in 1794
Early wars A
dragoon regiment was raised in
Reading by Brigadier-General
Phineas Bowles as '''Phineas Bowles's Regiment of Dragoons''' in July 1715 during the
Jacobite rising of 1715. 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 named the
12th Dragoons. In April 1794, the regiment took part in the
siege of Bastia during the
invasion of Corsica. It was subsequently sent to
Civitavecchia, and news of the regiment's good conduct there led
Pope Pius VI to award gold medals to three of its officers. it saw action at the
Battle of Alexandria later in the month. 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 securing the city in June 1801 The regiment next deployed for the disastrous
Walcheren Campaign in autumn 1809. In June 1811 the regiment embarked for
Lisbon and, under the command of Colonel
Frederick Ponsonby, took part in the
siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812, and the
Battle of Villagarcia in April 1812 in the
Peninsular War. It also undertook two charges at the
Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 before taking part in the
siege of Burgos in September 1812, the
Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and the
siege of San Sebastián in autumn 1813. The regiment next advanced into
France and supported the infantry at the
Battle of Nivelle in November 1813. The regiment marched through France and arrived in
Calais in July 1814 from where it returned to England. In the
Waterloo Campaign, the regiment was attached to
Sir John Vandeleur's light cavalry brigade. At the
Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the regiment charged down the slope to support the
Union Brigade of medium cavalry. Ponsonby fell, dangerously wounded, in the
melee. 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).
Boer War , who was killed while commanding the regiment at the
Battle of Diamond Hill The regiment was deployed to
South Africa for service in the
Second Boer War in October 1899, and took part in the
relief of Kimberley and the ensuing
Battle of Paardeberg in February 1900. The commanding officer of the regiment, the
11th Earl of Airlie, was killed at the
Battle of Diamond Hill in June 1900.
First World War , France, on 28 August 1914" by
George Wright The regiment, which had been based in
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 in the
Great Retreat. The
9th/12th Royal Lancers celebrated
Mons/Moy Day annually, which commemorated the last occasions on which each predecessor regiment charged with lances.
Inter-war era s, 1938 In 1921 the regiment was re-titled the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). Late in 1934, the 12th exchanged equipment and station with the
11th Hussars, taking over 34
Lanchester 6×4 armoured cars at
Tidworth. 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. 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 armoured cars of the 12th Royal Lancers' "C" Squadron, 29 September 1939 The 12th Lancers was an
armoured car regiment equipped with the
Morris CS9, in the 1940
campaign in France and Flanders, playing a key part in shielding the retreat to Dunkirk. The Lancers landed in
Port Tewfik, Egypt, in November 1941. Subsequently, the regiment fought as divisional troops for the
1st Armoured Division at the
Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 and then served as a corps-level reconnaissance unit in the
Italian Campaign. It was sent to
Malaya in September 1951 in the
Malayan Emergency and, having been posted to Harewood Barracks in
Herford in January 1955 moved on to Northampton Barracks in
Wolfenbüttel in March 1956. It returned home again in March 1959 and deployed to
Cyprus in May 1959. The regiment was amalgamated with the
9th Queen's Royal Lancers to form the
9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in September 1960. ==Regimental museum==