The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon 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 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 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards in 1765. 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 into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922.

History

The

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 ...

was first raised by

Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth, PC (c. 1627 – 3 November 1687), was the son of Dixie Hickman and his wife Elizabeth Windsor, sister and heiress of Thomas Windsor, 6th Baron Windsor. He assumed the additional surname of Windsor a ...

as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse in 1685 as part of the response to the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and was ranked as the 4th Regiment of Horse. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied ...

in August 1704, the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...

in May 1706, the

Battle of Oudenarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting a Grand Alliance force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough and Prin ...

in July 1708 and the

Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession and was fought between a French army commanded by the Duke of Villars and a Grand Alliance force under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the blo ...

in September 1709 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. In 1746 it was ranked as the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and formally titled in 1751 as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards. Shortly thereafter, in 1765, it took the title 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, for the future

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. 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 1831 and, after service in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, took part in the

British Expedition to Abyssinia The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, ...

in 1868. The regiment was employed chasing the elusive General Christiaan de Wet in spring 1901 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 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

at the start of

, landed in France as part of the 6th Cavalry Brigade in the 3rd Cavalry Division in October 1914 for service on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

where it fought at the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

in October 1914, the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

in April 1915 and the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. It retitled as 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) in 1921, and was amalgamated with the

6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabin ...

to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards the following year.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is held in the Cheshire Military Museum at Chester Castle. Some items are also held by the

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum is a regimental museum displaying the collections of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and its predecessor regiments. It is based in the New Barracks (built between 1796 and 1799) at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. ...

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

Battle honours

The regiment was awarded the following

battle honours 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 ...

: *''Early Wars'': Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Talavera, Albuhera, Vittoria, Peninsula, Abyssinia, South Africa 1901–02. *''The Great War'': Ypres 1914, 1915, Nonne Bosschen, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Avre, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18.

Commanding Officers

The Commanding Officers have been: *1958–1960: Lt.-Col. J. M. Ashton *1960–1962: Lt.-Col. George P. Badham *1962–1965: Lt.-Col. Edward I. Stanford *1965–1967: Lt.-Col. William R. B. Allen *1967–1970: Lt.-Col. Henry S. L. Dalzell-Payne *1970–1971: Lt.-Col. Anthony J. Bateman

Colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows:

1685 4th Regiment of Horse

Cornelius wood memorial St leonards bucks

* 1685 Thomas, Earl of Plymouth —Windsor's or The Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse * 1687 Sir John Fenwick —Sir John Fenwick's Horse * 1688 Richard, Earl Rivers —Savage's or Earl Rivers' Horse * 1693 John, Lord Berkeley —Lord Berkeley's Horse * 1693 Cornelius Wood —Wood's Horse * 1712 Thomas, Viscount Windsor —Lord Windsor's Horse * 1717

George Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of ba ...

—Wade's Horse

1746 3rd Regiment of Horse

* 1748 Sir Charles Howard K B —Sir Charles Howard's Horse

1751 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards

* 1751

Sir Charles Howard General Sir Charles Howard KB (c. 1696 – 26 August 1765), styled The Honourable from birth, was a British soldier and politician. Background He was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Carlisle and Lady Anne de Vere Capell, daughter of the 1st ...

1765 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards

* 1765 Gen. Lord Robert Manners * 1782 Gen. Philip Honywood * 1785 Lt-Gen. Richard Burton Phillipson * 1792 Gen. Sir William Fawcett * 1804 Gen. Richard Vyse * 1825 Gen.

Sir William Payne-Gallwey, 1st Baronet General Sir William Payne-Gallwey, 1st Baronet (1759 – 16 April 1831) was a British soldier and Governor of the Leeward Islands. He was the youngest son of Ralph Payne by his second spouse Margaret née Gallwey, of St. Kitts, West Indies. He s ...

* 1831 Gen.

Samuel Hawker Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

* 1839 Lt-Gen. Sir

James Charles Dalbiac Lieutenant-General Sir James Charles Dalbiac, (1776–1847) was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament. Life He was born the eldest son of Charles Dalbiac of Hungerford Park, Berkshire. In 1793 he joined the 4th Light Dragoons as ...

* 1842 Lt-Gen. Francis Newbery * 1847 Gen. Charles Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart * 1851 Lt-Gen. James Claud Bourchier * 1859 Gen. Sir John Scott * 1866 Gen.

Robert Richardson Robertson The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

* 1883 Gen. Sir

William Henry Seymour General Sir William Henry Seymour (1829 – 20 June 1921) was a senior British Army officer. Military career Seymour was commissioned in 1847. He saw action in the Crimean War in 1854 and in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and then served as Inspe ...

* 1891 Lt-Gen. Conyers Tower * 1903 Maj-Gen. Andrew Smythe Montague Browne * 1905 Maj-Gen. George Salis-Schwabe * 1907 Maj-Gen. Sir Reginald Talbot * 1920 Maj-Gen. Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth