The 14th King's Hussars was a

cavalry regiment Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

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 Gurkha ...

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

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 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 became the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was originally ...

to form the

14th/20th King's Hussars The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a 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 Second World War, it amalgamated with the Royal Hussa ...

in 1922.

History

Early wars

The regiment was raised in the south of England by Brigadier-General

James Dormer James Dormer (1679–1741) was a British Army officer, a lieutenant-general, and colonel of the 1st troop of Horse Grenadier Guards Life The son of Robert Dormer (1628?–1689) of Dorton, Buckinghamshire, and his second wife, Anne, daughter o ...

as James Dormer's Regiment of Dragoons, and ranked as the 14th Dragoons, in 1715 as part of the response to the

Jacobite rebellion Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name ...

. It took part in the Battle of Preston in November 1715 after which it escorted some of the rebels to

Lancaster Gaol Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing o ...

. The regiment was sent to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

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. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

in September 1745 and then took part in the equally disastrous

Battle of Falkirk Muir The Battle of Falkirk Muir (Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice''), also known as the Battle of Falkirk, took place on 17 January 1746 during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Although it resulted in a Jacobite victory, their inability to ...

in January 1746 during the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

. 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 term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in 1794 for service in the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Au ...

. Then seven troops were detached and deployed to the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

in 1795 during the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...

; they took part in an action at

Mirebalais Mirebalais ( ht, Mibalè) 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 t ...

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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. 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, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the b ...

as its badge. The regiment was dispatched to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

in December 1808 to join

Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

's Army which was engaged in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

. 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, was a battle in which General Arthur Wellesley's Anglo-Portuguese Army defeated Marshal Soult's French troops on 12 May 1809 and took back the ...

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 a ...

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 hi ...

, 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 In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–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 stalema ...

in May 1811. The following year was a very busy one for the regiment: the regiment fought at the

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo. Specific sieges are: * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810) * Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812) ...

in January 1812, the Siege of Badajoz in March 1812,Cannon, p. 36 the

Battle of Villagarcia In the Battle of Villagarcia (also known as the Battle of Llerena) on 11 April 1812, British cavalry commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Stapleton Cotton routed a French cavalry force led by ' Charles Lallemand at the village of Villagarcia in ...

in April 1812 and the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

in July 1812. During the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

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

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...

, brother of the

Emperor Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, 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 Fr ...

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 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. 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 h ...

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 spi ...

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, 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 factory consisting ...

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 and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-ar ...

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 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

. The commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel

William Havelock William Havelock, KH (1793–1848) was a cavalry officer in the British Army, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Life He was the eldest son of William Havelock of Ingress Park, Kent, and brother of Sir Henry Havelock and of Colonel Charl ...

, 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 t ...

in November 1848 during the

Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...

. 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 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 Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet (29 January 1803 – 11 March 1863) was a British general who fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Early life James Outram was the son of Benjamin Outram of Butterley Hall, Butterley, Derbyshir ...

against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in spring 1857 during the

Anglo-Persian War The Anglo-Persian War or the Anglo-Iranian War () lasted between 1 November 1856 and 4 April 1857, and was fought between the United Kingdom and Iran, which was ruled by the Qajar dynasty. The war had the British oppose an attempt by Iran to ...

. 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 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 ...

. Major James Leith was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

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 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 coun ...

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 tr ...

in February 1900 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 So ...

. 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 Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

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

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 ...

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

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

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 an historic collection in Preston in Lancashire, England. The museum, which is based in the old Sessions House, is a Grade II listed building. History Construction of the courthouse, which was commissioned to accommo ...

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

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 – 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.

*1720–1737: Lt-Gen. Clement Neville *1737–1749: Lt-Gen. Archibald Hamilton *1749–1752: F.M. James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley ;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 Succe ...

(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 F ...

*1772–1773: Lt-Gen. Daniel Webb *1773–1778: Gen.

George Warde General George Warde (24 November 1725 – 11 March 1803) was a British Army officer. The second son of Colonel John Warde of Squerryes Court in Westerham, and Miss Frances Bristow of Micheldever. He was a close childhood friend of James Wolfe, ...

;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 1 ...

, 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 and Napoleonic wars. Biography Vandeleur, born in 1763, was the son of Richard Vandeleur (died 1772) and Elinor, da ...

, 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, where from 1959 to 1962 he conducted a series of psychologically damaging and purposefully abusive experiments on minors and unde ...

, KCB *1860: Lt-Gen. Allan Thomas Maclean *1860–1871: Gen.

William Beckwith General William Beckwith, KCH (1795 – 23 February 1871) was a general in the British Army. He was the eldest son of William Beckwith of Trimdon, County Durham. Career In 1813 he enlisted as a cornet in the 16th Light Dragoons and served with ...

;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 Chief of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911. Journalist At age 19, Wilkie joined the staff of the ''Chicago Times'' as a reporter. His father, Frank ...

*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 Major-General Sir Henry West Hodgson (29 June 1868 – 5 February 1930) was an officer of the British Army. He was born 29 June 1868 and died 5 February 1930 and buried at the St Mary Magdalene Church Bolney England. He was the Regimental Col ...

, KCMG, CB, CVO (to

14th/20th Hussars The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a 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 Second World War, it amalgamated with the Royal Hussa ...

) *''1922: Regiment amalgamated with the

to form the

References

Sources

* * *

History

Early wars

The Victorian era

20th century

Regimental museum

Battle honours

Victoria Crosses

Regimental Colonels

See also

References

Sources

Further reading