1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in 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 A ...

of 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 ...

. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, 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 conscripted ...

recruits from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and the bordering English counties of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, and

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment of the line of the

History

The current regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of 1st King's Dragoon Guards (raised in 1685 by Sir John Lanier as Lanier's or the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse in response to the Monmouth Rebellion) and the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) (raised in 1685 by the

Earl of Peterborough Earl of Peterborough was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for John Mordaunt, 5th Baron Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for earlier history of the family). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, the second Earl. He was ...

as Peterborough's or the 3rd Regiment of Horse, also in response to the Monmouth Rebellion). The regiment has spent much of its history based in Germany. It served during the

Aden Emergency The Aden Emergency, also known as the Radfan Uprising (), was an armed rebellion by NLF and FLOSY during the Cold War against the Federation of South Arabia, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which now forms part of Yemen. Partly inspire ...

in 1966 and 1967 and its squadrons were dispersed throughout the Middle East during that time. Perhaps the best known member in the 1970s was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Mark Phillips Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in Briti ...

, one-time husband of The Princess Anne: they married in 1973. In 1983, the regiment was deployed to Lebanon in support of the allied

Multinational Force A Multinational force is a multinational operation which may be defensive, offensive, or for peacekeeping purposes. In multinational operations, many countries form an alliance to carry them out. Multinational forces include: * Supreme Headquart ...

, in 1990 it was sent to the Middle East for the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and in 1996 it was deployed to Bosnia as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

peacekeeping forces during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

. In 2003, the regiment served in Iraq during the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

providing the reconnaissance and light armour support necessary to allow

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

's advance north to

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

. On their return from Iraq in 2005, Brigadier Rose of 3 Commando Brigade presented the Regiment with the Commando Dagger in recognition of the superb relationship between 'C' Squadron and the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

during the liberation of Iraq. It is of note that this squadron had the distinction of spending one of the longest periods of constant contact with the enemy for 20 days or so during this operation. In 2006, the QDG deployed again to Iraq on Op TELIC 8 and oversaw the successful transfer of Al Muthanna province back to Iraqi control. At the end of 2007, the Regiment left

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

and moved to Dempsey Barracks, Sennelager where they trained for a six-month deployment to

Afghanistan 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 ...

as part of 3 Commando Brigade. Here they carried out a variety of frontline tasks across

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

. QDG were the first Formation Reconnaissance Regiment to deploy to Helmand as the Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Group (ISTAR Gp) on

Operation HERRICK Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...

15 in 2011. The ISTAR Gp consisted of HQ Squadron, 'C' Squadron, 'D' Squadron QRH, an Intelligence Company, K Battery 5 Regt RA and 11 UAV Battery with 'B' Squadron initially detached to the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Battlegroup but joining the remainder of the Regiment towards the end of the tour. The regiment celebrated its fiftieth anniversary on 31 July 2009 with a ceremony at

Cardiff castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

and a parade through the streets of Cardiff city, both attended by the Colonel-in-Chief

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

. The regiment received a great response from the people of Cardiff. That same year, the unit was also awarded with the

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

In 2012, the regiment were called in to provide security for the 2012 London Olympics with composite squadrons focused on supporting the beach volleyball and securing the athletes village. In May of that year, there was speculation that the unit would become a victim of the defence budget cuts. As it was one of only three regiments historically associated with and one that still largely recruits from Wales, there was much support from the Welsh public to keep the QDG. However, Ministry of Defence officials announced no such plan has been made. As part of the

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

plans, most units based in Germany returned to the UK and the QDG moved to

Robertson Barracks Robertson Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in the Northern Territory of Australia within the suburb of Holtze in the Municipality of Litchfield about east of the Darwin city centre. The barracks were built during the 1990s. Th ...

Swanton Morley Swanton Morley is a village and civil parish situated in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre of Norwich and three miles from Dereham, at the geographical centre of Norfolk. It covers an ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in June 2015. They have re-roled as "light cavalry", using Jackal vehicles. In 2014, the Regiment deployed on the final British combat deployment to

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

on Operation HERRICK 20. Battlegroup Headquarters worked alongside the senior leadership of 3/215 Brigade of the Afghan Army. 'A' Squadron worked with the Afghan Army to develop the latter's capabilities and professionalism in a training capacity. 'B' Squadron formed the Afghan National Security Forces Liaison Team, patrolling to the forward operating bases across the southern part of the province. 'C' Squadron formed the Brigade Reconnaissance Force. In 2018, the QDG conducted two tours of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Operation Cabrit Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Central and Northern Europe. This posture in Central Europe through Poland and Northern Europe through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, is i ...

providing the role for NATO as the enhanced forward presence in order to protect and reassure NATO's Central and Northern European member states on NATO's eastern flank of their security. As part of the Future Soldier programme, the regiment will remain in their light cavalry role but move to

Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important settle ...

'not before' 2027. In 2022 the regiment is due to be re-subordinated to an unknown formation and be re-structured by June 2024.

Operational role

Coyote Tactical Support Vehicle (TSV) MOD 45152545

The regiment operates in a light cavalry role and is now equipped with

Jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

2 armoured fighting vehicles.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is displayed at Firing Line: Cardiff Castle Museum of the Welsh Soldier in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Uniform, cap badge and march

In 1896, Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards and allowed the regiment to wear the Austrian imperial coat of arms, which is still used as the regiment's

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

today; the collar badge is that of The Queen's Bays. Also the regiment adopted an Austrian military march,

Radetzky March "Radetzky March", Op. 228, is a march composed by Johann Strauss Sr. and dedicated to Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. First performed on 31 August 1848 in Vienna, it soon became popular among regimented marching soldiers. It has bee ...

, as quick march. The current Regimental March is the Radetzky March and Rusty Buckles, the latter being the Regimental March of The Queen's Bays. Other items of uniform draw on the regiment's dual heritage: thus, whilst the cap of 1st King's Dragoon Guards (with dark blue velvet strip and piping) is worn, trousers have the distinctive broad white stripe of The Queen's Bays. Full dress is still worn by some on ceremonial occasions: the 1st King's Dragoon Guards tunic (scarlet with blue velvet facings) being paired with Queen's Bays white-striped overalls. The KDG red-plumed brass cavalry helmet is also worn, together with pouch belts and other accoutrements. In the QDG

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

s wear two chevrons, corporals wear two chevrons surmounted by a rank badge consisting of the Bay's emblem, which is worn by all senior NCOs. Squadron quartermaster sergeants wear four chevrons with rank badge, the whole surmounted by a crown.

Battle honours

* Combined battle honours of 1st King's Dragoon Guards, and 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), plus: * Wadi al-Batin,

Gulf 1991 A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

Commanding officers

The Commanding Officers have been: *1959–1960: Lt.-Col. H C Selby *1960–1962: Lt.-Col. Jack W. Harman *1962–1964: Lt.-Col. Peter R. Body *1964–1967: Lt.-Col. Thomas W. Muir *1967–1969: Lt.-Col. George N. Powell *1969–1971: Lt.-Col. John H. Lidsey *1971–1973: Lt.-Col. Maurice R. Johnston *1973–1975: Lt.-Col. Robin C. Middleton *1975–1977: Lt.-Col. Robert W. Ward *1977–1980: Lt.-Col. John I. Pocock *1980–1982: Lt.-Col. Charles H. Bond *1982–1985: Lt.-Col. J. Gordon G. de P. Ferguson *1985–1987: Lt.-Col. Eric J. K. O’Brien *1987–1990: Lt.-Col. Michael G. Boissard *1990–1992: Lt.-Col.

Christopher Mackenzie-Beevor Colonel Christopher David Mackenzie-Beevor (born 10 April 1949) is a British courtier who was Lieutenant of Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms from 2018 to 2019 and Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant from 2016 to 2017. He was educated at King' ...

*1992–1994: Lt.-Col. Mark R. M. Eliot *1994–1997: Lt.-Col. Hamish L. A. Macdonald *1997–1999: Lt.-Col. Simon V. Mayall *1999–2001: Lt.-Col. Patrick J. Andrews *2001–2003: Lt.-Col. Gilbert T. Baldwin *2003–2005: Lt.-Col. Timothy R. Wilson *2005–2007: Lt.-Col. Anthony J. Pittman *2007–2010: Lt.-Col. Alan S. Richmond *2010–2012: Lt.-Col. Jasper J. De Quincey Adams *2012–2015: Lt.-Col. William H. L. Davies *2015–2017: Lt.-Col. Daniel B. Duff *2017–2019: Lt.-Col. Justin G. E. Stenhouse *2019–2022: Lt.-Col. Hugo T. Lloyd *2022–Present: Lt.-Col. Chris Kierstead

Colonels-in-chief

Colonels-in-chief were as follows: *1959: Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother *2003: Field Marshal Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales

Regimental colonels

Regimental colonels were as follows: *1959–1961: Brig. John Gerard Edward Tiarks *1961–1964: Col. George William Charles Draffen *1964–1968: Col. Kenneth Edward Savill *1968–1975: Brig. Anthony William Allen Llewellyn-Palmer *1975–1980: Gen. Sir Jack Wentworth Harman ADCGen *1980–1986: Maj. Gen. Desmond Hind Garrett Rice *1986–1991: Lt Gen. Sir

Maurice Robert Johnston Lieutenant General Sir Maurice Robert Johnston (born 27 October 1929) is a retired British Army officer. He served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operational Requirements) from 1981 to 1982, and Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire from 1996 to ...

*1991–1997: Maj. Gen. Robert William Ward *1997–2002: Col. John Ievers Pocock *2002–2007: Col. Christopher David MacKenzie-Beevor *2007–2019: Lt Gen. Sir

Simon Mayall Lieutenant General Sir Simon Vincent Mayall, (born 7 March 1956) is a retired British Army officer and a Middle East Adviser at the Ministry of Defence. Early life Mayall was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, Balliol College, Oxfor ...

*2019–present: Brig. Alan Richmond

Alliances

Royal Navy * HMS ''Monmouth'' Affiliated Regiment *The

Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the United Kingdom's Territorial Army. It served in the armoured replacement role, providing replacement tank crews for regular armoured regiments. History The regiment was fo ...

Allied Royal Air Force Squadron * IV Squadron

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Affiliation *The

Worshipful Company of Leathersellers The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The organisation originates from the latter part of the fourteenth century and received its Royal Charter in 1444, and is therefore t ...

Commonwealth * –

The Governor General's Horse Guards The Governor General's Horse Guards is an armoured reconnaissance regiment in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Army. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group and is based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the most sen ...

* – 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers * – 1 Special Service Battalion * – 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force) * – 1st Reconnaissance Regiment Non-Commonwealth * – Panzergrenadierbataillon 35 * – 1er Régiment Étranger de Cavalerie(Twinned Regiment)

Order of precedence

References

External links

Official siteQDG Regimental Comrades Association1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
–

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public body. ...

British Army Locations from 1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards - The Welsh Cavalry 1-001 Queen's Dragoon Guards Royal Armoured Corps Dragoon Guards Military units and formations in Wales Military units and formations in Cardiff Military units and formations established in 1959 1959 establishments in the United Kingdom