15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars
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| 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars | |
|---|---|
| Active | 11th April 1922 -1st December 1992 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Line Cavalry |
| Role | Formation Reconnaissance |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Motto | Merebimur (We shall be Worthy) (Latin) |
| Colors | Blue - Yellow - Red & Blue |
| Anniversaries | 21st December Sahagun Day 23rd September Assaye |
| Battle honours | Emsdorf Villers en Cauchies Seringapatam Mysore Willems Egmont op Zee |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
HRH Princess Margaret |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
NCOs - Royal Crest , All Ranks Assaye and Elephant on belt buckle. |
The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.It was created as part of the reduction in the cavalry in the aftermath of World War I. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own) on 11 April 1922, becoming the 15th/19th Hussars. It briefly dropped the 19th numeral from its title in 1932, becoming the 15th The King's Royal Hussars, before regaining it the following year.
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[edit] World War 2
At the outbreak of the Second World War, it was based at York with the 3rd Infantry Division, serving as the divisional reconnaissance regiment (03/09/1939 - 30/03/1940). It deployed with them in the British Expeditionary Force, and fought in the Battle of France. During this time, it also operated with the 2nd Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade (30/03/1940 - 22/06/1940) , it was decimated during the German Army advance and was evacuated at Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo , leaving all its Armour and vehicles behind. After the withdrawal to the and having suffered heavy losses it operated with 3rd Motor Machine Gun Brigade, being assigned to the newly raised 28th Armoured Brigade from the (01/12/1040 - 20/06/1944) of 9th Armoured Division in December 1940, with a cadre being detached to form the 23rd Hussars. It remained in the UK until after the D-Day landings, when it was sent to Normandy as the divisional reconnaissance regiment of the 11th Armoured Division ,(17/08/1944 - 31/08/1945). It ended the war in Germany.
[edit] Post War
The Regiment served in Palestine between 1945-1948 and was involved in the Malayan Emergency from 1954 to 1957 until 1956 with the Regimental Head Quarters and one suadron based at Ipoh the other squadrons were based at Taiping and Raub.After Malaya the Regiment was posted to Oman , Muscat and Aden during the rebellion of the Imam of Oman 1957.
[edit] Cold War
During the Cold War, it saw service across the world; as with most armoured regiments, however, it spent much of its time in West Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). In 1976 the regiment returned to the UK, re-roling as an Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, equipped with the FV101 Scorpion and when it deployed to BAOR with the 3rd Armoured Division in 1977 stationed in the German town of Paderborn and became the fourth of four Armoured Reconnaissance regiments in BAOR. During this time the Regiment would deploy squadrons to Northern Ireland as part of Operation Banner ,which would be formed around the Close Recconnaissance Troops of 'A' Squadron who would be attached to their associated battlegroup.The Regiments 'A' Squadron also deployed twice as a Squadron on Op Banner as the prison guard force based at HMP Maze and HMP Crumlin.The Close Recconaissance Troops also deployed to CFB Suffield in Canada on Ex MEDICINE MAN in the early 1980s. In 1985 the main body of the Regiment was to return to England as the R,A,C Training Regiment in Bovington Camp in Dorset , the exeption was 'A' Squadron which was deployed to Cyprus as the resident Armoured Squadron one of the last units in the British Army ,to use Ferret Scout Cars,Saladin and Saracen armoured cars. In the late 1980s however the Regiment again re-roled back to a Main Battle Tank (MBT) unit, serving on FV4201 Chieftain tanks, initially with the Mk5 before moving onto the more advanced an up-armoured MK10 and Mk11s. The Regiment was one the last to actively man the steadfast Chieftain MBT in battle readiness, serving on them until being disbanded during 1992. As part of the post-Cold War defence reforms, the 15th/19th amalgamated with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) on 1 December 1992 to form The Light Dragoons, again reverting back to the Armoured Reconnaissance role serving on FV107 Scimitar light tanks in the formation reconnaissance role.
[edit] Victoria Cross
The following members of the combined Regiments were awarded the Victoria Cross , Great Britians highest award for valour in the face of the enemy;
- Lieutenant Colonel William Thomas Marshall , 19th Hussars.
- Sergeant Charles Ernest Garforth ,Mentioned in Dispatches , 15th Hussars.
- Private Herbert George Columbine , 19th Hussars (att'd machine gun corps)
- Brigadier General Hugh Henry Gough , 19th Hussars.
[edit] Notable Old Comrades
- John Hamilton Gray (14 June 1811 – 13 August 1887) was Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1863 – 1865 and one of the Fathers of Confederation, 15th Light Dragoons.
- Major-General Richard William Howard Vyse (1784 – 1853) [1]) was a British soldier, anthropologist and Egyptologist. He was also Member of Parliament for Beverley (from 1807 to 1812) and Honiton (from 1812 to 1818), commissioned 15th Light Dragoons.
- Lieutenant-Colonel John James Waldegrave, 6th Earl Waldegrave (1785–1835) was a British peer , 15th Light Dragoons.
- William George Hylton Jolliffe, 1st Baron Hylton (1800 – 1876), known as Sir William Jolliffe, 1st Baronet, between 1821 and 1866, was a British Conservative Party politician, 15th Dragoons.
- Henry Langtry (1841–1892) was an Anglo-Irish war hero who served as a Colonel with the 3rd Dragoon Guards in the Abyssinian campaign in 1868, and was present at the storming and capture of Magdala (Medal), Langtry served with the 15th Hussars in the Candahar Column in the Afghan war of 1878.
- Captain Louis Edward Nolan (1818–1854), was a British Army officer, an authority on cavalry tactics, and best known for his controversial role in launching the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava. He was also the first casualty of that engagement, 15th Hussars.
- Lieutenant-General Robert Ballard Long (1771 – 1825) , 15th Light Dragoons.
- Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Murray Ashley Warde CBE (1850–1940), commissoned 19th Hussars , who served as Chief Constable of Kent County Constabulary from 1895 to 1921.
- Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, GCSI, GCIE, GBE, KCB, CMG (1877 - 1954), commissioned 15th Hussars.
- Colonel Francis de Groot (1888 - 1969) , commissioned 15th Hussars.
- John Wynne William Peyton, Baron Peyton of Yeovil PC, FZS (1919 – 2006) was a British politician.
- Major Ian Reginald Edward Gow TD (1937 – 1990) was a British Conservative politician assianated by the IRA.
- Brigader Antony Henry Head, 1st Viscount Head , GCMG CBE MC PC (1906 – 1983) was a British Member of Parliament, peer and statesman.
- Major General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh KBE MC (1892 - 1970) served in both the First and Second World Wars. He commanded the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, between 1939 and 1941. Commading Officer 1934-38
- Brigadier Sir Henry Robert Kincaid Floyd, 5th Baronet(1899 – 1968). The fifth Baronet was a Brigadier in the 15th/19th Hussars and was Chief-of-Staff of the Eighth Army from 1944 to 1945. Between 1961 and 1968 he served as Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.
- Captain Gerald Maitland-Carew (born 1941) is Lord Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale in Scotland.
- Colonel Sir Geoffrey Walter Fownes Luttrell KCVO MC JP (1919 – 2007).
- Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC, PC (1852 - 1925) , Commanding Officer 19 Hussars 1889-1893.
- Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, 7th Baronet of Oakley GCB OM GCSI KCMG DSO (1869–1950) , became Commander in Chief in India.Commissioned 19th Hussars.
- Major John Prendergast Gouriet (born 1935) , Commissioned 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars.John Gouriet
- Major General Simon Mayall , Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom) , Commissioned 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars 1979 , Deputy Commander Multi-National Corps Iraq 2006 .
[edit] Nicknames
- A Squadron - The Tabs
- B Squadron - The Guards
- C Squadron - The Legion
