Formation The regiment was first raised as a single
troop of veterans of the
Parliamentary Army in 1661, shortly thereafter expanded to four troops as the
Tangier Horse, taking the name from their service in the
Garrison of
Tangier. For the next few years, the regiment defended Tangier, which had been acquired by the English Crown through the marriage of
King Charles II to
Catherine of Braganza in April 1662, from
Moorish cavalry. The regiment consisted of four troops, three of which were originally troops in the
English Regiment of Light Horse in France attached to the French army of
Louis XIV and under the command of Sir
Henry Jones. They were constituted in 1672 and, after Jones was killed during the
siege of Maastricht in 1673 while serving with the
Duke of Monmouth, command passed to the Duke. The regiment was ranked as the 1st Dragoons, the oldest cavalry regiment of the line, in 1674. The regiment was recalled to England in 1678 (it was disbanded in France and reformed in England with most of the same officers) with the expectation of fighting in a war against France. In early 1679, it was disbanded and then reformed in June of that year as ''Gerard's Regiment of Horse'' (its colonel being Charles Gerard), with most of the same officers and men, to police the
Covenanters in Scotland. The regiment was disbanded in late 1679 and three of its captains, John Coy, Thomas Langston and Charles Nedby, along with their troopers, went out to Tangier in 1680 as reinforcements. When they returned in 1683, they joined what became a new permanent regiment of the Royal Dragoons.
Early wars On their return to England in 1683, the three troops were joined with three newly raised troops and titled '''The King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons''', named for
Charles II. In 1816 a detachment of the regiment was involved with suppressing the
Littleport riots. Robert Droash of the 1st Royal Dragoons after serving in the Crimean War in 1856 The regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel
John Yorke, also took part in the charge of the heavy brigade at the
Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 during the
Crimean War. Having been re-titled the
1st (Royal) Dragoons in 1877, From June 1900 to April 1901 the regiment was employed guarding the
Buffalo River and the
Transvaal approaches to the
Drakensberg, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Sclater-Booth. During the rest of the war they were employed in the Transvaal and in the
Orange River Colony. Following the end of the war, 623 officers and men of the regiment left South Africa on the , which arrived at
Southampton in October 1902. After their return, they were stationed at
Shorncliffe, where they were inspected by their Colonel in Chief Emperor
Wilhelm II in November 1902. The regiment, which had been serving at
Potchefstroom in
South Africa when the
First World War started, returned to the UK and then landed at
Ostend as part of the
6th Cavalry Brigade in the
3rd Cavalry Division in October 1914 for service on the
Western Front. It took part in the
First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, the
Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, the
Battle of Loos in September 1915 and the advance to the
Hindenburg Line in 1917. its men were the first troops to enter
Benghazi later that month, before seeing action again at the
Battle of Gazala in May 1942. It deployed troops to
Egypt in February 1951 and then moved to Combermere Barracks in
Wesendorf in May 1954 and to Harewood Barracks in
Herford in August 1957. It returned to the UK in September 1959 from where it deployed troops to
Aden in November 1959 and to
Malaya in December 1960. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, and was re-titled as
The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) in 1961. It returned home in October 1962 and then deployed troops to
Cyprus in February 1964 before transferring to Hobart Barracks in
Detmold in January 1965. It amalgamated with the
Royal Horse Guards (The Blues), to form
The Blues and Royals in 1969. ==Regimental museum==