The 14th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, before being amalgamated with the

20th Hussars The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. After service in the First World War it was amalgamated with the 14th King's Hussars to form the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was originally ra ...

to form the

14th/20th King's Hussars The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was created by the amalgamation of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the World War II, S ...

in 1922.

History

Early wars

The regiment was raised in the south of England by Brigadier-General James Dormer as James Dormer's Regiment of Dragoons, and ranked as the 14th Dragoons, in 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rebellion. It took part in the Battle of Preston in November 1715 after which it escorted some of the rebels to Lancaster Gaol. The regiment was sent to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1717 and remained there until 1742. It fought but was completely outflanked at the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobitism, Jacobite forces, led by the Stua ...

in September 1745 and then took part in the equally disastrous

Battle of Falkirk Muir The Battle of Falkirk Muir, or Battle of Falkirk, took place near Falkirk, Scotland, on 17 January 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745. A narrow Jacobite victory, it had little impact on the campaign. After their withdrawal from England in ...

in January 1746 during the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

. The regiment returned to Ireland in 1747 and it was formally renamed as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. It became a light dragoon regiment in 1776, as the 14th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, and two troops were detached and joined

8th Light Dragoons The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. ...

in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

in 1794 for service in the Flanders Campaign. Then seven troops were detached and deployed to the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

in 1795 during the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

; they took part in an action at

Mirebalais Mirebalais (; ) is a commune in the Centre department of Haiti, approximately 60 km northeast of Port-au-Prince on National Road 3. The city was established in 1702. American Rotarians have made a number of mission-type trips to the cit ...

in June 1797 in which they helped defeat 1,200 ex-slaves who were sympathetic to new regime in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The regiment was renamed for Princess Frederica in 1798 as the 14th (The Duchess of York's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and allowed to use the

Prussian Eagle The state of Prussia developed from the State of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of the Teutonic Knights had been a black cross on a white flag. Emperor Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the black Eagle of the Holy Roman Em ...

as its badge. The regiment was dispatched to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in December 1808 to join Sir Arthur Wellesley's Army which was engaged in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. The regiment fought at the

Second Battle of Porto The Second Battle of Porto, also known as the Battle of the Douro or the Crossing of the Douro, took place on 12 May 1809. General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese Army defeated Marshal Soult's French troops and took back the city of Po ...

in May 1809 during which one of the French brigade commanders, General Maximilien Foy, was wounded in an action involving a squadron of the regiment. The regiment fought at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

in July 1809 and saw hard action at Barquilla on 11 July 1810 during which the commanding officer of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Talbot, and eight of his men were killed. The regiment, now under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel

Felton Hervey-Bathurst Colonel Sir Felton Elwell Hervey-Bathurst, 1st Baronet, (178224 September 1819), was an officer in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Early life Born Felton Elwell Hervey in 1782, he was a son of Lieutenant Felton Lionel Hervey and h ...

, then took part in a skirmish on the Coa river on 24 July 1810 and, in pressing home a frontal attack on a French artillery battery, a squadron of the regiment was badly mauled at the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro At the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalemate ...

in May 1811. The following year was a very busy one for the regiment: the regiment fought at the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812, the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812,Cannon, p. 36 the

Battle of Villagarcia The Battle of Villagarcia took place on 11 April 1812, near the village of Villagarcia de la Torre in Spain. Part of the Peninsular War, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British cavalry under Sir Stapleton Cotton routed a French cav ...

in April 1812 and the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

in July 1812. During the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in June 1813 the regiment captured a silver chamberpot belonging to King

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, brother of the

Emperor Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, which resulted in the regimental nickname of ''"The Emperor's Chambermaids"''. The regiment advanced into France performing a supporting role at the

Battle of Orthez 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 F ...

in February 1814 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment went back to England in July 1814, but deployed two squadrons to North America where, dismounted, they took part in the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

on 8 January 1815 in the closing stages of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The regiment served in Ireland between January 1816 and June 1819 and between April 1825 and March 1828.

The Victorian era

The regiment was renamed in July 1830, to mark the coronation of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

as the 14th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, and it took part in the suppression of the

Bristol riots The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England. Bristol Bridge riot, 1793 In 1794 the populace of Bristol were said to be "apt to collect in mobs on the slightest occasions; but have been seldom so sp ...

in October 1831. It was dispatched to India in May 1841. The regiment marched from

Kirkee Khadki is a cantonment in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. It has now flourished as a quasi-metropolis & centered in the northern region of the city. Description Khadki could be considered an Indian Army base, along with an ordnance facto ...

in the west of the country to

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

in the north of the country through the winter of 1845 during the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Firozpur district of Punjab. It resulted in the defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu ...

. The commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel

William Havelock William Havelock (21 January 1793 – 22 November 1848) was a cavalry officer in the British Army, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Life William Havelock was the eldest son of William Havelock of Ingress Abbey#History of the Ingress Es ...

, led a charge, apparently without orders, at the

Battle of Ramnagar The Battle of Ramnagar (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Rumnuggur) was fought on 22 November 1848 between British East India Company and Sikh Empire forces during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough, while ...

in November 1848 during the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...

. Havelock and his leading troopers were surrounded and cut down. After a further charge failed, Brigadier Charles Cureton, the commander of the cavalry division to which the troops belonged, galloped up and ordered a retreat. Cureton himself was then killed by musket fire. The regiment were routed at the

Battle of Chillianwala The Battle of Chillianwala (also spelled Chillianwallah) was fought in January 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh war in the Chillianwala region ( Mandi Bahauddin) of Punjab, now part of Pakistan. The battle was one of the bloodiest fought by t ...

in January 1849 but redeemed themselves at the

Battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...

in February 1849. It also took part in an expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in spring 1857 during the

Anglo-Persian War The Anglo-Persian War, also known as the Anglo-Iranian War (), was a war fought between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Qajar Iran, Iran, which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty. The war had the British oppose a ...

. The regiment returned to India in May 1857 and took part in the Central Indian campaign during 1858 in the latter stages of the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. Major James Leith was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

during this campaign; the regiment were ordered home in February 1860. The title of the regiment was simplified in August 1861 to the 14th (King's) Hussars.

20th century

The regiment arrived in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in January 1900 and took part in the

relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try t ...

in February 1900 during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. The regiment, which was serving in

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old -Agra Mumbai Road. It is the birthplace of Babasaheb B. R. Ambedkar . ...

in India as part of the Meerut Cavalry Brigade in the Meerut Divisional Area at the start of the

landed in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

in November 1915. It was involved in most of the actions during the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign or Mesopotamian front () was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the British Empire, with troops from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Australia and the vast major ...

before moving to Persia in May 1918. The regiment retitled as the 14th King's Hussars in January 1921 and was amalgamated with the

to form the

in October 1922.

Regimental museum

The Museum of the 14th/20th King's Hussars was in the

Museum of Lancashire The Museum of Lancashire is a museum with several historic collections in Preston, Lancashire, Preston in Lancashire, England. The museum, which is based in the old Sessions House, is a Grade II listed building. History Construction of the cour ...

in Preston until it closed in 2016.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *''Early wars'': Douro, Talavera, Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Orthes, Peninsula, Chillianwallah, Goojerat, Punjaub, Persia, Central India, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1900-02 *''The Great War'': Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915-18, Persia 1918

Victoria Crosses

* Major

Edward Douglas Brown Colonel Edward Douglas Brown-Synge-Hutchinson, (6 March 1861 – 3 March 1940) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded t ...

– Second Boer War, 13 October 1900 * Lieutenant James Leith – Indian Mutiny, 1 April 1858

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the Regiment were: ;James Dormer's Regiment of Dragoons *1715–1720: Lt-Gen. James Dormer *1720–1737: Lt-Gen. Clement Neville *1737–1749: Lt-Gen. Archibald Hamilton *1749–1752: F.M.

James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley Field Marshal James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and 1st Baron Kilmaine, PC (1682 – 14 July 1774) was a British Army officer. After serving as a junior officer in Spain and the Low Countries during the War of the Spanish Succession, he went ...

;14th Regiment of Dragoons (1751) *1752–1757: Lt-Gen. Louis Dejean *1757–1765: F.M.

John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll Field Marshal John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll (June 1723 – 24 May 1806), styled Marquess of Lorne from 1761 to 1770, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman. After serving as a junior officer in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succ ...

(Marquess of Lorne) *1765–1772: Gen.

Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton General Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton (25 June 1737 – 21 March 1797) was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1759 to 1780. The second son of Lord Augustus Fit ...

*1772–1773: Lt-Gen. Daniel Webb *1773–1778: Gen. George Warde ;14th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1776) *1778–1797: Gen. Sir

Robert Sloper General Sir Robert Sloper KB (8 May 1729 – 18 August 1802) was Commander-in-Chief, India. Military career Educated privately at Bishops Cannings in Wiltshire, Sloper was commissioned into the 10th Dragoons being promoted to major in ...

, KB *1797–1823: Gen. John William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgwater ;14th (The Duchess of York's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1798) *1823–1830: Gen.

Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur General Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur (1763 – 10 December 1849) was a British Army officer who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic War, Napoleonic wars. Biography Vandeleur, born in 1763, was the son of R ...

, GCB ;14th (The King's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1830) *1830–1853: Gen. Sir Edward Kerrison, Bt, KCB, GCH *1853–1860: Gen. Hon. Sir

Henry Murray Henry Alexander Murray (May 13, 1893 – June 23, 1988) was an American psychologist at Harvard University. From 1959 to 1962, he conducted a series of psychologically damaging and purposefully abusive experiments on minors and undergradua ...

, KCB *1860: Lt-Gen. Allan Thomas Maclean *1860–1871: Gen. William Beckwith ;14th (King's) Hussars (1861) *1871–1873: Gen. Henry Richmond Jones, CB *1873–1882: Gen.

John Wilkie John Elbert Wilkie (1860 – December 13, 1934) was an American journalist and law enforcement officer who served as the 8th Chief of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911. Journalist career At age 19, Wilkie joined the staff of t ...

*1882–1896: Gen. Charles William Thompson *1896–1903: Lt-Gen. Hon Charles Wemyss Thesiger *1903–1904: Maj-Gen. Thomas Phillips *1904–1920: Maj-Gen. Boyce Albert Combe, CB ;14th King's Hussars (1921) *1920–1922: Maj-Gen. Sir Henry West Hodgson, KCMG, CB, CVO (to 14th/20th Hussars) *''1922: Regiment amalgamated with the

to form the 14th/20th Hussars''

References

Sources

* * *