IN PEACE AND WARThis book is dedicated to the officers, soldiers and horses of all seven cavalry regiments with which it is concerned. Some were killed in action, many were injured and others became prisoners-ofwar, suffering all manner of privations. All did and in the case of the Queens Royal Hussars (The Queens Own and Royal Irish) continue to do their duty. Living or dead, they are not forgotten.
IN PEACE AND WAR
The Story of
The Queens Royal Hussars
(The Queens Own and Royal Irish)
Robin Rhoderick-Jones
Foreword by
HRH The Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by
PEN & SWORD MILITARY
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright Robin Rhoderick-Jones, 2018
ISBN 978-1-52674-696-2
eISBN 978-1-52674-696-2
Mobi ISBN 978-1-52674-697-9
The right of Robin Rhoderick-Jones to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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LIST OF PLATES
1. Prince Philips visit to Operation Telic 8 in Iraq, 2006.
2. HRH The Princess Anne of Denmark.
3. Brigadier General Charles Seymour, First Colonel of the 3rd The Kings Own Hussars.
4. Thomas Brown Regaining the Standard at Dettingen.
5. George Daraugh Hero of Dettingen.
6. The Charge at Salamanca.
7. The Battle of Moodkee, 18 December 1845.
8. Sir Winston Churchill, Colonel of the 4th Queens Own Hussars and of the Queens Royal Irish Hussars.
9. The Queens Own Hussars tercentenary celebrations, Catterick, 1985. The old comrades march past.
10. The Irish Hussars tercentenary, Munster, 1985. The Colonel-in-Chief inspects the regiment
11. Operation Granby: sunset in the desert, an A Squadron Challenger.
12. The Colonel-in-Chief with Winston the drum horse. Prince Philips final visit to the Irish Hussars, July 1993.
13. Bosnia 1996. St Patricks Day at Mrkonjic Grad.
14. Guidon parade of The Queens Royal Hussars, Catterick 1997. The Colonel-in-Chief presents the new guidon. The Deputy Colonel-in-Chief looks on.
15. B Squadron Challengers on Patrol, Kosovo, 2000.
16. Iraq, 2004. Foot patrol in Basra.
17. Preparing for the charge down the valley of death. The regiment and old comrades visit to Balaklava, 2004.
18. The Balaklava Memorial.
1920. The Colonel-in-Chief in Basra, 2006.
21. Foot patrol in Afghanistan, 201112.
22. Warthogs about to cross the Helmand River, Afghanistan, 201112.
23. C (Churchill) Squadron at the London Olympics, 2012.
24. The Regimental Association marches past. Cavalry Memorial Parade, Hyde Park, 2012.
25. Remembrance Sunday, Birmingham, 2012.
267. A Challenger of D Squadron firing high explosive rounds.
28. Lieutenant Leah Bertram. The first woman officer to join the Queens Royal Hussars (the Queens Own and Royal Irish).
29. The Guidon.
30. The Pipes and Drums lead the way to the memorial service at Balaklava, 2004.
31. A Relaxed Colonel-in-Chief, Crimea, 2004.
32. The Regimental Association at the Cavalry Memorial Parade, 2015.
336. Freedom of Worcester Parade, 2015.
37. Estonia, 2016.
38. Members of the Germany-based Churchill Troop of the Regimental Association pictured in the Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess, Athlone Barracks, 2016.
39. Farewell luncheon for Major David Innes-Lumsden on his retirement after 17 years as regimental secretary, Cavalry and Guards Club, 2016.
401. Members of Gulf Troop of the Regimental Association, Coleraine,2017.
LIST OF MAPS
Battle of the Boyne, 1 July 1690
Battle of Dettingen, 27 June 1743
Battle of Salamanca, 22 July 1812
Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815
The Charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade at Balaklava,
25 October 1854
British India
Southern Africa during the Matabele and Boer Wars (18931902)
The Battlefields of the Western Front, 19141918
North Africa The Desert War, 19403
The 4th Hussars in Greece and C Squadron 3rd Hussars in Crete,1941
Italy, 19435
Malaya, 19489
Korea, 19501
Hong Kong when a British Crown Colony
Aden, 1957
South Arabia, 1961
Borneo, 19627
Stations of the British Army of the Rhine from 1945 to 2018
Cyprus showing the British Sovereign Base Areas and the Green Line 124
Outline map of Northern Ireland 128
Rhodesia/Zimbabwe before Independence, 19801
The Gulf War: Desert Storm, 1991
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19956
Kosovo, 20011
Iraq
Helmand Province, Afghanistan
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writing of this book has been a delight and I need very much to thank those responsible for its completion. First is the Colonel of the Queens Royal Hussars (The Queens Own and Royal Irish), Lieutenant General Sir Tom Beckett, who has supported the project from the very beginning. He and the regimental trustees, particularly Colonel Nigel Beer who has carried the commercial burden, have entered enthusiastically into the processes necessary to bring the book to publication. Major Jim Austin and his team at regimental home headquarters have been unfailingly helpful in responding to my frequent cries for help for which I am truly grateful.
I thank, too, those past colonels, commanding officers and regimental sergeant majors of the Queens Royal Hussars who answered my appeal for personal reminiscences of their time in office and provided much useful material, as did a number of others serving at regimental duty. Members ofthe Regimental Association also got in touch and contributed their own memories. David Botsford put all the images, maps and captions on to disc which saved a huge amount of work for the publishers. To all of them I amgrateful.
I have the greatest pleasure in singling out my old friend Peter Donovan, an old comrade of the 4th Queens Own Hussars, who has kindly contributed towards the cost of the production of In Peace and War one of several hugely generous donations he has made to regimental charities. Finally I thank my most assiduous editor, George Chamier, and Henry Wilson and Matt Jones of Pen & Sword for their help and encouragement.
