelled as Moodkee, is a town in Punjab state of India. This town lies in Ferozepur district. Mudki has been famous for the Battle of Mudki, which took place in 1845 between the British and Sikh armies. In memory of Sikh soldiers wh ...

(Moodkee), where the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Charles Digby Dawkins, was killed. The regiment took part in the subsequent battles of the war; at Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and the last battle of the war,

Sobraon Sobraon is a village in Punjab, India. It is located west to Harike village in Tarn Taran district. The Sutlej river is to the south of this village. The village is located at 31°10'39N 74°51'10E with an altitude of 192 metres (633 feet). H ...

. It was also active during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

Transfer to the Crown

In 1858, when the

Earl Canning Earl Canning was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1859 for the Conservative politician and then Viceroy of India, Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning. He was the third and youngest son of the noted politician G ...

became the first

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

upon the transfer of Indian rule from the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

to the British Crown, the regiment also became formally known as the Viceroy's Bodyguard. The subsequent recruitment and selection was from various elite regiments and units of the British Indian Army. In 1885, the

Third Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

, the last war between the British and Burmese, began and the regiment participated. In 1893, William Riddell Birdwood (later World War I

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and 1st Baron Birdwood) became the Master Adjutant of the regiment, seeing service in a number of North-West Frontier expeditions, with his home (regimental) base in Dehradun.

Clothing

Clothing regulations of 1913 were as below: Uniform: red; facings blue.
Badges and Device:
''On buttons —'' * British officers.— burnished, with the Royal and Imperial Cypher in a Garter, bearing the motto of the Order of tho Garter, and a Tudor crown above. * Indian officers.— Brass, with crossed lances ; Tudor crown in upper angle, and "G. G. B. G." across the lower angle. ''On field cap, —'' A Tudor crown in gold embroidery.
''On forage cap. —'' Tudor crown surmounted by a lion, passant, regardant, in gold ombvoidery.
''On pouch. —'' In gold embroidery the monogram "G. G. B. G." surmounted by a Tudor crown.
''On pouch belt. —'' Gilt burnished, side prickers and chains.

World War I and II

In 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 ...

, men of the regiment were deployed to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

in the fight against the German allied

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, seeing service 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 ...

(now

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

). In 1944, the regiment became a mechanised one, though retaining a ceremonial mounted squadron. The regiment subsequently re-roled as an

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

unit and joined the

44th Indian Airborne Division The 44th Indian Airborne Division was an airborne forces Division (military), division of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the compl ...

, being renamed the 44th Indian Airborne Division Reconnaissance Squadron (Governor General's Bodyguard) It would retain the name until sometime after the war, when it reverted to its former name.

Independence

In 1947, the Partition of India saw the country of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

established and Muslim personnel from the regiment were transferred to the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

to form the Governor General's Bodyguard, Pakistan. The rest of the regiment remained with the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

as the

President's Bodyguard The President's Bodyguard (PBG) is an elite household cavalry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the senior-most regiment in the order of precedence of the units of the Indian Army. The primary role of the President's Bodyguard is to escort and ...

upon India proclaiming itself a republic in 1950.

Battle honours

* Ava * Mahrajapore * Moodkee * Ferozeshah * Aliwal *

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 1773 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950 British Indian Army regiments British Indian Army cavalry regiments Indian World War I regiments Indian World War II regiments