The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a

cavalry regiment Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

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 Gur ...

. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabiniers) in 1756 and the 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1788. After two centuries of service, 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 fig ...

, the regiment was amalgamated with the 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922.

History

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 ...

was raised during the reign of James II, by

Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough (1650 – 17 December 1721), was an English soldier and statesman best known for his role in the Glorious Revolution. Origins Lumley was the son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and the grandson of Rich ...

, who recruited an independent troop of horse in response to the 1685

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ire ...

. It was subsequently used to create Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse, and ranked as the 9th Regiment of Horse; the

Queen Dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...

then gave approval for Lumley to use the title The Queen Dowager's Horse. Lumley was removed in early 1687 for refusing to admit Catholic officers, and replaced by the loyalist Sir John Talbot. Sir George Hewett took over after the 1688 Glorious Revolution, but died in 1689 during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called the ...

, and was followed by Richard Beverley. In 1690, it became the 8th Regiment of Horse; transferred 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 ...

for the Nine Years' War, it was renamed The King's Regiment of Carabineers in 1692. The regiment was ranked as the 7th Horse in 1694 and it fought at the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied v ...

in August 1704 and the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...

in May 1706 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, Phili ...

. The regiment was renamed the His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740 and it took part in the response to the Jacobite rising in 1745. It was then transferred to the Irish establishment in 1746 and re-ranked as the 3rd Horse. It was next re-designated the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabiniers) in 1756 and then transferred back to the British establishment as the 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1788. It saw action in Flanders again in 1793 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, Pruss ...

. It then became the 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards (Carabineers) in 1826. It saw action at the Siege of Sevastopol during the

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 t ...

and was deployed 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 bord ...

in the late 1870s during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

. Following the outbreak of 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 ...

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

, the regiment was sent there in November 1899. They took part in the

relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try ...

in February 1900. After the war ended in June 1902, the Carabiniers was transferred to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, as part of the Madras command. 500 officers and men left Natal for India that August. In 1906, the regiment took part in the parade at the Grand Durbar (the visit of the

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

and

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Briti ...

to Bangalore). It landed in France at the outbreak of the

as part of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division on 16 August 1914 for service on the Western Front. It took part in the

Battle of Mons 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 fo ...

in August 1914, the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

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 Fir ...

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 before going on to see further action at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in Autumn 1916, the Battle of Arras in April 1917 and the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. In October 1922, the regiment was amalgamated with the 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards.

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is held in the Cheshire Military Museum at

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining par ...

. Some items are also held by the

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum is a regimental museum displaying the collections of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and its predecessor regiments. It is based in the New Barracks (built between 1796 and 1799) at Edinburgh Castle in Scotlan ...

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: * ''Early Wars'': Blenheim, Ramillies,

Oudenarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

, Malplaquet,

Warburg Warburg (; Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter distr ...

, Willems,

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, Delhi 1857, Afghanistan 1879-80,

Relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try ...

, Paardeberg,

South Africa 1899-1902 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 Sout ...

*''The Great War'':

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. ...

, 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 Fro ...

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) Netherl ...

, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915, St. Julien, Bellewaarde, Arras 1917 Scarpe 1917, Cambrai 1917 '18, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Lys, Hazebrouck, Amiens, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Selle, Sambre, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18.

Colonels

The regiment's colonels were as follows:

1685 The Queen Dowager's Regiment of Horse

*1685 Lieutenant-General

*1687 Brigadier-General Sir John Talbot *1688 Colonel Sir George Hewett, 1st Viscount Hewett *1689 Colonel Richard Beverley

1692 The King's Regiment of Carabineers

*1692 Lieutenant-General Hugh Wyndham *1706 Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes *1712 Colonel Leigh Backwell *1715 Brigadier-General Richard Waring *1721 Field Marshal

Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon Field Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, PC (1675 – 20 December 1740) was a British Army officer and statesman. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of the Boyne during the Williamite War in Ireland and at the Battle of Lan ...

*1727 Lieutenant-General George MacCartney *1730 Major-General Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine KB *1731 Field Marshal

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 ...

*1733 Major-General

Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart (1686 – 20 December 1740) was a British Army officer. Before 1732 he was known as The Honourable Charles Cathcart. Family He was the second son of Alan Cathcart, 7th Lord Cathcart by his wife Elizabeth, da ...

1740 His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers

*1740 Lieutenant-General Phineas Bowles *1749 General Hon.

James Cholmondeley James Cholmondeley (18 April 1708 – 13 October 1775) was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament between 1731 and 1747. He fought at Fontenoy and during the 1745 Rising commanded a brigade at the Battle of Falkirk, where he suffered ...

*1750 Lieutenant-General

George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, PC (26 January 1716 – 26 August 1785), styled The Honourable George Sackville until 1720, Lord George Sackville from 1720 to 1770 and Lord George Germain from 1770 to 1782, was a British soldier and p ...

1756 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabiniers)

*1757 Lieutenant-General

Louis Dejean Louis Dejean (June 9, 1872 in Paris – January 6, 1953 in Paris), was a French sculptor and engraver. He worked in the workshop of Gaston Schnegg, along with Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Despiau, Robert Wlérick, Léon-Ernest Drivier, Franço ...

*1764 Lieutenant-General Edward Harvey *1775 General Sir

William Augustus Pitt General Sir William Augustus Pitt KB, PC (c. 1728 – 29 December 1809) was a long-serving if undistinguished senior officer of the British Army whose sixty years of service covered several major wars and numerous postings as garrison or re ...

KB *1780 General Sir John Irwin KB

1788 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards

*1788 General

Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton General Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton PC (7 August 1743 – 25 April 1821) was an Anglo-Irish politician and soldier. He was the son of Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton and brother-in-law of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland ...

*1821 General Hon. Robert Taylor

1826 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards (Carabineers)

*1839 General Sir

Thomas Hawker Thomas Hawker (died 1699 or c.1722) was an English portrait painter. There is little clear historical information about Hawker. George Vertue recorded that Hawker moved into Sir Peter Lely's house after the latter's death in 1680, in the hop ...

KCB *1858 Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Kennedy Clark-Kennedy KCB KH *1860 General Sir James Jackson GCB KH *1868 Lieutenant-General Sir

John Rowland Smyth Colonel Sir John Rowland Smyth (1803 — 14 May 1873) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army who saw service in British India. Early life and education Smyth was born at Ballynatray House, Templemichael, County Waterford, the fifth and ...

KCB *1873 General Henry Richmond Jones CB *1880 General

George Calvert Clarke General George Calvert Clarke, (23 July 1814''UK, British Army Lists, 1882–1962'' – 9 February 1900), was a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War. Clarke was born in 1814, and commissioned a cornet in the 2nd (Royal North Bri ...

CB *1891 Lieutenant-General Charles Sawyer *1892 Major-General Sir Alexander James Hardy Elliot KCB *1902 Lieutenant-General Sir

John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician) (died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

KCB *1917 Major-General Henry Peregrine Leader CB * ''1922: regiment amalgamated with the 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards''

Uniforms and Insignia

The original uniform of the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Horse is recorded as including a red coat lined with green. In common with other regiments of Horse,

cuirasses A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cuirac ...

were worn until 1699. In 1715 the regimental facing colour was changed to pale yellow. In 1768 white lapels were adopted by Royal Warrant. Silver

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales ...

s were worn by the officers. In 1812 a new model of leather helmet was issued, carrying the title of "6th Dragoon Guards or Carabiniers". In 1861 a complete change of uniform was authorized by Queen Victoria, following the conversion of the regiment to a light cavalry role and appearance. Thereafter until 1914 the full dress of the regiment was entirely dark blue with white facings. Although the designation of Dragoon Guards was retained, the 6th was the only dragoon regiment in the British Army to wear dark blue tunics instead of scarlet. After 1873, a white plume was worn on the brass helmet. The distinctive feature of the collar and cap badges as worn from 1900 and 1902 respectively, was the appearance of crossed carbines under a crown and above the regimental title.

References

Sources

External links

{{Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Cavalry regiments of the British Army DG6 Regiments of the British Army in the Crimean War Dragoon Guards 1685 establishments in England Military units and formations established in 1685 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922