The 10th Queen's Own Canadian Hussars (QOCH) was a cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

Non-Permanent Active Militia The Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) was the military reserve force of Canada from 1855 to 1940. It was composed of several dozen infantry battalions (redesignated as regiments in 1900) and cavalry regiments. After the withdrawal of British ...

(this was the name of the part-time volunteer Canadian Armed Forces before the formation of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

in 1940) which existed between 1856–1913 and 1928–1936. Although the unit did not take part in any fixed actions of its own various officers and men were incorporated as volunteers into Canadian Expeditionary Forces overseas such as the Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Second Boer War, where some distinguished themselves such as Lieutenant-General Richard Turner who, as a lieutenant serving with The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD), won the Victoria Cross at Leliefontein, one of three members of The RCD who were given the award for the same action.

History

The

was originally raised on 13 November 1856 at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

with the name the Queen's Own Canadian Hussars and was, until 1880, the only

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

regiment in the

province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. Between 1900 and 1913 it was part of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, 5th Division, in Military District No 5. Renamed the 10th Queen's Own Canadian Hussars in 1903. It was disbanded on 15 August 1913. On 1 August 1928 the 10th were re-raised, again in Quebec City, but disbanded permanently on 1 February 1936 along with 13 other regiments as part of the 1936 Canadian Militia Reorganization. Although not sent as a unit to the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, some personnel volunteered to serve with the Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR) which was raised to soldier in that campaign. Various sources list individuals from the QOCH who were attached to the CMR (First Contingent) such as the following members of "E" Company (

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

): *Dynes, E. J. *Home, F. *Lee, F. *Sheehan, M. *Tregett, J. Amongst the number who volunteered for service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

was 29-year-old Richard Turner who had been commissioned into the QOCH as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, rising to the rank of major. In order to serve overseas he dropped rank to lieutenant and joined the

Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of the ...

. During his service there he gained the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

along with two other RCD soldiers, Lieutenant Hampden Cockburn and Sergeant Edward Holland. Turner was given command of the 10th QOCH as a lieutenant-colonel. He was eventually promoted to lieutenant-general during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

although his career finished ignominiously after a

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...

incident near the town of St. Eloi in September 1916. This resulted in him being removed from command and given administrative jobs for the rest of his time with the Canadian forces.

Uniform and badge

The uniform was similar to that of Imperial hussar regiments, dark blue with gold frogging on the jacket and a double yellow stripe on the trouser. Unlike other Canadian hussar regiments the QOCH also wore a busby similar to their Imperial cousins. The rest of the Canadian hussars (with the exception of the

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

) wore a white pith helmet until they replaced them with busbies in the early 1900s. The badge had a blackened silver maple leaf is the central device and was attached to the main body by two pins. The rest of the badge is gilded. The collar dogs (badges worn on the lapel) were all gilt.

Notable members

* Lt General Richard Turner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:10th Queen's Own Canadian Hussars Hussar regiments of Canada Military units and formations of Quebec Military units and formations established in 1856 1856 establishments in Canada 1913 disestablishments in Canada 1928 establishments in Canada 1928 establishments in Quebec 1936 disestablishments in Canada Military units and formations disestablished in 1936 Canadian military history articles needing attention to coverage and accuracy Canadian military history articles needing attention to referencing and citation Canadian military history articles needing attention to supporting materials

History

Uniform and badge

Notable members

See also

References

External links