Dragoon guards
Encyclopedia
Dragoon Guards was the designation used to refer to certain heavy cavalry
regiment
s in the British Army from the 18th century onwards. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments amongst their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these units.
The British Army first used the designation in 1746, when the King's Own Regiment of Horse, the Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Horse (prior to 1727 the Princess of Wales's Own) and the 4th Horse were redesignated as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Dragoon Guards respectively. In 1788 the four remaining regiments of Horse were converted into the 4th-7th Dragoon Guards.
The exercise of converting from "Horse" (heavy cavalry) to "Dragoon" (formerly mounted infantry) was intended to save money - Dragoons were paid less than Horse - and the change was very unpopular amongst the regiments affected. To compensate for the loss of pay and prestige the impressive title of "Dragoon Guards" was adopted. The Dragoon Guards remained as cavalry of the line and did not become Household troops in any sense.
In the British Army the regiments of Horse that were converted to Dragoon guards took precedence over all other cavalry regiments of the Line, which were at the exclusively dragoons. As the senior regiments they could not take numbers sequential with those of the existing dragoon regiments, so needed a new title and numbering system. Hence they were termed Dragoon Guards, the guards appellation giving them higher status, and allowing them to be numbered in their own sequence.
The Dragoon Guards regiments were converted to armoured cars and tank
s during the 1930s. There are still three Dragoon Guards regiments in the British Army:
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s in the British Army from the 18th century onwards. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments amongst their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these units.
The British Army first used the designation in 1746, when the King's Own Regiment of Horse, the Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Horse (prior to 1727 the Princess of Wales's Own) and the 4th Horse were redesignated as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Dragoon Guards respectively. In 1788 the four remaining regiments of Horse were converted into the 4th-7th Dragoon Guards.
The exercise of converting from "Horse" (heavy cavalry) to "Dragoon" (formerly mounted infantry) was intended to save money - Dragoons were paid less than Horse - and the change was very unpopular amongst the regiments affected. To compensate for the loss of pay and prestige the impressive title of "Dragoon Guards" was adopted. The Dragoon Guards remained as cavalry of the line and did not become Household troops in any sense.
In the British Army the regiments of Horse that were converted to Dragoon guards took precedence over all other cavalry regiments of the Line, which were at the exclusively dragoons. As the senior regiments they could not take numbers sequential with those of the existing dragoon regiments, so needed a new title and numbering system. Hence they were termed Dragoon Guards, the guards appellation giving them higher status, and allowing them to be numbered in their own sequence.
British Dragoon Guards Regiments
- 1st King's Dragoon Guards1st King's Dragoon GuardsThe 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1685 as The Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed The King's Own Regiment of Horse in 1714 in honour of George I...
(1746, from The King's Own Regiment of Horse); amalgamated to form 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
(1959) - 2nd Queen's Dragoon Guards (1746, from The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Horse); redesignated 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) (1872); redesignated The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) (1921); amalgamated to form 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (1959)
- 3rd Dragoon Guards (1747, from 4th Regiment of Horse); redesignated 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards (1765); amalgamated to form 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards (1922); redesignated 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) (1928); amalgamated with Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) to form Royal Scots Dragoon GuardsRoyal Scots Dragoon GuardsThe Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of...
(Carabiniers and Greys) (1971) - 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards (1788, from 1st Irish Horse); redesignated 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards4th Royal Irish Dragoon GuardsThe 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in 1922....
(1921); amalgamated to form 4th/7th Dragoon Guards (1922); redesignated 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards4th/7th Royal Dragoon GuardsThe 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1922 to 1992.It was formed in India in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards and 7th Dragoon Guards , as the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards; it gained the distinction Royal in 1935...
(1936); amalgamated to form Royal Dragoon GuardsRoyal Dragoon GuardsThe Royal Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards...
(1992) - 5th Dragoon Guards (1788, from 2nd Irish Horse); redesignated 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards (1804); redesignated 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) (1920); amalgamated with The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons) to form 5th/6th Dragoons (1922); redesignated 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (1927); redesignated 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon GuardsThe 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1922 to 1992, when it was amalgmated into the Royal Dragoon Guards.-The beginning:...
(1935); amalgamated to form Royal Dragoon Guards (1992) - 6th Dragoon Guards (The Carabiniers) (1788, from 3rd Irish Horse); redesignated The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) (1920); amalgamated to form 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards (1922)
- 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards (1788, from 4th Irish Horse); redesignated 7th Dragoon Guards (Princess Royal's) (1921); amalgamated to form 4th/7th Dragoon Guards (1922)
The Dragoon Guards regiments were converted to armoured cars and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s during the 1930s. There are still three Dragoon Guards regiments in the British Army:
- 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
- Royal Scots Dragoon GuardsRoyal Scots Dragoon GuardsThe Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of...
- Royal Dragoon GuardsRoyal Dragoon GuardsThe Royal Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards...
External links
- History of 4th Dragoon Guards - includes reference to reason for conversion from Horse.