The Glorious Revolution The origins of the King's Own Hussars lie in the 1685
Monmouth and
Argyll rebellions which forced
James II to borrow the
Scots Brigade from his son-in-law
William of Orange, later William III. On 16 June, three
troops were detached from the
Duke of Somerset's Royal Dragoons and their captains ordered to recruit additional volunteers from the London area, including
Middlesex and
Essex. The unit was based in
Acton, West London to guard approaches to the
City of London but the rebellion collapsed after defeat at
Sedgemoor on 6 July without the regiment seeing action. Three new troops, one independent and two newly raised were now added to the original three to form ''The Queen Consort's Regiment of Dragoons.''
Alexander Cannon a Scot who previously served in the Dutch
Scots Brigade was appointed Colonel in August 1687. On 5 November 1688, William III landed at
Torbay in the invasion later known as
the Glorious Revolution and James assembled his army on
Salisbury Plain to block an advance on London. However, many now changed sides; the majority of the Queen Consort's Regiment followed Lieutenant-Colonel
Richard Leveson into William's camp while Cannon and his own troop remained loyal, staying with James as he retreated to London. On 31 December, Leveson replaced Cannon as Colonel and as was customary, the regiment now took his name and became ''Leveson's Dragoons.''
The Williamite War in Ireland In August 1689, the regiment, numbering approximately 400 officers and men organised into six troops, was transported to Ireland to take part in the
Williamite War. James had fled from England to France in December 1688, but had returned with an army in March 1689 and landed at
Cork, Ireland, where he found that he had the support of a majority of the
Catholic population. William's expeditionary force had landed south of
Belfast on 13 August, encountering little resistance from the local Catholic forces, and entered the city on 17 August; Leveson's Dragoons landed in Ireland four days later, taking up position just outside Belfast. Early records of the activities of the regiment are scarce, but it appears that it advanced with the rest of the Williamite forces southwards on 2 September, advancing to the town of
Newry, but failing to catch the garrison of the town as it retreated. The Williamite army moved south to
Dundalk, which they fortified. They did not advance any further, as a Catholic army, estimated 35,000 strong, was reportedly encamped nearby at
Ardee. The regiment encountered a small Catholic force and killed five men on 20 September, but was forced to wait until October to take part in its first major action. On 27 October, 200 troopers from the regiment, along with a detachment from the
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, raided Ardee, killing a number of sentries and capturing a large number of cattle and horses. In November, the Williamite army moved northwards and the regiment saw action one last time before entering winter quarters at
Lisburn; on 26 November, 60 troopers from the regiment were reconnoitring near
Charlemont when they encountered a detachment from the town's garrison; they engage it, taking several prisoners. The regiment then retired to its winter quarters to rest and took on approximately 200 recruits shipped from England to replace losses from disease; whilst the exact casualty figures for the regiment are unknown, the entire army had suffered approximately 6,000 casualties as a result of fever, ague and dysentery by November. The regiment emerged from winter quarters in mid-February 1690 and immediately saw action; a gazette issued from Belfast on 14 February announced that a squadron from the regiment had formed part of a raiding force that had crossed enemy lines and burnt down a castle and looted a town, killing ten men and taking 20 prisoners. The next recorded action by the regiment took place on 22 June, when a squadron and a company of infantry from the
Tangier Regiment encountered a fort garrisoned by a force of infantry and approximately 500 cavalry; the enemy force stood its ground and fought a pitched battle until its commanding officer was killed and the Catholic force retreated. . The regiment was present for the
Battle of the Boyne on 1 July, forming part of the 36,000-strong Williamite army that engaged the 25,000-strong Catholic army commanded by James II. During the closing stages of the battle, a large portion of James' cavalry repeatedly charged the advancing Williamite infantry to provide protection for the retreating Catholic infantry, and were able to reach the village of Donore. The village was sited on an area of high ground from which the dismounted cavalrymen were able to fire down on the advancing Williamite troops. To counter this move, a squadron from the regiment charged up the hill and engaged the dismounted cavalry whilst the remainder of the regiment outflanked the village and attacked the Catholic force from the rear, inflicting a large number of casualties. After routing this force, the regiment joined up with a Dutch cavalry unit and advanced. Sighting another Catholic cavalry force, the Dutch cavalry attacked, but were repelled with heavy losses and retreated down a narrow lane. As the Dutch regrouped, Leveson's men dismounted and took up position amongst the hedgerows lining the lane, as well as a nearby house; when the Catholic cavalry advanced down the lane, they came under fire from the regiment, inflicting heavy losses and forcing the survivors to retreat. The battle was a decisive victory for the Williamite forces, with James forced to retire first to
Dublin and then to France as the Williamite army advanced south and captured Dublin on 4 July. The regiment did not take part in the capture of Dublin, instead it was ordered to advance to the city of Waterford, where it accepted the surrender of the city's garrison (as well as the garrison of the nearby port of Youghal) and remained for the rest of the summer. One of the regiment's troops patrolled the surrounding area, with a detachment engaging a large band of armed Catholic citizens who had been attacking Protestant settlements in the area; the detachment killed 60 and took 12 civilian prisoners, as well as attacking the village of Castlemartyr and taking its Catholic garrison prisoner. The remainder of the regiment moved to Limerick and took part in the failed siege of that city, although the specifics of what the regiment did are unknown. Before the regiment retired to its winter quarters in December, it engaged and dispersed several more armed bands of civilians and came to the aid of a detachment from the
27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot, who had been ambushed by Catholic infantry and had taken shelter in a ruined castle; a troop from the regiment drove off the infantry and escorted the Inniskilling detachment to safety. The regiment left its winter quarters in February 1691 and immediately saw action, forming part of a combined force of infantry and cavalry that engaged a 2,000-strong Catholic force near Streamstown and forced it to retreat; the role that the regiment played in this action led to Leveson being promoted to
Brigadier-General. In May, the majority of the Williamite army moved north and besieged the town of Athlone, which fell after eleven days, but the regiment took no part in the siege, having been ordered to encamp in the county of Mullingar. At the beginning of July, the regiment formed part of the 12,000-strong Williamite army that defeated an 8,000-strong Catholic army during the
Battle of Aughrim, taking part in a massed cavalry charge that breached the Catholic positions around the village of Aughrim. The Battle of Aughrim was a decisive victory for King William, with a number of leading Catholic generals being killed, and the Williamite forces pressed their advantage; they forced the surrender of
Galway on 20 July and then began a second siege of Limerick in August. The regiment did not take part directly in the siege, instead being detached in late August and ordered to advance south-west into
Kerry to reconnoitre and harass Catholic forces in the area around Limerick. On 2 September, the regiment ambushed and routed two regiments of Catholic cavalry, and several days later subdued a number of Catholic garrisons between Cork and Limerick. The regiment inflicted a number of casualties, but more importantly captured thousands of cattle and oxen; one contemporary source states that the majority of the army's provisions for the siege of Limerick were provided by the regiment. On 22 September, Limerick fell to the Williamite forces, effectively ending the conflict in Ireland; the regiment was withdrawn to its winter quarters and was then transported to England in the spring of 1692.
Nine Years' War The regiment remained in England for nearly three years before it saw battle again. During this period, in which it recruited to refill its ranks, it lost Colonel Leveson when he was promoted to the rank of
Major-General by King William. (Leveson was dispatched to command forces fighting in the
Spanish Netherlands as part of the English contribution to the
Nine Years' War before dying in March 1699 at
Belvoir Castle). He was replaced by
Thomas, 5th Baron Fairfax of Cameron in January 1694; as a consequence, the regiment lost the title of Leveson's Dragoons and reverted to its previous title of ''The Queen's Dragoons''. In the spring of 1694, the regiment was reviewed by King William, along with a number of other English units, and was then transported to the Netherlands, landing at
Willemstad, (nowadays in
North Brabant) on 16 April. After two months, the regiment marched to join the main body of the English Army at
Tirlemont in Flanders, encamping to the rear of the Army's positions in order 'to cover His Majesty's quarters'. The regiment spent the summer of 1694 as part of a brigade with the
Royal Horse Guards and
Royal Scots Greys, taking part in manoeuvres and skirmishing with enemy troops before retiring to winter quarters in October near
Ghent. By February 1695, the strength of the regiment had increased from six to eight troops, and the regiment had also gained another new commander, with Lord Fairfax being replaced by William Lloyd, previously the
Lieutenant-Colonel of
Essex's Dragoon's. Although the request was denied, many of the officers and troopers broke their weapons to deny them to the French before they surrendered. The regiment remained in captivity for several weeks, only being released when the siege of Namur was successful and the commander of the French forces there,
the Duke of Boufflers, surrendered the city; after a period of negotiation with
Louis XIII, Boufflers was exchanged for all English prisoners of war.
War of the Spanish Succession . The huge expense incurred by England during William III's prosecution of the Nine Years' War angered
Parliament, leading to large cuts in funding for the military; these primarily affected soldiers pay, which was drastically reduced, and the withholding of gratuities that soldiers were often promised prior to going into battle. Many regiments had their strengths reduced, including The Queen's Own Dragoon's, which had its strength reduced by half. During the period of peace between the end of the Nine Years' War in 1697 and the beginning of the
War of the Spanish Succession in 1702, the regiment performed a number of small tasks befitting its reduced size; it conducted coastal revenue duty, confronted smugglers, and escorted the King when he travelled to
Holland. The War of the Spanish Succession began in May 1702, and in June an English expeditionary force was assembled at
Cowes on the
Isle of Wight under the command of the
Earl of Ormond, tasked with landing in
Cádiz, Spain and capturing the surrounding area; 18 officers, 24 non-commissioned officers and 186 troopers from the regiment formed part of the force. It sailed from Cowes on 23 June and landed in Cádiz on 15 August, where it soon engaged Spanish forces. As the only cavalry formation with the expeditionary force, the regiment was constantly employed as picquets at the forefront of the English advance, as well as being used to guard and protect outposts. The regiment skirmished with Spanish forces throughout September, but an attempt to
besiege Cádiz was far more difficult than was expected, ending in a Spanish victory and, as a result, the regiment was embarked on transports destined for England. During the voyage, however, the transports received word that a Spanish naval force had been sighted attempting to land near the city of
Vigo. The transports turned back towards Spain, reaching Vigo on 12 October, and off-loaded the regiment. There are few details about the regiment's involvement in the ensuing
Battle of Vigo Bay, but records indicate that all of the Spanish vessels involved in the attempted landing were either destroyed or burnt, and the regiment received a considerable amount of
prize money for its part in the action. After the battle, the regiment did not return to Spain to rejoin the English expeditionary force, but was instead ordered back to England; for a period of nearly four years the regiment remained in England, being quartered in
Kent and the Isle of Wight as a garrison force, mustering for occasional parades and reviews. In December 1703, William Lloyd sold the colonelcy of the regiment to George Carpenter, who then assumed command. In 1706, the regiment was once again transferred to the Isle of Wight, where 240 officers, non-commissioned officers and troopers were attached to an 8,000 strong force assembling there. The force was tasked with landing on the coast of France near
Charente and fighting its way inland, aided by local
Protestant civilians. The fleet left England on 30 July, but the operation was cancelled due to poor weather and the failure of Dutch naval forces, who were to rendezvous with the transports and escort them to the French coast. The transports were then ordered to head for Spain, where they would land at Cádiz and reinforce English forces in the area; however, poor weather forced the ships to remain in
Torbay for eleven weeks, with the troops remaining on board, until mid-August, when they attempted to sail for
Lisbon. Even more severe weather meant that the ships could not be unloaded at Lisbon either, however, and they remained there for a further two months; during this time the regiment and the other English troops on board the ships suffered hundreds of casualties from a lack of proper food and water, and outbreaks of disease. By January 1707, the weather calmed down enough for the ships to leave Lisbon harbour and, in February, they reached
Alicante, where the troops were off-loaded; of the 8,000 troops who had boarded the transports in July 1706, only 4,400 had survived. . (detail) The remnants of the force, including the regiment, then marched 40 miles to
Caudete to link up with an Allied army composed of English, Dutch, German and Portuguese troops under the command of the
Earl of Galway. This army was to support Spanish forces loyal to
Charles of Austria, who claimed that he was the legitimate heir to the Spanish throne; however, this claim was contested by his opponent,
Philip of Anjou, who had gathered his own army and was determined to defeat Charles in battle. The two forces clashed during the
Battle of Almansa, which began on the afternoon of 25 April. The battle began with both sides bombarding the others positions with artillery fire. After this general bombardment had ended, the Allied cavalry were dispatched to attack the centre of the Franco-Spanish positions; The Queen's Own Dragoon's were committed alongside Essex's Dragoons to attack an enemy artillery battery that was bombarding the Allied line. The regiment charged the battery and forced it to withdraw, but were then engaged by a force of Spanish cavalry that outnumbered them by approximately three to one according to regimental records, the ensuing battle 'nearly annihilated' the regiment, with its Colonel being killed along with a large number of officers and troopers. The remnants of the two cavalry regiments retreated to the Allied lines, where volley-fire from the Allied infantry was beginning to inflict significant casualties on the Franco-Spanish forces; it was at this point, however, that the 7,000 Portuguese troops belonging to the Allied army suddenly deserted, starting with their cavalry and rapidly followed by the infantry. The desertion turned the tide of the battle and led to a Franco-Spanish victory, with 2,000 Allied infantrymen being taken prisoner and the remnants of the Allied army being routed.
Jacobite Rising and Regimental Name Change When the regiment had finished recruiting in England, it was dispatched north to
Scotland. There, it formed part of the Government garrison. When
George I ascended to the British throne in 1714, the regiment's title was once again altered, and that same year became ''The King's Own Regiment of Dragoons''. Shortly after his ascension, a
major Jacobite uprising occurred; the regiment was amongst the Government troops assembled in Scotland to bar the advance of the Jacobite forces. At the
Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November, a Government army commanded by the Duke of Argyll, which included the regiment, defeated a larger Jacobite army; sources are vague on the exact details of the regiment's involvement, but it is known that it formed part of the army's left wing, supporting several infantry regiments. The wing was struck by a Jacobite infantry assault, which inflicted significant casualties, but three squadrons from the regiment charged the infantry and forced it to retreat; this allowed the Government forces to retire and reassemble without further loss. The regiment did not see any further action during the uprising, remaining with the Duke of Argyll's army, which pursued Jacobite forces as they retreated northwards. The army garrisoned
Aberdeen on 8 February; shortly after the rebellion came to an end. For a short period, the regiment was stationed at
Elgin, and then was transferred to southern England, where it remained for more than 20 years; it became an understrength garrison force and did little apart from conduct occasional raids against smugglers on the English coast.
War of the Austrian Succession On 20 October 1740, Charles VI died and his daughter,
Maria Theresa of Austria, took his place on the
Habsburg throne; the ascendancy caused a great deal of political controversy, which resulted in The
War of the Austrian Succession. King
George II pledged the support of
Great Britain to Maria Theresa and, in May 1742, a 16,000 strong British army sailed to
Ostend to link up with military forces of the
Dutch Republic, which had also decided to support Maria Theresa. The King's Own Dragoons formed part of the army. The British forces arrived in the Dutch Republic, but did not immediately go on campaign, instead moving into winter quarters in Bruges and Ghent. The army finally departed in February 1743 and advanced towards the Rhine Valley; the regiment was chosen to form part of the advance guard. By June, the British army had joined
Hanoverian and Austrian forces by the river Main. The Allied forces, which totalled approximately 44,000 troops, were opposed by some 70,000 French troops. After a period of marching and counter-marching, and the arrival of King George II who took personal command of the Allied forces, the French army engaged the Allies at the
Battle of Dettingen on 27 June. The King's Own Dragoons were placed on the left flank of the Allied army, with instructions to protect an infantry force as it advanced. Exposed to French artillery fire for three hours, suffering heavy casualties, the regiment was eventually ordered to advance, and then clashed with a larger force of French Household Cavalry; after a fierce engagement, and more casualties, it drove off the French cavalry. Shortly after this, the French army was forced to retreat, and the remnants of the regiment participated in a general cavalry pursuit of the French forces, which inflicted further casualties. The regiment suffered 42 officer and other ranks killed, and 106 wounded, shrinking its size considerably; this provoked a comment from George II when he reviewed the Allied forces after the end of the battle. He asked an aide to whom the regiment belonged in a sharp tone, to which its commanding officer replied, 'Please, your Majesty, it is my regiment, and I believe the remainder of it is at Dettingen.' The Battle of Dettingen had brought the French advance towards the Dutch Republic to a halt, and the conflict devolved into a long series of small and indecisive battles in the Southern Netherlands. In late 1743, the regiment moved to winter quarters in Ghent and received a shipment of recruits to bolster its ranks; however, the regiment did not move from the Southern Netherlands until May 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland was dispatched to the continent to take command of the Allied army. Cumberland advanced towards the city of
Tournai, which was being
besieged by French forces, in early May; a few days later, the Allied army was engaged at the
Battle of Fontenoy, where it was decisively defeated by superior French forces. Unfortunately, there are no detailed records that describe the King's Own Dragoons's participation in the battle; the regiments commanding officer only noted that the regiment had launched several cavalry charges against the French line, but had been forced to retreat with the rest of the Allied army after suffering nine killed and 18 missing. The Allied Army retreated back towards the Southern Netherlands, pursued by the French, but the regiment did not engage in any further fighting; instead, it was dispatched northwards to receive more recruits, and then ordered to prepare to be transported to England. On 25 July, taking advantage of the British defeat at the Battle of Fontenoy,
Prince Charles Edward Stuart landed in
Invernessshire and began to organise
another Jacobite uprising. Within a month of landing, Stuart had raised a force of 1,600 men from various Scottish clans, and began to march south, increasing his numbers to 2,500 by mid-September, when he entered
Edinburgh. As the Prince advanced, the Duke of Cumberland assembled his regiments in Flanders and then had them transported to England, arriving in London on 25 October and joining the rest of the Government army at Lichfield. The regiment then re-mounted and pursued the Jacobite rearguard to
Carlisle, being stationed near the town until it surrendered on 30 December. The records for the regiment for the next year are vague; it appears that it did see action during the
Battle of Culloden in 1746, but there are no details. After the Government victory at Culloden, the regiment advanced into the Highlands with the rest of the Government army, before being detached to
Dundee; after the rebellion had been suppressed, it moved to York, where it guarded Jacobite prisoners.
Seven Years' War The regiment next saw action during the
Raid on St Malo, destroying much of the French stores, in June 1758 during the
Seven Years' War. It went on to equal success, destroying the vessels in the harbour, at the
Raid on Cherbourg in August 1758.
Napoleonic Wars In July 1809, the regiment departed for the Netherlands and took part in the disastrous
Walcheren Campaign: many of the men caught a disease called "Walcheren Fever", thought to be a combination of
malaria and
typhus, before returning home in September. In April 1810 the regiment was tasked with restoring order after the riots caused by protesters objecting to the incarceration of
Sir Francis Burdett in the
Tower of London. The regiment landed in
Lisbon in August 1811 for service in the
Peninsular War. It took part in the
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and the
Siege of Badajoz in March 1812 and then undertook successful charges at the
Battle of Villagarcia in April 1812 and at the
Battle of Salamanca in July 1812. The regiment next saw action at the
Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and then, having pursued the French Army into France, at the
Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment returned home in July 1814.
Victorian era and installed this brass plaque inside
Christ Church, Mhow The regiment was renamed the '''3rd (The King's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons
in 1818. It served in Ireland between January 1820 and June 1822 and between March 1826 and April 1829. It was dispatched in India in July 1837 and, having moved on to Afghanistan, saw action at the Battle of Kabul in September 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War. It fought again at the Battle of Mudki and at the Battle of Ferozeshah in December 1845 and at the Battle of Sobraon in February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War. It then went on to fight at the Battle of Chillianwala in January 1849 and the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The regiment was renamed the 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars'
in 1861. It was deployed to South Africa in December 1901 for service in the Second Boer War and was involved in the last great drives, capturing the boers, in the north-east of the Orange River Colony. Following the end of the war in South Africa, 507 officers and men of the regiment returned to India on the SS Ionian'' in October 1902, where they were stationed in
Sialkot in
Punjab Province.
First World War On the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment was stationed at
Shorncliffe as part of the
4th Cavalry Brigade. On mobilisation, the brigade was assigned to the
Cavalry Division of the
British Expeditionary Force, and was sent to France. The 4th Brigade was assigned to the
2nd Cavalry Division in October, with which it remained for the remainder of the war, serving on the
Western Front.
Inter-War period of the 3rd King's Own Hussars. circa. 1937 The regiment was renamed the '''3rd The King's Own Hussars''' in January 1921. In 1926, the regiment was stationed in Lucknow, India. Returning to England in 1932, the regiment was initially garrisoned in York, but moved to Tidworth in 1934. The regiment began mechanising in 1935, when it began receiving lorries, followed by armoured cars in the following year. In 1937, the regiment moved to Aldershot, where it served as the reconnaissance unit of the
2nd Infantry Division. Fifty four members of B Squadron died as prisoners of the Japanese
Army. The few survivors returned to the regiment in 1945 after the war ended.
Post-War period and amalgamation The regiment was posted to
Palestine in October 1945. It moved to Kingsway Barracks in
Rendsburg in summer 1948 before transferring to Ripon Barracks in
Bielefeld in 1951, to Epsom Barracks in
Iserlohn in July 1953 and York Barracks in
Münster,
North Rhine-Westphalia in September 1957. It returned home in October 1958 to
Tidworth Camp, where it amalgamated with the
7th Queen's Own Hussars, to form the
Queen's Own Hussars in November 1958. ==Regimental museum==