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The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of 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 three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was amalgamated with the
12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...
to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers in 1960.


History


Early history

The regiment was formed by Major-General Owen Wynne as Owen Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons in
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
in 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rising. The regiment's first action was to attack the Jacobite forces in
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
in late 1715. In 1717, the regiment embarked for Ballinrobe, in
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 ...
, and was placed on the Irish establishment. The regiment was ranked as the 9th Dragoons in 1719, re-titled as the 9th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751 and converted into Light Dragoons, becoming the 9th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in 1783. The regiment fought at the Battle of Kilcullen, inflicting severe losses on the rebels, on 24 May 1798 and at the Battle of Carlow on 25 May 1798, when they successfully ambushed the rebels, during the Irish Rebellion. The regiment also saw action at the
Battle of Vinegar Hill The Battle of Vinegar Hill (''Irish language, Irish'': ''Cath Chnoc Fhíodh na gCaor'') was a military engagement during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 21 June 1798 between a force of approximately 13,000 government troops under the command of ...
on 21 June 1798. The regiment took part in Sir Samuel Auchmuty's disastrous expedition to the River Plate in October 1806, including the occupation of
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
in February 1807 during the Anglo-Spanish War. It then took part in the equally unsuccessfully
Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...
in autumn 1809: a total of 152 men from the regiment died of fever during that campaign. The regiment then embarked for
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and fought at the
Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...
, capturing General De Brune of the French Army, in October 1811 during 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 ...
. It was also part of the covering force for the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812. In April 1813, the regiment returned to England. They were re-designated as a
lancer 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 India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
formation in 1816 and became the 9th (or Queen's Royal) Lancers in honour of Queen Adelaide in 1830. The regiment was posted to India in 1842. It saw action at the Battle of Punniar in December 1843 during the Gwalior campaign. It also fought at the
Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1847, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the declining Sikh Empire of the Punjab region, Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the ...
in February 1846 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 ...
and undertook a successful charge at the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 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 ...
. The regiment then fought at the siege and capture of Delhi and the relief of Lucknow in summer 1857, as well as the capture of Lucknow in spring 1858 during the Indian Rebellion: the regiment, which was described by the rebels as "the Delhi Spearmen", was awarded twelve
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 ...
es. It was described by an ally as:
"The beau ideal of all that British Cavalry ought to be in Oriental countries".
The regiment was renamed the 9th (The Queen's Royal) Lancers in 1861.


Second Anglo-Afghan War

The regiment was posted to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
in 1878 and marched through the
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...
in March 1879 as part of the cavalry brigade led by General
Hugh Henry Gough General (United Kingdom), General Sir Hugh Henry Gough ( ; 14 November 1833 – 12 May 1909) was a senior British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be aw ...
. Following the murder of the British ambassador and his guards at
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
in September 1879, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Charasiab in October 1879 during the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...
. The commanding officer of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Cleland, was killed while leading a charge at the Battle of Killa Kazi in December 1879. Major-General Frederick Roberts described the ensuing events:
"The charge was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland and Captain Neville, the former of whom fell dangerously wounded: but the ground, terraced for irrigation purposes and intersected by nullahs, so impeded our cavalry that the charge, heroic as it was, made little or no impression upon the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. The effort, however, was worthy and that it failed in its object was no fault of our gallant soldiers."
A squadron from the regiment took part in the Second Battle of Charasiab in April 1880 and the regiment, as a whole, undertook the long march, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bushman, leading to the relief of Kandahar and defeat of Ayub Khan in September 1880.


Second Boer War

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 took part in the Battle of Belmont and the Battle of Modder River in November 1899, as well as the
Battle of Magersfontein The Battle of MagersfonteinSpelt incorrectly in various English texts as "Majersfontein", "Maaghersfontein" and "Maagersfontein". ( ) was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein, near Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, South Africa, on t ...
in December 1899, Relief of Kimberley in February 1900 and the subsequent
Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Ford (crossing), Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free St ...
which resulted in Piet Cronjé's surrender. After the war, the regiment returned to
Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...
in the
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. In the Delhi Durbar of January 1903, the Duke of Connaught specially selected an escort from the 9th Lancers. This was popular with the regiment, but not with all Indian spectators; the regiment had been forbidden to take part as punishment for refusing to disclose the murderers of an Indian cook named Atu, who was beaten to death for his failure to "provide them with some woman". Before he died, the man had stated that his assailants were men of the 9th Lancers. It was suggested in the press that the assailants may actually have been unsuccessful applicants for the post of cook. The Viceroy,
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...
, had insisted on a collective penalty being imposed on the 9th Lancers, partially to discourage drunken assaults by British soldiers on Indian camp-followers and partially from a sense of personal outrage at efforts made by officers to conceal the facts of this particular case. The regiment was later reported to have been transferred from Sialkot to
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
, also in Punjab.


First World War

The regiment landed in France as part of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. Captain Francis Grenfell 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 ...
for his actions in saving the guns of 119th Battery, Royal Field Artillery on 24 August 1914 (he was later killed in action on 24 May 1915, as was his twin brother, Riversdale, a yeomanry officer who attached to 9th Lancers). The regiment then participated in the final "lance on lance" action involving British cavalry of the First World War; on 7 September 1914 at Montcel à Frétoy in which Lieutenant Colonel David Campbell led a charge of two troops of B Squadron and overthrew a squadron of the Prussian Dragoons of the Guard.


Inter-war

The regiment was renamed the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers in 1921. It was deployed to Ireland and lost nine of its men in the Scramogue ambush of March 1921 during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
. In addition to the lack of conflicts, their relative inactivity was also due to the military high command struggling to decide what role cavalry regiments could perform in modern warfare. Lances ceased to be carried by the six lancer regiments in the British Army for active service in 1928, though the impressive if archaic weapon was retained for ceremonial parades and guard duties. In the case of the 9th Lancers, lances were formally withdrawn in 1932, four years before they lost their horses. In the spring of 1938, the Mobile Division, later to become the 1st Armoured Division, was formed: the 2nd Armoured Brigade, which included the 9th Lancers, was assigned to it.


Second World War

The Lancers landed in France to cover the retreating French, Belgian and British armies on 20 May 1940 and took part in the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
. Withdrawn to England, the regiment landed in North Africa in September 1941 and undertook a leading part in the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942. According to
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Sir Richard McCreery:
"The 9th Lancers took part in many decisive battles, none more so perhaps than the long withdrawal from Knightsbridge, south of Gazala, to El Alamein. Many think that Egypt was saved when the Eighth Army defeated Rommel's last big attack in the Western Desert at the end of August 1942. Actually, Egypt was saved earlier during those first few critical days of July when Rommel drove his tanks and self-propelled guns and trucks forward along the Ruweisat Ridge in close formations, to be stopped by the 25-pounders and the remnants of the 2nd Armoured Brigade with their "thin-skinned" Crusader tanks. In this critical action the 9th Lancers took the principal part. Throughout that long withdrawal from Knightsbridge, when the fluctuating Battle of Gazala had finally swung against the Eighth Army, past Sollum and Matruh to the Ruweisat Ridge, only seventy miles from Alexandria, the 2nd Armoured Brigade with the 9th Lancers always there but often reduced to only a handful of tanks, fought on skilfully and with gallant endurance and determination. Egypt was then saved indeed and with the arrival of the 9th Australian Division from Syria about the 6th of July, the tide of the whole war was turned."Bright, p. xv.
McCreery went on:
"Right well did the intensive training of the 9th Lancers with the Sherman bear fruit in the great battle which followed. As the world knows, the breakthrough at El Alamein did not come quickly. Rommel had had two months to build up defenses and minefields in depth. However, in the ten days "dog-fight" tank crews with their new 75-mm guns were knocking out far more enemy tanks than our infantry appreciated at the time."Bright, p. xvi.
The regiment's marksmanship was renowned; their best shot was Corporal Nicholls of B Squadron, who was once personally congratulated by General
Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...
for knocking out nine enemy tanks in one day. The regiment landed in Italy in mid-1944, where it saw action at San Savino in the battle for the Gothic Line in September 1944 on the Italian Front. The regiment formed the spearhead of the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...
in the breakthrough to the River Po in the spring of 1945. By the end of War, 143 members of the regiment had lost their lives.Bright, pp. 287–289.


Post-war

The regiment moved to Glencorse Barracks,
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in December 1947 before deploying to Detmold,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in 1949.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
became Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment in June 1953. It then moved to Bhurtpore Barracks at Tidworth Camp in May 1960. The regiment was amalgamated with the
12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...
to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers in September 1960.


Regimental museum

The Derby Museum and Art Gallery incorporates the Soldier's Story Gallery, based on the collection, inter alia, of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers.


Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *''Early wars'': Peninsula, Punniar, Sobraon, Chillianwallah, Goojerat, Punjaub, Delhi 1857, Lucknow, Charasiah, Kabul 1879, Kandahar 1880, Afghanistan 1878–80, Modder River, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899-1902 *''The Great War'': Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 '18, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-18 *''The Second World War'': Somme 1940, Withdrawal to Seine, North-West Europe 1940, Saunnu, Gazala, Bir el Aslagh, Sidi Rezegh 1942, Defence of Alamein Line, Ruweisat, Ruweisat Ridge, El Alamein, Tebaga Gap, El Hamma, El Kourzia, Tunis, Creteville Pass, North Africa 1942–43, Coriano, Capture of Forli, Lamone Crossing, Pideura, Defence of Lamone Bridgehead, Argenta Gap, Italy 1944-45


Victoria Crosses

* Patrick Donohoe, Private – Indian Mutiny, 28 September 1857 * John Freeman, Private – Indian Mutiny, 10 October 1857 * William Goat, Lance Corporal – Indian Mutiny, 6 March 1858 * Thomas Hancock, Private – Indian Mutiny, 19 June 1857 *
Henry Hartigan Henry Hartigan Victoria Cross, VC (March 1826 – 29 October 1886) was born Drumlea, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh and was an Ireland, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of ...
, Pensioned Sergeant – Indian Mutiny, 8 June 1857, 10 October 1857 * Alfred Stowell Jones, Lieutenant – Indian Mutiny, 8 June 1857 * Robert Kells, Lance Corporal – Indian Mutiny, 28 September 1857 * Robert Newell, Private – Indian Mutiny, 19 March 1858 * John Purcell, Private – Indian Mutiny, 19 June 1857 * James Reynolds Roberts, Private – Indian Mutiny, 28 September 1857 * David Rushe, Troop Sergeant Major – Indian Mutiny, 19 March 1858 * David Spence, Troop Sergeant Major – Indian Mutiny, 17 January 1858 * Francis Octavius Grenfell – Captain, First World War, August 1914


Colonel-in-Chief

1953–1960:
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...


Colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows:


1715 9th Regiment of Dragoons

* 1715 Owen Wynne, Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons 1717 in the Irish establishment * 1719 James Crofts, Crofts' Dragoons * 1732 Richard, Viscount Molesworth, Lord Molesworth's Dragoons * 1737 John Cope, Cope's Dragoons * 1742 John Brown, Brown's Dragoons * 1743 Henry de Grangues, de Grangues's Dragoons * 1749 George Reade, Reade's Dragoons On 1 July 1751, a royal warrant provided that, in future, regiments would not be known by their colonels' names, but by their "number or rank"; however, in this case, that order seems to have been "honoured in the breach". * 1756 James Jorden, Jorden's Dragoons * 1756 Philip Honywood, Honywood's or Honeywood's Dragoons * 1759 Henry Whitley, Whitley's Dragoons * 1771 James Johnston, Johnston's Dragoons * 1773 Flower Mocher, Mocher's Dragoons


1783 9th Regiment of Light Dragoons

Lightened armour. From 1794 in the British establishment (from the Irish establishment) * 1801–1837: Gen. James, Earl of Rosslyn, GCB


1830 9th Queen's Royal Lancers

Named in honour of Queen Adelaide *1837–1839: Lt-Gen. Samuel Need *1839–1865: Gen. Sir James Wallace Sleigh, KCB *1865–1875: Gen. Sir James Hope Grant, GCB *1875–1891: Gen. Sir Archibald Little, GCB *1891–1900: Lt-Gen. Sir William Drysdale, KCB *1900–1930: Maj-Gen. Sir Henry Augustus Bushman, KCB *1930–1936: Gen. Sir David Graham Muschet Campbell, GCB *1936–1940: Brig-Gen. Desmond John Edward Beale-Brown, DSO *1940–1950: Maj-Gen. Charles Wake Norman, CBE *1950–1960: Brig. Sir Christopher Henry Maxwell Peto, Bt., DSO, DL *''1960: Regiment amalgamated with the
12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...
to form 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)''


References


Sources

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External links


History of the Regiment
{{RAC armoured regiments of the Second World War Cavalry regiments of the British Army Queen's Royal Lancers 009 L09 Military units and formations established in 1715 Military units and formations disestablished in 1960 1715 establishments in Great Britain Military units and formations of the Second Boer War