The regiment was formed in November 1899, just one month after the start of the
Second Boer War, and by December of that year 8 squadrons had been raised from
Uitlanders. A small portion were used to protect the railway line to
De Aar but they mostly served as a part of the Mounted Brigade of the
Natal Field Force under
Lieutenant-General Douglas Cochrane the 12th Earl of Dundonald, taking part in the relief of the besieged town of
Ladysmith. The Boers had encircled Ladysmith trapping a force of 13,000 British troops under the command of
Lieutenant General Sir George White inside (along with separate sieges in
Mafeking and
Kimberley). The relief effort was dispatched from
Cape Town under the command of
General Sir Redvers Buller and by early December 1899 this 20,000 strong relieving army was arriving just south of the river
Tugela.
Battle of Colenso Buller launched his first major offensive against the Boer lines across the Tugela river on 15 December 1899 and the 3 squadrons of the SALH along with the rest of
Dundonald's Mounted Brigade were aligned to cover the right flank of the battle formation. The target was to break through on the enemy's right flank for which they would discover they would need to capture and hold a 430 meter high hill called Spion Kop. A portion of the SALH remained at Chieveley with Major General
Geoffrey Barton whose orders were to entrench there and protect the head of the communications line, but 4 squadrons moved westward with Dundonald. On 17 January Dundonald's Mounted Division with the exception of Bethune's crossed Waggon drift where a Trooper of the 13th Hussars was accidentally drowned. The next day the cavalry set out to discover the western flank of the Boer lines with the Composite Regiment at the head of the column who just after midday were able to ambush a column of about 200 Boers near
Acton Homes and successfully trapped about 40 of them. A squadron of the SALH joined in reinforcing the attack and by dusk the Boers surrendered. but they had no artillery support. Major Childe successfully lead the attack as the Boers fled from the summit however, just like at Spion Kop the crest of the hill was exposed to the enemy artillery and Childe was killed by a fragment from an exploding shell.
Battle of Tugela Heights Even as they withdrew from the Vaal Krantz attack, moving the army back to Chievely, plans were being made for the next attempt and on 12 February Dundonald's brigade were sent to thoroughly reconnoitre a feature called Hussar Hill (so called because a small post of the
13th Hussars had been surprised on it 6 weeks earlier and had 2 men killed). The mounted irregulars took with them a
Colt Battery, the 1st Battalion
Royal Welch Fusiliers and a battery of
Field Artillery, and they successfully occupied the hill giving Sir Redvers Buller the opportunity to reconnaissance the ground until they were ordered to withdraw at 1 pm. As they were making their way back to Chieveley they were forced to engage in a fierce rear guard action in which a young Lieutenant
John Spencer-Churchill of the SALH was shot through the leg. Two days later the SALH were back as the advanced party to occupy the hill permanently, once again being backed up by the Welch Fusiliers and eventually by 3 whole infantry brigades and artillery. The next two days were fought out by the artillery of both sides but on the 17th the general attack began on Cingolo Ridge and Monte Cristo Ridge. Dundonald's mounted brigade left at day break to ride 10 miles east of Hussar Hill through rough and broken terrain eventually turning to ascend the eastern slope of Cingolo hill and thus coming up on the far right flank of the Boer's defences. As two squadrons began to clear the hill they were supported by the
Queen's Royal Regiment of
Hildyard's infantry brigade and the rest of the cavalry descended into the plain of the far side of the ridge to chase the retreating enemy. The following day Hildyard's brigade seized Monte Cristo Ridge and the irregular cavalry rushed forward to occupy its eastern spur. Green hill and Hlangwani hill would fall next. The cavalry now had to wait as the infantry and guns fought a hard action across the Tugela firstly against the Boer's Pieters position then later by a flanking manoeuvre along the Hlangwani plateau. ==Orange River Colony==