Two regiments of foot guards exist in the canadian armys primary reserve, the governor generals foot guards ggfg and the canadian grenadier guards cgg. History and uniform of the governor generals horse guards, 1822 to 1970. The following information can be found in the records where available. Border guards, coast guards, home guards, national guards, honour guards, republican guards, and royal guards are listed under their own articles. Guards, regiments of the russian imperial guards regiments originated in the two socalled play regiments that the young tsar peter i created during the 1680s. The british household cavalry is classed as a corps in its own right, and consists of two regiments. List of british regular army regiments 1994 wikipedia. Oct 20, 2006 regiments are, in many ways, like families and this book is as much a biography as a history. The line cavalry regiments were similarly reduced to 16 regiments by 1821 the household cavalry and dragoon guards were not affected. Guards machine gun regiment the vickers machine gun. This guide provides advice on finding records held at the national archives known as muster rolls, pay lists and description books. The famous regiments book series by multiple authors includes books the royal scots. Horse guards peters fraser and dunlop pfd literary agents.
Known affectionately to the other branches of the army. In the household cavalry in the british army does each. The sight of guards posted outside royal palaces in and around london, dressed in their scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, is famous the world over, but do you know how to distinguish which of the household divisions five foot regiments of foot guards is providing the queens guard at buckingham palace. Gardes du corps van zijne majesteit life guards this corps was raised on 30 april 1599 as a troop of horse vaan guidon in dutch. You can use these records to trace the outline of a soldiers service in the british army between c. This is a list of past and present army units whose names include the word guard. Regiments are, in many ways, like families and this book is as much a biography as a history. The household troopers, which included the life guards and royal horse guards, were little used during the early years of the napoleonic wars but some units arrived in the peninsular war in 1812 and certainly made up for tardiness with their heroics at waterloo. Browse and buy a vast selection of british regiments books and collectibles on.
Original british household cavalry named life guards. The cavalry reserve regiments the long, long trail ciaran byrne, the harp and crown, the history of the 5th royal irish lancers, 1902 1922, p. British regiments in the peninsular war 18081814 by ron mcguigan. These two regiments formed part of 72 motorized infantry brigade and 81 armoured brigade respectively. It was first raised in 1685 by the earl of peterborough as the earl of peterboroughs regiment of horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Based in toronto, it is the most senior reserve regiment in canada, and the only household cavalry regiment of. Although the ggfg has its buttons in pairs, compared to the single buttons of the cgg, it is the more senior regiment.
Unfollow guards regiments to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Money, a history of the regiments and uniforms of the british army, sphere books limited london 1972 chichester, henry manners and. It follows the fortunes of the most senior regiments in. The royal guards reserve regiment was a reserve formation of the household brigade in existence from 1900 to 1901. The household cavalry is split into two seperate regiments. Fittingly, the regimental band made its first major public appearance on 12th june 1901 when king edward vii presented medals from that campaign on horse guards parade. Oct 18, 2010 ive not covered any of the household cavalry regiments to date and so, to rectify this omission, i list below with three gaps sample numbers from the series in use by the royal horse guards the blues, between 1881 and 1914. In the british army, the horse guards comprised several independent troops raised initially on the three different establishments. The regiment maintains a traditional structure, with squadrons and units. The household cavalry museum, at combermere barracks in windsor, holds an extensive range of related material, including regimental order books, rolls. During daytime the buildings arched passage on whitehall is guarded by both mounted and unmounted troopers of the household cavalry regiments, who are often the target of camerawielding tourists.
Confidential report of the royal regiment of horse guards inspected by major general sir henry fane february 1815. From 1658 to 1788, the horse guards existed as independent troops. This actually was the nickname of the two troops of red coated horse guards which were disbanded in 1788 together with their two counterpart troops of horse grenadiers, and replaced by the newly raised 1st and 2nd regiments of life guards which are still in much amalgamated form. Famous regiments military history britain british leo cooper unit histories regimental history infantry, guards, dragoons, rifles, scots, scotland, royal guards, questions about this item. Royal armoured corps regiments in second world war. Connecticut regiments in the continental army american. Britains british regiments 7228 mounted horse guards. Together, they seem to have managed to be present at most of britains wars since 1685. Oct 31, 2019 the royal dragoon guards have a long and distinguished history dating from 1685. The household cavalry is made up of the two most senior regiments in the british army. Jan 14, 2007 the horse guards originally consisted of two regiments.
The term connecticut line referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to connecticut at various times by the continental congress, the size of its allocation determined by the size of. The governor generals horse guards is an armoured reconnaissance regiment in the primary reserve of the canadian army, part of 4th canadian divisions 32 canadian brigade group. The two foot guards, along with the governor generals horse guards, form canadas household division. The royal regiment of horse guards the blues rhg was a cavalry regiment of the british army, part of the household cavalry raised in august 1650 at newcastle upon tyne and county durham by sir arthur haselrigge on the orders of oliver cromwell as a regiment of horse, the regiment became the earl of oxfords regiment in 1660 upon the restoration of king charles ii.
The story of the british airborne forces, and several more. Meet nimrod, a typical horse in the household cavalry mounted regiment. A lavish history of the armys senior regiments telegraph. Wikicommons its one of the more famous moments of word war two in september 1939, the hopelessly outclassed polish army threw antiquated cavalry regiments straight at invading german panzers with predictable results. During those years, the british heavy cavalry consisted of three regiments of guards, seven regiments of dragoons guards 1st to 7th, and five dragoons 1st to 6th less the 5th. The royal dragoon guards are an amalgamation of four earlier regiments of horse. Based in toronto, it is the most senior reserve regiment in canada, and the only household cavalry regiment of canadas three household units.
Illustrated throughout with paintings, photographs, objects, uniforms and maps from the household cavalrys archives and museummany never before published. British regiments present at the battle of waterloo. In 1665 it was redesignated as gardes du corps van zijne majesteit. The royal scots dragoon guards carabiniers and greys the royal. The british household cavalary charging at the battle of waterloo, 1815 cavalry tactics and combat in the napoleonic wars. This corps has been singly commanded by colonel sir jn elley since its return to england.
Nov 18, 2009 dutch titles and names have been used for the regiments, with an english translation given between brackets. Dragoon guards is a designation that has been used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the british army since the 18th century. On december 31, 1730 january 11, 1731, the regiment was named the horse guards and was given all the rights of the guard thus the beginning of the regular guards cavalry. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the life regiment dragoons k 2 to form the life regiment of horse k 1 in 1928. The governor generals horse guards military wiki fandom. They did more tours of iraq and afghanistan than any other armoured unit in the british army. Everyones local or family regiment is famous to them, so ill concentrate on what i hope will be a fairly fair and unbiased top ten based on widespread recognition by the general public. A name change occurred in 1875 when the royal regiment of horse became the royal horse guards and shortly thereafter the regiment was shipped to egypt in the face of a revolt by arabi pasha in 1882, a situation which threatened the suez canal. Light horse regiment project gutenberg selfpublishing. Famous regiments series 63 volumes schroeders book haven. Expand your options of fun home activities with the largest online selection at.
In 1888 wilhelm ii was crowned german emperor and king of prussia and moved from a policy of maintaining the status quo to a more aggressive position. While the prussian and russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments among their respective imperial guards, different titles were applied to these units. Royal horse guards during ww1 since 1815 the balance of power in europe had been maintained by a series of treaties. Originally raised as regiments of horse and dragoons, they were subsequently designated as the 4th, 5th and 7th dragoon guards and the 6th inniskilling dragoons. In 1788, they were streamlined into two regiments called 1st life guards and 2nd life guards, and in 1815 they were part of the household brigade at the battle of waterloo. Sir arthur hesilrig haselrig, haslerigge assumed command of hesilrigs regiment of cuirassiers, adopting the european nomenclature for heavy armoured cavalry. The royal horse guards the blues, noting their tunics descend from a parliamentary regiment of horse, which charles ii reraised when founding the regular british army in 1661. The connecticut line was a formation within the continental army.
What are some of the most famous regiments in british army. I can only find ref to a later john hale 1759 formed by colonel john hale in hertfordshire on 7th november as hales light horse the regiment was created on the 7th of november 1759 under lieut. Personnel wear the flash of five black ribbons on the collar, which is worn by all. This collection contains surviving records of service for noncommissioned officers and other ranks who served in the life guards, the royal horse guards and the household battalion, and whose army service concluded in these regiments. The indian home guards consisted of three union regiments composed mainly of seminoles, creeks, and cherokees.
The royal regiment famous regiments, bedfordshire and hertfordshire regiment famous regiments s. Indian home guards american indians and the civil war. Two squadrons fought, with distinction, in the household brigade at the battle of waterloo. The foot guards are the regular infantry regiments of the household division of the british army. However, the men of the troops formed the basis of the new troops of life guards. Horse guards forms a grand entrance to the famous horse guards parade and st. There have been six active regiments of foot guards and one reserve regiment, five of which still exist.
Most of the foreign, colonial and other corps were also disbanded. In 1862, indians who were loyal to the union fled to kansas for safety on what is known as the trail of blood on the ice. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest. List of british army regiments and corps wikipedia. No attempt has been made to order these regiments in order o. It claims to be one of the most distinguished regiments of the british army.
Than one could do a lot worse than not to buy this book. In the late 1660s, there were thus three troops in england, one in ireland, and two in scotland of which one was ceremonial for attendance of lord high commissioner named after john middleton, 1st earl of middleton and after john leslie, 7th earl of rothes. In 1750 the regiment became the royal horse guards blue and eventually, in 1877, the royal horse guards the blues. The blues and royals royal horse guards and 1st dragoons for operational purposes the two household cavalry regiments form a pair of joint units. Governor generals horse guards project gutenberg self. The sixteen regular regiments were earmarked for overseas service, whilst the seventeenth regiment was to be provided by a composite regiment formed with a squadron from each of the three household cavalry regiments the 1st life guards, the 2nd life guards, and the royal horse guards and assigned a mobilisation role in 4th cavalry brigade. The regiment consisted from 5 squadrons of 2 companies each, a total of 1,423 people, of which 1,111 were frontline officers. A historical record of the royal regiment of horse guards or oxford blues. The guards regiment was granted the timpani of the swedish horse guards taken from them at the battle of poltava on july 8, 1709. In 1975, when the units strength reached about 2000, a decision was taken to split the regiment into 1 light horse regiment and 2 light horse regiment.
He commanded the household cavalry regiment in windsor from 199698, and. Livgardet till hast, k 1 was a swedish army cavalry regiment, first raised in 1770. In minutes, the obsolete horse guards were utterly. Border regiment cambridgeshire regiment camel corps cameron highlanders cameronians scottish rifles canadian expeditionary force cavalry of the line cheshire regiment civilians coldstream guards connaught rangers devonshire regiment dorset regiment duke of cornwalls light infantry durham light infantry east kent regiment east lancs regiment east surrey regiment. This section of the long, long trail will be helpful for anyone wishing to find out about the history of the regiments of the british cavalry. Buy horse guards main market by barney whitespunner cbe isbn. The regiments of foot guards were outside of the requirement for establishing their machine gun sections as the machine gun corps. This is a list of british regular army regiments in the after the defence cuts of the options for change defence white paper in 1991. In that it is one of the best books about the cavalry regiments of the british household guard regiments that i have seen so far. Horse guards is the first major, fully illustrated history of the household cavalry. War horses cavalrys surprising contribution to ww2.
A unique illustrated history of the most famous regiment in the british armythis is the first major history of the household cavalry, which consists of the life guards and the blues and royals the three oldest and most senior regiments in the british army. The regular army of the british army is listed according to an order of precedence for the purposes of parading. The royal horse guards the blues, noting their tunics descend from a parliamentary regiment of horse, which charles ii reraised when. The royal horse guards regiment, the regiment commonly referred to as the blues, is one of only two regiments to trace its origins back to cromwells new model army. Maxwell, from the general officer, commandinginchief, the forces in ireland. Royal horse guards 2nd life guards wwi war diaries. The guards machine gun regiment was formed from units of the household cavalry and the existing guards machine gun. Only the foot guards, 1st regiment, 60th regiment and the rifle brigade had more than one battalion. As such they were, and continue today to be the most senior regiments in the army. The royal dragoon guards have a long and distinguished history dating from 1685. They are the senior regular regiments in the british army, with traditions dating from 1660, and. Originally attached to the horse guards, they became independent for a century before being disbanded. They were placed on the english establishment in 1661, with the founding of the modern regular british army.
They took their names, preobrazhensky and semonovsky, from the villages in which they had originally taken form. In 1788, as part of the reorganization of the british army, the remaining 1st and 2nd troops were united with the 1st and 2nd troops of horse grenadier guards to form, respectively, the 1st and 2nd regiments of life guards. This regimental history of the royal dragoon guards is something new and different in an osprey book. Anglesey, lord a history of the british cavalry vols 14 pen and sword books, 1983 babington, anthony military intervention in britain, from the gordon riots to the gibraltar incident routledge, london 1990 bowling, a. The various troops of horse guards and horse grenadier guards were regimented in 1788, forming the 1st regiment of life guards and 2nd regiment of life guards. From the creation of the regiment to the eve of the great war. After waterloo, all three household cavalry regiments remained on home duties for some seventy years. If ones wants to learn about the life guards and the blues regiments and their service to the crown for the past 300 plus years in the field or at whitehall. Regiments are, in many ways, like families and this book is as much a biography as a.
The same year, the remaining four horse regiments were retitled as the 4th through 7th dragoon guards. The blues and royals royal horse guards and 1st dragoons note for operational purposes the two household cavalry regiments form a pair of joint units. Household cavalry and royal armoured corps household cavalry. The life guards is made up of four different troops of horse guards raised by charles ii around the time of his restoration.
The horse grenadier guards were a series of cavalry troops in the british household cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Regiments of life guards and horse guards at waterloo. It was the joining of two famous cavalry regiments, the royal horse guards and the royal dragoons, which formed the blues and royals in 1969. The irish guards was formed on 1st april 1900 as queen victorias way of commemorating the bravery shown by the many irish regiments which fought in the south african wars. How the british army organises its personnel uk news the. This book contains a synopsis of the history of over two hundred years of loyal service rendered by the gallant regiment of the horse guards lo emperor and. Shop british regiments books and collectibles abebooks. On arrival at our line found french infantry partially untrenched already, but they promptly withdrew, so we defended the westroosebeke paschendaele road by trenching to w of it in the order from the right 1st life guards, r h gds, ourselves, royal dragoons, 10th hussars, french troops on the. The regiment served in the french revolutionary wars and in the peninsular war. The 2nd dragoon guards queen s bays was a cavalry regiment of the british army. This is the first major history of the household cavalry, which consists of the life guards and the blues and royals the three oldest and most senior regiments in the british army. The governor generals horse guards wikimili, the best.