The 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, created in 1858. After serving in the

First World War 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 ...

, it was amalgamated with the 15th The King's Hussars to form the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars in 1922.

History

Early history

The regiment was originally raised in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

as the 1st Bengal European Light Cavalry in 1858, for service in the response to the Indian Rebellion., regiments.org During the rebellion, a lieutenant of the regiment,

Hugh Henry Gough General (United Kingdom), General Sir Hugh Henry Gough ( ; 14 November 1833 – 12 May 1909) was a senior British Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be aw ...

, received 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 ...

. As with all other "European" units of the Company, they were placed under the command of the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

in 1858, and subsequently formally moved into the British Army in 1862 when they were designated as

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s as the 19th Hussars. At this time, the regiment was authorised to inherit the

battle honour 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 Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s of the disbanded 19th Light Dragoons. John French, who later became a field marshal, joined the regiment as a junior officer in March 1874. The regiment saw action at

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in September 1882 during the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

and the regiment took possession of the wells, which were a vital resource in desert warfare, at the

Battle of Abu Klea The Battle of Abu Klea, also known as the Battle of Abu Tulayh, took place between 16 and 18 January 1885, at Abu Klea, Sudan, between the British Desert Column and Muhammad Ahmad, Mahdist forces encamped near Abu Klea. The Desert Column, a for ...

in January 1885 during the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...

. It also fought at the Siege of Ladysmith in winter 1899 during 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 ...

. The regiment was titled the 19th (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) Hussars after Alexandra, Princess of Wales in 1902 and, when Alexandra became Queen Consort in 1908, the name changed to the 19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars.

First World War

With the outbreak of the

, the regiment was split up, with squadrons attached to the 4th, 5th and 6th Infantry Divisions as divisional cavalry squadrons; all three divisions moved to France with the British Expeditionary Force, and saw action in the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914, the Retreat from Mons later that month, the Battle of the Marne in September 1914, the Battle of the Aisne later that month and the Battle of Armentières in October 1914. The regiment was brought together again in April 1915, and attached to the 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division, with whom it served for the remainder of the war. It saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in spring 1915, gaining battle honours for the Battle of St Julien in April 1915 and the Battle of Frezenberg in May 1915. The regiment went on to fight at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916, part of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. It also served at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, at the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 and at the Pursuit to Mons in autumn 1918. The regiment was retitled 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own) in 1921 and shortly thereafter disbanded when stationed in Muttra, India, as part of the post-War reduction in forces. Most of the officers and men were transferred to other cavalry regiments in India, and a cadre was briefly resurrected in 1922 in order to amalgamate with the 15th The King's Hussars, to form the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is held by the Discovery Museum in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Battle honours

The regiment’s battle honours were as follows: *''Early wars'': Mysore, Seringapatam, Assaye, Niagara, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882 '84, Abu Klea, Nile 1884-85, Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902 *''The Great War'': Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 '18, Flers-Courcelette, Cambrai 1917 '18, St Quentin, Rosières, Amiens, Albert 1918, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914-18

Victoria Cross

* William Thomas Marshall, Quartermaster Sergeant in the Sudan campaign, 29 February 1884 Victoria Cross Winners- Pre 1914

Colonel-in-Chief

* 1914:

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

(died 1925)

Regimental colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: ;1st Bengal European Light Cavalry (renamed 1st Bengal European Cavalry, 1859) *1858 Maj-Gen. Thomas Mathew Taylor ;19th Hussars (1862) *1862–1865: Gen. William Pattle *1865–1872: Gen. John Hall *1872–1889: Gen. John Yorke, CB *1889–1902: Lt-Gen. Coote Synge-Hutchinson ;19th (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) Hussars, 1902 (renamed 19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars, 1908 and 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own), 1921) *1902–1921: F.M. Sir John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG (to 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars) *''1921 regiment disbanded'' *''one squadron re-formed and amalgamated with 15th The King's Hussars to form the 15th/19th Hussars''

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Cavalry regiments of the British Army Hussar regiments of the British Army Honourable East India Company regiments Military units and formations established in 1857 H19 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 1858 establishments in India