The 7th 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 formed in 1689. 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 ...

. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but following 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 ...

, it was amalgamated with the

3rd The King's Own Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...

, forming the Queen's Own Hussars in 1958.

History

Formation; 17th Century

In April 1689, several Independent Troops of Scots Horse were formed as a short-term response to the 1689-1691 Jacobite Rising in Scotland. These were re-organised in December 1690 as two regiments, one commanded by Colonel Richard Cunningham and in line with prevailing practice, it was known as Cunningham's Regiment of Scots Dragoons. In February 1694, it was transferred onto the English military establishment and shipped to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, where it took part in operations associated with the 1695 Siege of Namur. All participants in the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

were financially exhausted, and there was little military activity after the fall of Namur. On 1 October 1696, Cunningham was promoted to Brigadier-General; Lord Jedburgh succeeded him and the regiment became Jedburgh's Regiment of Dragoons.

Wars of the 18th Century

The regiment spent most of the 1702-1714

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 ...

based in Edinburgh; in 1707, Jedburgh transferred the Colonelcy to

Lord Polwarth Lord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 (the baronetcy had been created in t ...

, who sold it to William Kerr in 1709.Cannon, p. 20 In 1711, Kerr's Dragoons joined the field army in Flanders but the war was winding down and the regiment disbanded in 1714, before being reconstituted in July 1715 by

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...

, as HRH the Princess of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons, in honour of Princess Caroline. During the

1715 Jacobite rising The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...

, it fought at

Sheriffmuir Sheriffmuir (or Sheriff Muir; Scottish Gaelic: Sliabh an t-Siorraim), the site of the inconclusive 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir (part of the Jacobite rising of 1715), lies on the slopes of the Ochil Hills in Scotland, just inside the Perthshire ...

, but this was its only significant action until 1743. Renamed The Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons after the coronation of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

in 1727; William Kerr finally stepped down in 1741 and Sir John Cope took over as Colonel. The unit returned to Flanders in 1742 during the 1740-1748

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 ...

, taking part in the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, Rocoux and finally Lauffeld in July 1747.Cannon, p. 35-37 The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war and the regiment returned to England.Cannon, p. 38 When the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

began in 1756, the regiment took part in the June 1758

Raid on St Malo The Raid on St Malo took place in June 1758 when an amphibious British naval expedition landed close to the French port of St Malo in Brittany. While the town itself was not attacked, as had been initially planned, the British destroyed large a ...

, at which 100 enemy vessels were burned, the

Raid on Cherbourg The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy ...

in August 1758 and the

Battle of Warburg The Battle of Warburg was a battle fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against a slightly larger French army. The victory meant the Anglo-German allies had successful ...

in July 1760. In 1783, it was classed as 'light dragoons,' light cavalry used for reconnaissance and retitled the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. During the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

, it fought at

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

in April 1794 and Willems in May.Cannon, p. 35

Wars of the 19th Century

Charge des hussards britanniques à Benavente, le 29 décembre 1808

In 1807, the regiment was designated as Hussars and retitled 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars). Sent to Corunna in October 1808 to support Sir John Moore's retreat, they fought at the Battle of Sahagún on 21 December 1808 and Benavente on 29th. Part of the Queen's Own was shipped home in the ''Dispatch,'' which was wrecked just south of

the Lizard The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

on 22 January 1809; 104 men were lost from the regiment, only seven in total were saved. The unit returned to the Peninsula in August 1813 and made several charges at the February 1814 Battle of Orthes,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

reporting that ''the 7th Hussars distinguished themselves on this occasion and made many prisoners.'' In March 1814, the unit moved to Brighton, where it was used to put down rioting caused by the imposition of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They wer ...

. When Napoleon was restored in 1815, the regiment returned to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

; during the rearguard action at Genappe on 17 June, Lord Uxbridge ordered it to attack French lancers under Colonel Jean Baptiste Joseph Sourd. The following day, at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, the regiment was held in reserve until the evening, but then again undertook a series of charges. Standish O'Grady, then a lieutenant in the 7th Hussars, wrote to his father:

"We charged twelve or fourteen times, and once cut off a squadron of cuirassiers, every man of whom we killed on the spot except the two officers and one Marshal de Logis, whom I sent to the rear".

In May 1838 the regiment was deployed to Canada as part of the response to the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...

The Indian Mutiny

7th Hussars, charging a body of the Mutineer's Cavalry

The regiment was deployed to India in late 1857 as part of the response to the Indian Rebellion. Cornet William Bankes, died fighting off his attackers in an incident at

Musa Bagh Musa Bagh ( hi, मूसा बाग़, ur, , translation: ''Garden of Moses''), also known as Monsieur Bagh, is an extensive garden complex in the city of Lucknow of the Awadh region of India India, officially the Republic of Indi ...

in March 1858 and Major Charles Fraser saved three non-swimmers from the regiment stranded in the middle of a sandbank on the River Rapti in December 1858. The regiment's title was simplified in 1861 as the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars. The regiment provided a contingent for the Nile Expedition in autumn 1884. The regiment was deployed to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in November 1901 and was stationed at Leeuwkop 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 South ...

First World War

The regiment, which had been stationed in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

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 ...

as part of the 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade in November 1917. The regiment took part in the action of Khan Baghdadi in March 1918 and the

Battle of Sharqat The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mud ...

in October 1918. 7th Queen's Own Hussars uniform

After service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1921. The regiment, which was re-equipped with Mark II tanks, 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 had been converted to tanks in 1937 and subsequently been trained in Cairo giving them a reasonable advantage. Although they might have thought that they were misplaced in Egypt, when Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940, that thought quickly slipped their mind. They formed part of the

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

in the 7th Armoured Division and were joined by the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

and the 11th Hussars. On 14 June 1940 the 7th Hussars, with a company of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and a battery of 4th Royal Horse artillery captured Fort Capuzzo, while the 11th Hussars captured

La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', sc, Sa Madalena) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. The main town of the same name is loca ...

. They took part in the

Battle of Sidi Barrani A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in December 1940 and at the

Battle of Bardia The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian ...

in January 1941.

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

created the

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

under the command of General Erwin Rommel to re-inforce the Italians: in April 1941, the allied troops in

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

were cut off by the Germans and Italians but in June 1941 the 7th Armoured Division was again prepared for battle as part of

Operation Battleaxe Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a significa ...

, having received new tanks and additional personnel. Rommel then started to push the Allies back into

Egypt 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 Medit ...

. The regiment helped delay Rommel's advance although the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Freddie Byass and many others were killed at the Battle of Sidi Rezegh in November 1941. IWM-E-6724-Crusader-19411126

In January 1942 the regiment was sent to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and engaged with the Japanese Army at

Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...

. Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander spoke highly of the regiment when he said:

"Without them we should never have got the Army out of Burma; no praise can be too high for them."

The regiment was ordered to destroy its tanks as it crossed the Chindwin River in May 1942. It then re-deployed to the Italian Front and, having been seconded to the Polish 2nd Corps, fought at the first

Battle of Ancona The Battle of Ancona was a battle involving forces from Poland serving as part of the British Army against German forces that took place from 16 June–18 July 1944 during the Italian campaign in World War II. The battle was the result of an All ...

in June 1944 and in the battles for the Gothic Line in autumn 1944. The Polish Army granted the regiment the privilege of wearing the "Maid of Warsaw" for their "Magnificent work – fine examples of heroism and successful action". The regiment reached

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

in October 1944 and then took part in the battle for the Po plains in the spring of 1945.

Post-war

The regiment was deployed to Bournemouth Barracks in Soltau, in Northern Germany in June 1946. It returned to the UK in December 1947 and then moved to Alma Barracks in

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

in 1949 and to Lumsden Barracks in

Bad Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and has held the title of ...

in October 1951. The regiment was sent to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in 1954 and returned home in 1957. It survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in the

, and was amalgamated with the

, to form the Queen's Own Hussars in 1958.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is moving to 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": it is due to open in 2019.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *''Early wars'': Dettingen, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Orthes, Peninsula, Waterloo, Lucknow, South Africa 1901-02 *''The Great War'': Khan Baghdadi, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1917-18 *''The Second World War'': Egyptian Frontier 1940, Beda Fomm, Sidi Rezegh 1941, North Africa 1940–41, Ancona, Rimini Line, Italy 1944–45, Pegu, Paungde, Burma 1942

Victoria Crosses

*Lieutenant General Sir Charles Craufurd Fraser *Cornet William George Hawtry Bankes

Regimental Colonels

The regimental colonels were as follows: ;The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (1690) *1690–1696: Brig-Gen. Richard Cunningham *1696–1707: Lt-Gen.

William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian Lieutenant-General William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian, (1661 – 28 February 1722) was a Scottish peer who held a number of minor military and political offices. He was known by the courtesy title of Lord Newbattle until 1692, when he su ...

, KT (Lord Jedburgh) *1707–1709: Col. Patrick Hume, Baron Polwarth *1709–1714: Lt-Gen. Hon. William Kerr *''disbanded 1714'' ;The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (reformed 1715) *1715–1741: Lt-Gen. Hon. William Kerr (''reappointed'') ;The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons - (1727) *1741–1760: Lt-Gen. Sir John Cope, KB ;7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons - (1751) *1760–1763: Gen. John Mostyn *1763–1779: F.M. Sir George Howard, KB *1779–1795: Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, KB (senior) ;7th (or Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons - (1783) *1795–1801: Gen. Sir David Dundas, GCB *1801–1842: F.M. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH ;7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) - (1807) *1842–1846: Lt-Gen. Sir James Kearney, KCH *1846–1864: Gen. Sir William Tuyll, KCH ;7th (Queen's Own) Hussars - (1861) *1864: Gen. James Alexander St. Clair Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn *1866–1873: Maj-Gen. Sir John Scott, KCB *1873–1879: Col. Charles Hagart, CB *1879–1884: Gen.

Henry Roxby Benson Henry Roxby Benson (2 November 1818 – 23 January 1892) was a 19th-century British General. Life Benson was born Camberwell into a distinguished Welsh family, the second son of merchant Thomas Starling Benson and his second wife, Elizabeth M ...

, CB *1884–1896: Lt-Gen. William Thomas Dickson *1896–1907: Maj-Gen. Robert Hale *1907–1924: Maj-Gen. Sir Hugh McCalmont, KCB, CVO ;7th Queen's Own Hussars - (1921) *1924–1946: Maj-Gen. Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, KG, PC, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO, ADC *1946–1948: Col. Geoffrey Fielden, OBE *1948–1952: Col. Thomas Anson Thornton, CVO *1952–1958: Maj-Gen.

Ralph Younger Major-General Ralph Younger (12 July 1904 – 2 August 1985) was a British Army officer. Military career Younger was commissioned into the 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1925. He served as commanding officer of the 3rd Carabiniers in Burma in 1942 ...

, CB, CBE, DSO, MC *1958 Amalgamated with

to form the '' Queen's Own Hussars''

References

Bibliography

*Anon. A Short History of the Seventh Queen's Own Hussars from 1689 to 1932.

Gale & Polden Gale and Polden was a British printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media m ...

Ltd. Aldershot. 1932. * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:7th Queen's Own Hussars Cavalry regiments of the British Army Hussar regiments of the British Army 1689 establishments in England Military units and formations established in 1689 Queen's Own Hussars 007 H07 Military units and formations disestablished in 1958 Caroline of Ansbach