The 4th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment 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 Gurk ...

, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It amalgamated with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, to form the

Queen's Royal Irish Hussars The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, abbreviated as QRIH, was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed from the amalgamation of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars and the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958. The regiment saw active service against ...

in 1958.

History

Formation and early history

The regiment was first raised by the Hon. John Berkeley as The Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Dragoons in 1685, as part of the response to the Monmouth Rebellion by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 4th Dragoons. The regiment transferred its allegiance to

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

in February 1689 and fought the depleted forces of James II in Scotland later that year. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Steenkerque, where it suffered heavy losses, in August 1692 and at the Siege of Namur in July 1695 during the Nine Years' War. The regiment suffered heavy losses again at the

Battle of Almansa The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charl ...

in April 1707 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 ...

and next fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715 during the

Jacobite rising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

. The regiment saw action at the

Battle of Dettingen The Battle of Dettingen (german: Schlacht bei Dettingen) took place on 27 June 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen in the Electorate of Mainz, Holy Roman Empire (now Karlstein am Main in Bavaria). It was fought between a ...

in June 1743, when Trooper George Daraugh bravely recovered the regimental standard that had been seized by a French officer during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. The regiment suffered a serious reverse when it was ambushed during a series of disastrous events leading up to

Fall of Ghent The Fall of Ghent occurred on 15 July 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession when a 5,000 strong French force under Ulrich Frédéric Woldemar, Comte de Lowendal surprised and captured the town of Ghent in the Austrian Netherlands. The All ...

in July 1745 and then fought bravely to mitigate the British defeat at the

Battle of Lauffeld The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a Fr ...

in July 1747. The regiment was formally titled as the 4th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751 and, having helped suppress the Gordon Riots in 1780, it was named for

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

as the 4th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons in 1788. 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 under

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 o ...

and then contributed to a successful ambush of the enemy at the

Battle of Usagre In the Battle of Usagre on 25 May 1811, Anglo-Allied cavalry commanded by Major-General William Lumley routed a French cavalry force led by Major-General Marie Victor Latour-Maubourg at the village of Usagre in the Peninsular War. Backg ...

in May 1811 during 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 Spain ...

. The regiment took part in a successful charge at 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, ...

in July 1812 and in the aftermath seized some of

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 of ...

's silver; it then fought at 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 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment was designated a light dragoons in 1818, becoming the 4th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and went to fight at the

Battle of Ghazni The Battle of Ghazni (or Ghuznee) took place in the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 23, 1839, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Prelude In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, feared a Rus ...

in July 1839 during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession d ...

. The regiment next saw action, as part of the light brigade under the command of Major General the

Earl of Cardigan Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England, currently held by the Marquesses of Ailesbury, and used as a courtesy title by the heir apparent to that Marquessate, currently David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan, son of the 8th Mar ...

, at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septem ...

in September 1854. The regiment was in the second line of cavalry on the right flank during the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. The brigade drove through the Russian artillery before smashing straight into the Russian cavalry and pushing them back; it was unable to consolidate its position, however, having insufficient forces and had to withdraw to its starting position, coming under further attack as it did so. The regiment lost four officers and 55 men in the debacle. Private Samuel Parkes 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 previously ...

during the charge for saving the life of a Trumpeter, Hugh Crawford. The regiment became the 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars in 1861.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

was commissioned as a cornet in the 4th Hussars in February 1895.

First World War

The regiment, which was based on the Curragh at the commencement of the

, landed in France as part of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade in the 2nd Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. The regiment took part in the

Great Retreat 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 Fro ...

in September 1914, 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 and 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. The regiment also helped halt the German advance at the Battle of Moreuil Wood in March 1918 in a conflict that saw the regiment’s commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel John Darley, killed in action.

Inter-war

The regiment was retitled as the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in 1921: it moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that year and remained there until 1931; the regiment mechanised in 1936 and was transferred to the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

in 1939.

Second World War

The regiment was posted to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

arriving on 31 December 1940 and as part of the 1st Armoured Brigade in the 6th Australian Infantry Division fought in the

Greek Campaign The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

. As the rearguard in the Corinth Canal Bridge action the regiment was overrun and surrendered losing all senior officers and over 400 men as prisoners of war. In June 1941, the regiment was reconstituted in Cairo and rejoined the 1st Armoured Brigade. Badly mauled during the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German an ...

in May 1942 and having lost almost an entire squadron, which had been attached to the

3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) The 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1901 from Second Boer War veterans of the Imperial Yeomanry. During the First World War it served dismounted at Gallipoli, was remount ...

, in June 1942, the regiment was temporarily amalgamated with one squadron from the (similarly depleted) 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars to form the 4th/8th Hussars for the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

in August 1942 and the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

in October 1942. The regiment fought with distinction in the Italian campaign during the allied advance into the Axis territories. Winston Churchill became Honorary Colonel of the Regiment in 1941 and served until amalgamation.

Post-war

After the Second World War, the 4th Hussars deployed to

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in March 1947 from where the regiment was sent to serve in the Federation of Malaya in September 1948. It returned to the UK in December 1951 and was then posted to Caen Barracks in

Hohne Hohne is a municipality in the state of Lower Saxony in Germany, east of the county town of Celle. It includes the three former parishes of Hohne, Helmerkamp and Spechtshorn. It should not be confused with the British Army camp of Hohne (German: ' ...

in September 1953. The regiment was slated for reduction in the

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

, and was amalgamated with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, to form the

in 1958.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is based at a new facility in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

known as "Trinity Mews": the museum opened in April 2022.

Battle Honours

The battle honours of the regiment were as follows: *''Early Wars'': Dettingen, Talavera, Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse, Peninsula, Ghuznee 1839,

Afghanistan 1839 Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Sevastopol *''The Great War'': Mons, 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 F ...

Marne 1914 Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nether ...

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, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, St. Julien, Bellewaarde, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917,

Cambrai 1917 Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Esc ...

, Somme 1918, Amiens,

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

, Canal du Nord,

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

, France and Flanders 1914-18 *''The Second World War'': Gazala, Defence of Alamein Line, Ruweisat, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein,

North Africa 1942 North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, Coriano, San Clemente, Senio Pocket, Rimini Line, Conventello-Comacchio, Senio, Santerno Crossing, Argenta Gap, Italy 1944-45, Proasteion, Corinth Canal,

Greece 1941 Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Victoria Cross

*Private Samuel Parkes,

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

(25 October 1854)

Regimental Colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows: *1685–1688: Brig-Gen. John Berkeley, 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge *1688: Col.

Thomas Maxwell Thomas Maxwell (February 16, 1792 – November 4, 1864) was an attorney and politician, serving for one term from 1829 to 1831 as a U.S. Representative from New York, as well as in county and state offices. Early life and education Thomas Maxw ...

*1688–1693: Brig-Gen. John Berkeley, 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge (''reappointed'') *1693–1710: Lt-Gen. Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex *1710–1713: F.M. Sir

Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham (24 October 1675 – 14 September 1749) was a British soldier and Whig politician. After serving as a junior officer under William III during the Williamite War in Ireland and during the Nine Years' War, h ...

*1713–1735: Gen. William Evans *1735–1768: F.M.

Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet Field Marshal Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet (3 July 1685 – 1 February 1768) was a British cavalry officer. As a junior officer he fought at the Battle of Schellenberg and at the Battle of Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession. He wa ...

;4th Regiment of Dragoons - (1751) *1768–1770: F.M. Hon.

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He ...

*1770–1788: Gen. Benjamin Carpenter ;4th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons - (1788) *1788–1797: F.M. John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, KB (Lord Braybrooke) *1797–1802: Gen. Sir Robert Sloper, KB *1802–1808: Gen. Sir

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 17 ...

, KB *1808–1836: Gen. Francis Hugonin ;4th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Light Dragoons - (1818) *1836–1841: Gen. Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset, GCB *1842–1847: Lt-Gen. Sir James Charles Dalbiac, KCH *1847–1861: Gen. Sir George Scovell, GCB ;4th (Queen's Own) Hussars - (1861) *1861–1865: Gen. Sir

James Hope Grant General Sir James Hope Grant, GCB (22 July 1808 – 7 March 1875) was a British Army officer. He served in the First Opium War, First Anglo-Sikh War, Indian Rebellion of 1857, and Second Opium War. Early life Grant was the fifth and youn ...

, GCB *1865–1874: Gen. William Lennox Lascelles Fitzgerald de Ros, 23rd Baron de Ros *1874–1880: Gen. Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget, KCB *1880–1881: Gen.

William Hampton Parlby General William Hampton Parlby was a senior British Army officer, who served in British cavalry regiments in India and the Crimean War. Family background William Parlby was born in India in what was known as the Bengal Presidency in 1801; his p ...

*1881–1904: Gen. Alexander Low, CB *1904–1919: Gen. Sir Alexander George Montgomery Moore, KCB *1919–1941: Maj-Gen. Sir Reginald Walter Ralph Barnes, KCB, DSO *1941–1958: Col. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, LLD, MP

References

External links

4th Light Dragoons
Private website researching the regiment between 1824 and 1860. {{British Cavalry Regiments World War I Cavalry regiments of the British Army Hussar regiments of the British Army 1685 establishments in England Military units and formations established in 1685 Queen's Own Hussars 004 H04 Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Military units and formations disestablished in 1958