The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a

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

in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the

2nd Troop of Horse Guards {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The 2nd Troop of Horse Guards was originally formed in 1659 for Spanish service as Monck's Life Guards. It was successively renamed 3rd, or The Duke of Albemarle's Troop of Horse Guards (1660), 3rd, or The Lord Gene ...

and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated with the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated wi ...

to form the

Life Guards Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

History

The regiment was formed in 1788 by the union of the

and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. It fought 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 ...

, under the command of Major-General Charles Barton, and at the Waterloo. In 1877, it was renamed 2nd Life Guards and contributed to the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment in the Anglo-Egyptian War, in 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 ...

and in 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, ...

from August to November 1914. From 1916 to 1918, the Reserve Regiment contributed to the Household Battalion. In 1918, the regiment was converted to the 2nd Battalion, Guards Machine Gun Regiment. It was reconstituted in 1919 and was amalgamated with the

in 1922 to form the

Battle honours

The battle honours of the regiment were: * ''Early Wars'': Dettingen,

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

, Waterloo, Tel-el-Kebir,

Egypt 1882 Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg,

South Africa 1899–1900 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 Sout ...

* ''The Great War'':

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, Le Cateau,

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

, Marne 1914,

Aisne 1914 Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Messines 1914 The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German Empire, German empire and British Empire, British empire and French Third Republic, France as part of the Race to the Sea, between the river Douve and the Comines ...

, Armentières 1914,

Ypres 1914 Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

'15 '17, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, St. Julien, Frezenberg,

Somme 1916 __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river) The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The ...

'18,

Albert 1916 Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

Arras 1917 Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the A ...

'18,

Scarpe 1917 The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele,

Bapaume 1918 The Second Battle of Bapaume was a battle of the First World War that took place at Bapaume in France, from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918. It was a continuation of the Battle of Albert and is also referred to as the second phase of that b ...

, Hindenburg Line, Épehy, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Selle,

France and Flanders 1914–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of imp ...

Colonels-in-Chief

The Colonels-in-Chief of the regiment were: *1815 King George IV *1830 King William IV *1837 ''vacant'' *1880 F.M. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII *1910 F.M. King George V

Regimental Colonels

The Colonels of the regiment were: *1788–1797: F.M. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, KB *1797–1843: Gen.

William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart (17 September 175516 June 1843) was a British soldier and diplomat. Early life He was the son of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart and his wife Ann Hamilton. Cathcart born at Petersham, Lon ...

, KT *1843–1854: Gen. Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCB, GCH *1854–1863: F.M. Sir John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH *1863: Gen. Henry Beauchamp Lygon, 4th Earl Beauchamp *1863–1876: F.M. George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, KT, GCB *1876–1890: Gen.

George Upton, 3rd Viscount Templetown General George Frederick Upton, 3rd Viscount Templetown (5 August 1802 – 4 January 1890), styled The Honourable George Upton until 1863, was an Irish soldier and politician. Military career Upton was the second son of John Upton, 1st Visco ...

, GCB *1890–1900: Gen. Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 3rd Earl Howe, GCVO, CB *1900–1905: Gen.

Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, (31 May 18279 April 1905) was a British Army officer who rose to prominence during the Anglo-Zulu War, when an expeditionary force under his command suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of a ...

, GCB, GCVO *1905–1907: F.M. Sir

Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell, (29 April 1841 – 27 January 1925) was a British Army officer. After serving as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, South Africa, he fought in the 9th Xhosa War, the Anglo-Zul ...

, GCB, GCMG *1907–1919: Lt-Gen. Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald, KCB, KCVO *1919–1922: Maj-Gen. Sir

Cecil Edward Bingham Major-General Sir Cecil Edward Bingham (7 December 1861 – 31 May 1934) was a British Army officer who held high command during World War I. Military career Born the son of Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan,''Burke's Peerage and Baron ...

, GCVO, KCMG, CB

References

Sources