5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards | |
---|---|
Active | 1922–1993 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Armoured |
Role | Cavalry |
Size | Regiment |
Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Chester |
Nickname(s) | "The Skins" |
Motto(s) | Vestigia nulla retrorsum (Latin: We do not retreat) |
March | Quick: Fare Ye well Enniskillen Slow: The Soldier's Chorus from Gounod's Faust |
Anniversaries | Oates Sunday Balaklava Day Waterloo Day Salamanca Day |
The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World War and the Korean War. In August 1992, as a consequence of the Options for Change defence cuts, the regiment was amalgamated with the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards to form the Royal Dragoon Guards.
History
Formation
The regiment was formed in 1922, as the 5th/6th Dragoons, at Cairo, Egypt by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons.[1][2]
In 1923, the regiment was deployed to
Second World War
On 3 September 1939, two days after the
In December 1940, cadres drawn from the regiment and the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards were used to form a new regiment, the 22nd Dragoons, which was disbanded in December 1945.[4]
The 5th Dragoon Guards remained in the United Kingdom until late July 1944, when it
The Inniskillings began their advance on Belgium on 31 August-the 7th Armoured Division's objective was the city of Ghent-and crossed the Somme, where the regiment's predecessor regiments had fought during World War I, and Authie rivers. The division's remarkable advance on the Franco-Belgian border could not be maintained as the enormous amounts of fuel consumed had depleted available supplies. Instead, a smaller force, including the Innsikillings, was employed in the effort to capture Ghent; the Inniskillings and the 11th Hussars entered the city on 5 September. The 7th Armoured Division remained in Belgium to take part in operations against the remnants of the German forces and, thus, did not take part in Operation Market Garden. The regiment subsequently took part in heavy fighting around the Maas river during Operation Pheasant which began in late October.[3]
The regiment saw action during
Post-War
The regiment was sent to York Barracks in
In February 1957, the regiment moved to Athlone Barracks in
The regiment moved to Imphal Barracks in Osnabrück in December 1976, from which it deployed to Northern Ireland on a four-month tour in April 1981.[5] The regiment returned to the UK in November 1984 and then moved to Barker Barracks in Paderborn in November 1986.[5] The regiment deployed on another four-month tour in Northern Ireland in September 1989 and again in January 1992.[5]
In August 1992, as a consequence of the Options for Change defence cuts, the regiment was amalgamated with the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards to form the Royal Dragoon Guards.[3]
Regimental museum
The regimental museum, along with that of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, is based in Enniskillen Castle.[6][7] A further display can be seen in the Cheshire Military Museum at Chester Castle.[8]
Uniform
At the time of amalgamation, care was taken to ensure that the new regiment's uniform retained a balance of features from both former regiments. Thus in full dress, the red and white plume of the 5th Dragoon Guards was worn on the (silver) helmet of the 6th Dragoons, the helmet badge of the 5th was worn, but the collar badge of the 6th. Yellow facings (collar and cuffs) were retained from the 6th Dragoons, but in order not to lose the distinctive green facings of the 5th Dragoon Guards, it was proposed that green breeches/overalls be worn. (Green breeches had formerly been worn in the eighteenth century, when the regiment was known as 'the Green Horse'.) The proposal was accepted, and a new tradition established. After mechanisation, green trousers began to be worn with various orders of dress (a custom still maintained by the successor regiment, the Royal Dragoon Guards).[9]
Battle honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[10]
- Early Wars: (Battle Honours for predecessor regiments): Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899–1902
- First World War (Battle Honours for predecessor regiments):
- Western Front: France and Flanders 1914–18
- Western Front:
- Second World War:
- North-West Europe: Withdrawal to Scheldt, North-West Europe 1940 '44–45
- North-West Europe: Withdrawal to Scheldt,
- Korea: The Hook 1952, Korea 1951–52
Commanding Officers
The Commanding Officers have been:[11]
- 1960–1962: Lt.-Col. Harry C. Walker MC
- 1962–1965: Lt.-Col. Gavin S. Murray
- 1965–1967: Lt.-Col. Henry G. Woods
- 1967–1970: Lt.-Col. Guy L. Wathen
- 1970–1972: Lt.-Col. Charles E. Taylor
- 1972–1975: Lt.-Col. Richard C. Keightley
- 1975–1977: Lt.-Col. Patrick G. Brooking
- 1977–1980: Lt.-Col. Nicholas G. P. Ansell
- 1980–1982: Lt.-Col. William A. Evans
- 1982–1984: Lt.-Col. Water J. Courage
- 1984–1987: Lt.-Col. Patrick A. J. Cordingley
- 1987–1990: Lt.-Col. Brian R. Anderson
- 1990–1992: Lt.-Col. David W. Montgomery
Colonels-in-Chief
The colonels-in-chief were as follows:[1]
- King Albert I, King of the Belgians (1922)
- King Leopold III, King of the Belgians (1937)
- The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales(1985)
Regimental Colonels
Colonels of the Regiment were:[1]
- 5th/6th Dragoons then 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (1927)
- 1922–1928 (6th Dragoons): Maj-Gen. Sir Michael Frederic Rimington, KGB, CVO (ex 6th Dragoons)
- 1922–1937 (5th Dragoon Guards): Lt-Gen. Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges, KCB, KCMG, DSO (ex 5th Dragoon Guards)
- 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (1935)
- 1937–1947: Maj-Gen. Roger Evans, CB, MC
- 1947–1957: Gen. Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO
- 1957–1962: Col. Sir Michael Picton Ansell, CBE, DSO
- 1962–1967: Gen. Sir John D'Arcy Anderson, GBE, KCB, DSO, DL
- 1967–1972: Brig. Arthur Carr, OBE
- 1972–1981: Gen. Sir Cecil Blacker, GCB, OBE, MC
- 1981–1986: Brig. William Francis Allan Findlay, OBE
- 1986–1991: Maj-Gen. Richard Charles Keightley, CB
- 1991–1992: Maj-Gen. Patrick Guy Brooking, CB, MBE (to Royal Dragoon Guards)
- 1992: Regiment amalgamated with The Royal Dragoon Guards
Alliances
- Canada 10th Brant Dragoons (1922–1936) - Canada
- Canada 2nd/10th Dragoons (1936–1946) - Canada
- The British Columbia Dragoons(1960–1992) - Canada
- Australia 9th Light Horse (The Flinders Light Horse) (1927–1943) - Australia
- Australia 3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles) (1951–1992) - Australia
- New Zealand 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles (1922–1944) - New Zealand
- Yeomanry
- The Cheshire Yeomanry (Earl of Chester's)
- United Kingdom North Irish Horse
Former officers
References
- ^ a b c d e f "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". Cheshire Military Museum. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "22nd Dragoons". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "Enniskillen Castle". Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "Inniskillings Museum". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ Cheshire Military Museum, Army Museums Ogilby Trust, archived from the original on 17 June 2011, retrieved 18 February 2011
- ^ "History of the green trousers". Royal Dragoon Guards Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "Battle Honours of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards". Inniskillings Museum. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie" (PDF). p. 18. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
Further reading
- Blacker, C.; Woods, H. (1978). Change and Challenge: 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards 1928-1978. Privately printed.
- Evans, Roger (1951). The Story of the Fifth Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Gale & Polden.