The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers 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 ...

first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including 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 ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in 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 wa ...

, and was amalgamated with the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...

to form the

9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. In the later years of its existence, the regiment served ...

in 1960.

History

Early wars

The regiment of

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

was raised in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

by Brigadier-General Phineas Bowles as the Phineas Bowles's Regiment of Dragoons in July 1715 as part of the response to the Jacobite rebellion. It was employed escorting prisoners to London later in the year. In 1718, the regiment was placed on the Irish establishment and posted to Ireland, where it remained for 75 years. In 1751, the regiment was officially styled the 12th Dragoons. In 1768,

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

bestowed the badge of the three ostrich feathers and the motto "''Ich Dien''" on the regiment and re-titled it as the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. A young Arthur Wesley (later Duke of Wellington) joined the regiment as a subaltern in 1789. In April 1794, during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, the regiment took part in the

siege of Bastia The siege of Bastia was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, and sought support from the ...

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

.Cannon, p. 18

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

was impressed by the conduct of the regiment and ordered that medals be awarded to its officers. The regiment landed at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in March 1801 and, although its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Mervyn Archdall, was seriously injured in skirmishes, it saw action at the Battle of Alexandria later in the month.Cannon, p.27 The regiment, under a new commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel John Doyle, captured 28 officers and 570 other ranks of the French Dromedary Regiment () in an action in the Egyptian desert in May 1801. It took part in the

siege of Cairo The siege of Cairo, also known as the Cairo campaign, was a siege that took place during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French and British with Ottoman forces and was the penultimate action of the Egyptian Campaign. British commander ...

securing the city in June 1801 and then participated in the siege of Alexandria taking that city in September 1801. The regiment next deployed for the disastrous

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

in autumn 1809.Cannon, p.30 In June 1811 the regiment embarked for

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and, under the command of Colonel Frederick Ponsonby, took part in the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812, the siege of Badajoz in March 1812 and the

Battle of Villagarcia The Battle of Villagarcia took place on 11 April 1812, near the village of Villagarcia de la Torre in Spain. Part of the Peninsular War, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British cavalry under Sir Stapleton Cotton routed a French cav ...

in April 1812 in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. It also undertook two charges at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

in July 1812 before taking part in the

siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General ...

in September 1812, the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in June 1813 and the

siege of San Sebastián The siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a sie ...

in autumn 1813. The regiment next advanced into

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and supported the infantry at the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in November 1813. The regiment marched through France and arrived in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

in July 1814 from where it returned to England.Cannon, p.44 In the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...

, the regiment was attached to Sir John Vandeleur's light cavalry brigade. At the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in June 1815, the regiment charged down the slope to support the Union Brigade of medium cavalry. Ponsonby fell, dangerously wounded, in the

melee A melee ( or ) is a confused hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term ''melee'' originated circa 1648 from the French word ' (), derived from the Old French ''mesler'', from which '':wikt:medley, medley'' and ...

.Cannon, p.50 In 1816, the 12th Light Dragoons was armed with lances after the cavalry of Napoleon's Army had shown their effectiveness at Waterloo and were re-titled 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers). In 1855, it reinforced the Light Cavalry Brigade in the Crimea after the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a military action undertaken by British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, resulting in many casualties to the cavalry. On 25 October 1854, the Light Br ...

at the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

. In 1861, the regiment was renamed 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Royal Regiment of Lancers. It was stationed in India between 1857 and 1860 in response to the

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

and in Ireland from 1865 to 1870, before fighting in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

in the late 1870s.

Boer War

The regiment was deployed to

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 ...

for service in 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 ...

in October 1899, and 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 t ...

and the ensuing

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Ford (crossing), Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free St ...

in February 1900. The commanding officer of the regiment, the 11th Earl of Airlie, was killed at the

Battle of Diamond Hill The Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek) () was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 in central Transvaal. Background The Boer forces retreated to the east by the time the capital of the South Africa ...

in June 1900. Following the end of the war in 1902 they went to India. Almost 530 officers and men left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

aboard SS ''Lake Manitoba'' in September 1902, arriving at

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

the following month and was then stationed at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

First World War

The regiment, which had been based in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

at the start of the war, landed in France as part of the 5th Cavalry Brigade in the 2nd Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. On 28 August 1914, 'C' Squadron of the 12th Lancers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Wormald, made a successful charge against a dismounted squadron of Prussian Dragoons at

Moÿ-de-l'Aisne Moÿ-de-l'Aisne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Demographics See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. ...

in the

Great Retreat 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 F ...

. The 9th/12th Royal Lancers celebrated

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

/Moy Day annually, which commemorated the last occasions on which each predecessor regiment charged with lances.

Inter-war era

IWM-ARMY-TRAINING-6-16-Lanchester-armoured-car

In 1921 the regiment was re-titled the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). In 1928, it gave up its horses and was equipped with

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armored car (military), a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an armored van or truck used to transport valuables * Armored car (VIP), a civilian vehic ...

, taking over vehicles left in Egypt by two

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is an armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks and structured under 12th A ...

armoured car units, the 3rd and 5th Companies.Crow, p. 3 Late in 1934, the 12th exchanged equipment and station with the

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

, taking over 34

Lanchester 6×4 armoured car The Lanchester 6×4 armoured car was a British armoured car with a 6×4 drivetrain produced in limited numbers in the late 1920s and early 1930s. A heavier, more rugged development of the earlier Lanchester 4x2 armoured car, it remained in ...

s at

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, sout ...

. Its strength would have been 12 officers and 141 other ranks, organised in a company headquarters and three sections, each with five cars. Total numbers were sixteen cars, six motorcycles, a staff car, four 3-ton () and seven 30- cwt ()

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

. In January–February 1935 a provisional ''D'' squadron of the 12th Lancers with eight armoured cars served as a peacekeeping force in the Saar region. On 31 December ''B'' and ''C'' squadrons were sent again to Egypt with 29 armoured cars as a response to the Italian invasion of Abyssinia and strengthening garrisons in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. By the end of 1936 the squadrons were returned to Britain, where the regiment was re-equipped with Morris Light Reconnaissance Cars.

Second World War

The 12th Lancers was an

armoured car regiment Armoured Car Regiments were reconnaissance units employed by the British Army during the 20th century. The primary equipment of these units was the armoured car with many different types of armoured cars serving in the regiments during the Second ...

equipped with the Morris CS9, in the 1940 campaign in France and Flanders, playing a key part in shielding the retreat to Dunkirk. After evacuation (without their vehicles) from Malo-les-Bains on

dredgers Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing dam ...

, they were first equipped with Beaverettes, then, in June 1941, with Humbers. The Lancers landed in

Port Tewfik The Suez Port (also called Port Tawfiq) is an Egyptian port located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea at southern entrance of the Suez Canal, serving the canal and the city of Suez. It is owned and operated by the Ministry of ...

, Egypt, in November 1941. Subsequently, the regiment fought as divisional troops for the 1st Armoured Division at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

in October 1942 and then served as a corps-level reconnaissance unit in the Italian Campaign.

Post-war era

The regiment was deployed to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in August 1946 before returning home in April 1947. It was sent to

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in September 1951 in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and, having been posted to Harewood Barracks in

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

in January 1955 moved on to Northampton Barracks in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

in March 1956. It returned home again in March 1959 and deployed to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in May 1959. The regiment was amalgamated with the

to form the

in September 1960.

Regimental museum

The

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The col ...

incorporates the Soldier's Story Gallery, based on the collection, inter alia, of the 12th Royal Lancers.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *''Early Wars'': Egypt, Salamanca, Peninsula, Waterloo, South Africa 1851-2-3, Sevastopol, Central India, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899–1902 *''The Great War:'' Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Ypres 1914 '15, Neuve Chapelle, St. Julien, Bellewaarde, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Cambrai 1917 '18, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Lys, Hazebrouck, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18 *''The Second World War:'' Dyle, Defence of Arras, Arras Counter Attack, Dunkirk 1940, North-West Europe 1940, Chor es Sufan, Gazala, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein, Advance on Tripoli, Tebaga Gap, El Hamma, Akarit, El Kourzia, Djebel Kournine, Tunis, Creteville Pass, North Africa 1941–43, Citerna, Gothic Line, Capture of Forli, Conventello-Comacchio, Bologna, Sillaro Crossing, Idice Bridgehead, Italy 1944–45

Colonel-in-Chief

*1919–: F.M. HM

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: *1715–1719: Maj-Gen. Phineas Bowles (senior) *1719–1740: Lt-Gen. Phineas Bowles (junior) *1740–1743: Col. Alexander Rose *1743–1746: Brig-Gen. Samuel Walter Whitshed *1746–1747: Lt-Gen.

Thomas Bligh Lieutenant-General Thomas Bligh (1685–1775) was a British Army officer best known for his service during the Seven Years' War when he led a series of amphibious raids, known as " descents" on the French coastline. Despite initial success in th ...

*1747–1749: Gen. Sir John Mordaunt, KB *1749: Gen. 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 suffe ...

*1749–1750: Lt-Gen.

George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville Major general George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, PC (26 January 1716 – 26 August 1785) was a British Army officer, politician, and peer who served as Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1775 to 1782. Serving in the North ministry ...

*1750–1763: Lt-Gen. Sir John Whitefoord, Bt. ;12th Regiment of Dragoons (1751) *1763–1764: Lt-Gen.

Edward Harvey Admiral Sir Edward Harvey, (1783 – 4 May 1865) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and continued in the service during the first half of the nineteenth century during which he participated ...

*1764–1770: Gen.

Benjamin Carpenter Benjamin Carpenter (May 17, 1725 – March 29, 1804) was a leader of colonial Vermont who served as an officer in the American Revolution and as List of lieutenant governors of Vermont, lieutenant governor. Biography Benjamin Carpenter was born ...

;12th (The Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (1768) *1770–1775: Gen. Sir

William Augustus Pitt General Sir William Augustus Pitt KB, PC ( 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 reg ...

, KB *1775–1782: Lt-Gen. Hon. William Keppel *1782–1791: Lt-Gen. Hon.

George Lane Parker George Lane Parker (1724–1791) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1769 and 1780. Early life Parker was born on 6 September 1724, the second son of George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield and his fi ...

*1791–1815: Gen. Sir James Steuart, Bt., GCH *1815–1825: Gen. Sir William Payne, Bt. ;12th (The Prince of Wales's) Royal Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers) *1825–1827: Lt-Gen. Sir Colquhoun Grant, KCB, GCH *1827–1837: Lt-Gen. Sir

Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian (28 July 1775 – 20 August 1842), known as Sir Hussey Vivian from 1815 to 1828 and Sir Hussey Vivian, Bt, from 1828 to 1841, was a British cavalry leader from the Vivian family. Earl ...

, GCB, GCH *1837–1856: Gen. Sir

Henry John Cumming General Sir Henry John Cumming, KCH (December 1771 – 28 November 1856) was a senior officer in the British Army. He was born in Calcutta, the son of Col. Sir John Cumming of the East India Company. He joined the Army in 1790 as a cornet in t ...

, KCH *1856–1861: Lt-Gen. Sir

Lovell Benjamin Badcock General Sir Lovell Benjamin Badcock Lovell, Order of the Bath, KCB, Royal Guelphic Order, KH (born Badcock; 1786 – 11 March 1861) was a lieutenant-general in the British Army. He was a descendant of Sir Salathiel Lovell through the marriage of ...

, KCB, KH ;12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers (1861) *1861–1872: Gen. Sir

George Henry Lockwood George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, KCB *1872–1879: Gen. Edward Pole *1879–1892: Gen. Thomas Hooke Pearson, CB *1892–1894: Lt-Gen. Edward Burgoyne Cureton *1894–1896: Maj-Gen. Robert Hale *1896–1902: Lt-Gen. Sir

Arthur Lyttelton-Annesley Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Lyttelton-Annesley, (2 September 1837 – 16 February 1926) was a British Army officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. Military career Educated at Harrow School, Lyttelton-Annesley was commissione ...

, KCB, KCVO *1902–1909: Maj-Gen. John Cecil Russell, CVO *1909–1917: Lt-Gen.

Robert Broadwood Lieutenant-General Robert George Broadwood (14 March 1862 – 21 June 1917) was a British Army general. A cavalry officer, Broadwood saw service in the Sudan, in the Second Boer War, and in the First World War. He was killed in action in 1917, wh ...

, CB *1917–1920: Maj-Gen. Walter Howorth Greenly, CB, CMG, DSO *1920–1951: F.M. Sir

William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951), was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, CIE, DSO ;12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) (1921) *1951–1960: Gen. Sir

Richard McCreery General Sir Richard Loudon McCreery, (1 February 1898 – 18 October 1967) was a career soldier of the British Army, who was decorated for leading one of the last cavalry actions in the First World War. During the Second World War, he was chief ...

, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC (to 9th/12th Royal Lancers) *''1960: Regiment amalgamated with

to form

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Brief history of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers
{{RAC armoured regiments of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1715 Cavalry regiments of the British Army L12 Royal Lancers 012 Military units and formations disestablished in 1960 1715 establishments in Great Britain Military units and formations of the Second Boer War