Royal Horse Guards [UK]

Authors and Contributors this page: T.F. Mills

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Page created 15 July 2000. Corrected and updated 15.07.2006

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	Royal Horse Guards (The Blues)
crest and tie by A. Melville-Brown	United Kingdom

Titles & Lineage

History

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Colonels

Biography & Gallantry Awards
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Associations, Forums, Re-Enactors
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Bibliography

How to find information about individuals who served in this corps


	1650.08	Regiment of Cuirassiers raised in Parliamentary Army at Newcastle and County Durham
	1660.07	The Royal Regiment transferred to the King's service
	1660.12	disbanded at Bath
	1661.01.26	The Royal Regiment of Horse, or Horse Guards re-formed on creation of British Regular Army; ranked as 1st Horse; also known as Oxford Blues
	1687	placed on Household establishment
	1746.12.25	removed from Horse establishment and given independent status (and 2nd-4th Horse re-ranked as 1st-3rd Dragoon Guards)
	1750	Royal Horse Guards Blue
	1760?	Royal Regiment of Horse Guards
	1819	Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues)
	1827	placed on same footing as 1st* and 2nd Life Guards, ranking 3rd*
	1877	Royal Horse Guards (The Blues)
	1882	contributed to Household Cavalry Composite Regiment
	1899.11	contributed to Household Cavalry Composite Regiment
	1914.08	contributed to Household Cavalry Composite Regiment
	1916.09.01	contributed to Household Battalion
	1918.06.27	converted (less one squadron) as 3rd (Royal Horse Guards) Battalion, Guards Machine Gun Regiment
	1919.02.10	regiment reconstituted from personnel of the MG battalion
	1939.09.01	regiment ceased to function in order to form Household Cavalry Composite Regiment and Household Cavalry Training Regiment
	1945.07	regiment reconstituted at disbandment of 1st Household Cavalry Regiment and 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment
	1969.03.23	amalgamated with The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons), to form The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)


		British Cavalry Regiments, by Brad Chappell (The Regimental Warpath 1914-1918)

	*RHQ and Depot:*
		RHQ: Horse Guards, Whitehall, London SW1
		Depot:
		Recruiting Area: nationwide

	Regular Units:
		Royal Horse Guards [1650-1969]
		Reserve Regiment of Royal Horse Guards [1914-1919]


	Dettingen, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Peninsula, Waterloo, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899-1900 The Great War: Mons², Le Cateau¹, Retreat from Mons¹, Marne 1914¹, Aisne 1914¹, Messines 1914¹, Armentières 1914¹, Ypres 1914 '15 '17, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, St Julien, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Broodseinde², Poelcappelle², Passchendaele², Hindenburg Line, Cambrai 1918, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18 The Second World War³: Mont Pincon, Souleuvre, Noireau Crossing, Amiens 1944, Brussels, Neerpelt, Nederrijn, Nijmegen, Lingen, Bentheim, North-West Europe 1944-45, Baghdad 1941, Iraq 1941, Palmyra, Syria 1941, El Alamein, North Africa 1942-43, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, Italy 1944 1. awarded for services of the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment. 2. awarded for services of the Household Battalion. 3. awarded jointly to The Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards, for services of Household Cavalry Regiment.

Badges:

Crest: The Royal Cypher with the Garter.

Uniform:

full dress: blue; facings: scarlet; headdress: Albert helmet with red plume.


	1880.05.29	F.M. HM King Edward VII
	1910.05.07	F.M. HM King George V
	1936.02.01	F.M. HM King Edward VIII
	1936.12.10	F.M. HM King George VI
	1952.02.06	HM Queen Elizabeth II


	1661.01.26	Lt-Gen. Aubrey (de Vere), 20th Earl of Oxford, KG
	1688.02.04	Lt-Gen. James (Fitzjames), Duke of Berwick, KG
	1688.11.29	Lt-Gen. James (Hamilton), 4th Duke of Hamilton (Earl of Arran), KG, KT [killed 15 Nov. 1712 in duel with Charles, Baron Mohun; also 5th Horse; MGO 1712]
	1688.12.17	Lt-Gen. Aubrey (de Vere), 20th Earl of Oxford, KG [reappointed]
	1703.03.13	Lt-Gen. George (Fitzroy), Duke of Northumberland, KG
	1712.01.04	Gen. Richard (Savage), 4th Earl Rivers (Viscount Colchester)
	1712.08.19	Gen. Charles (Mordaunt), 3rd Earl of Peterborough, KG [also Peterborough's Dgns; Capt-Gen. Marines Forces]
	1715.06.13	F.M. John (Campbell), 2nd Duke of Argyll, KG, KT (Earl of Islay, Lord Lorne) [also 4th Tp Horse Gds, 3rd Horse, 3rd Foot, Lorne's Foot(1), Lorne's Foot(2), Argyll's Foot; Gov. Minorca 1712-16; MGO 1725-40]
	1717.03.08	Lt-Gen. Charles (Paulet), 3rd Duke of Bolton (Marquess of Winchester), KG [also 67th Foot; Constable of the Tower 1725-26]
	1733.08.06	F.M. John (Campbell), 2nd Duke of Argyll, KG, KT [reappointed]
	1740.05.06	Gen. Algernon (Seymour), Earl of Hertford, 7th Duke of Somerset
	1742.02.24	F.M. John (Campbell), 2nd Duke of Argyll, KG, KT [reappointed]
	1742.03.10	Gen. Algernon (Seymour), Earl of Hertford, 7th Duke of Somerset [reappointed]
	1750.02.13	Lt-Gen. Charles (Lennox), 2nd Duke of Richmond & Lennox, KG, KB
	1750.08.08	vacant
	1753.01.27	F.M. Sir John Louis (Ligonier), 1st Earl Ligonier, KB
	1758.05.13	Lt-Gen. John (Manners), Marquess of Granby [also 21st Lt Dgns]
	1770.10.24	F.M. Hon. Henry Seymour Conway
	1795.07.15	F.M. Charles (Lennox), 3rd Duke of Richmond & Lennox, KG [also 72nd Foot; MGO 1782-95]
	1806.12.30	Gen. Hugh (Percy), 2nd Duke of Northumberland (Baron Warkworth), KG [also 2nd Tp Horse Gren Gds, 5th Foot, 111th Foot; Viceroy Ireland]
	1813.01.01	F.M. Sir Arthur (Wellesley), 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH [also Gren Gds, 33rd Foot; Col-in-Chief, Rifle Bde; MGO 1819-27; C-in-C 1827-28, 1842-52; PM 1828, 1830-34; Constable of the Tower 1826-52]
	1827.01.22	F.M. HRH Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, KG, KP, GCB, GCH [later King of Hanover]
	1830.11.19	Gen. Sir Rowland (Hill), 1st Viscount Hill, GCB, GCH, KC [also 53rd Foot, 72nd Hldrs, 94th Foot; CinC]
	1842.12.20	F.M. Henry William (Paget), 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH
	1854.05.08	F.M. F.M. Fitzroy James Henry (Somerset), 1st Baron Raglan, GCB
	1855.06.29	F.M. Sir Hugh (Gough), 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCB, GCSI [also 87th Foot, 99th Foot; Col.-in-Chief, 60th Foot; C-in-C Madras 1841-43, C-in-C India]
	1869.03.03	F.M. Sir Hugh Henry (Rose), 1st Lord Strathnairn, GCB, GCSI [also Col. 45th Foot, 92nd Foot; Hon. Col. 15th Middlesex RVC; C-in-C Bombay 1860; C-in-C India; C-in-C Ireland]
	1885.10.17	F.M. Sir Patrick Grant, GCB, GCMG
	1895.03.29	F.M. Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG [also Col.-in-Chief R Irish Regt; Hon. Col. 3rd Bn Q Rifle Vol Bde; QMG 1880-82, AG 1882-85, High Commissioner & C-in-C Cyprus 1878-79, High Commissioner Natal 1879-80, C-in-C Ireland, C-in-C]
	1907.11.16	F.M. Sir Henry Evelyn Wood, VC, GCB, GCMG [also Hon. Col. Inns of Court Regt]
	1919.07.23	F.M. Sir Douglas (Haig), 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE [also 17th Lancers, KOSB; C-in-C BEF 1915-19]
	1928.01.30	F.M. Sir William Robert Robertson, Bt., GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO [also 3rd Dgn Gds, R Scots Greys; CIGS]
	1933.02.13	F.M. Sir William Riddell (Birdwood), 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, CIE, DSO
	1951.08.18	Maj-Gen. Sir Richard Granville Hylton Howard-Vyse, KCMG, DSO
	1962.12.05	F.M. Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE, DSO [continued 1969 as Col. Blues & Royals; also R Irish Fus, Federation Regt 1954-59, 7th Gurkha Rifles; CIGS; High Commissioner, Malaya 1952-54; Constable of the Tower 1965-70]


		[no external sites have been found]


	Motto:	Honi soit qui mal y pense
	Nicknames:	The Oxford Blues, The Blue Guards, The Blues
	Anniversaries:
	Freedoms:
	Marches:	quick: Grand March from Aida (Guiseppi Verdi; possibly adopted to commemorate "moonlight charge" at Tel-el-Kebir, 1882) slow: Regimental Slow March of the Royal Horse Guards (Duchess of Kent)
	Musicians:
	Band History, by Gordon Turner and Alwyn W. Turner (Droit Music Ltd) Bandmasters and Directors of Music, by Gordon Turner and Alwyn W. Turner (Droit Music Ltd)
	*Mascot:*
	*Miscellaneous Tradition Links:*


	The Governor-General's Horse Guards	-1969

*Associated Yeomanry:*
	The Inns of Court Regiment	1947-1961
	Inns of Court and City Yeomanry	1961-1967


		Guards Association In Australasia


		The Household Cavalry Museum, Windsor (Regimental site)
		The Household Cavalry Museum, Windsor (Army Museums Ogilby Trust)
		The Household Cavalry Museum, Windsor (Simonides listing)


	Regimental Journal:
		*The Brigade of Guards' Magazine*. Vol. 1. no. 1 (Jan. 1888)-v. 10. no. 20 (Dec. 1897).
		*The Household Brigade Magazine*. Jan. 1898-Spring 1968.
		*The Guards Magazine*. Summer 1968-

	Full Histories:
		Packe, Edmund. An historical record of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards; or, Oxford Blues, its services, and the transactions in which it has been engaged from its first establishment to the present time. London : Printed and sold by W. Clowes, 1834.
		Packe, Edmund. *An historical record of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards or Oxford Blues ...* [new ed.] London : Parker, Furnivall & Parker, 1847. (Cannon's historical record series)
		Stocqueler, J. H. (Joachim Hayward). *A personal history of the Horse-Guards from 1750 to 1872*. London : Hurst and Blackett, 1873.
		Berrey, R. Power. The King's Guards, being a fighting history of the Household Cavalry. London : J. Nisbet & Co., 1903.
		Arthur, George, Sir. The story of the Household Cavalry. London : Archibald Constable, 1909. [2 v. ]
		Arthur, George, Sir ; Shennan, Kenneth Gordon Woodbine. *The story of the Household cavalry, v. 3*. London : W. Heinemann Ltd., 1926.
		Hills, R. J. T. *The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues). London : Leo Cooper Ltd., 1970. (Famous regiments*) ISBN: 0850520274
		Manser, Roy. *The Household Cavalry Regiment*. London : Almark Pub. Co., 1975. ISBN: 0855242051
		Braddon, Russell. *All the Queen's men : the Household Cavalry and the Brigade of Guards*. London : Hamilton, 1977. ISBN: 024189431X [American edition published simultaneously: New York : Hippocrene Books, 1977. ISBN: 0882544314]
		Watson, J. N. P. (John N. P.). The story of The Blues and Royals : Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons. London : Leo Cooper, 1993. ISBN: 0850522382
		Watson, J. N. P. (John N. P.). *Through fifteen reigns : a complete history of the Household Cavalry*. Staplehurst : Spellmount, 1997. ISBN: 1873376707

	Other Wars:
		Crofton, Morgan, Sir. The Household Cavalry Brigade in the Waterloo campaign. London : Sifton Praed, 1912.

	Short Histories:
		*His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues)*. Aldershot : Gale & Polden, 1947.
		*Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) : Club register*. Shoreham-by-Sea : Printed by Service Publications Ltd., 1966. [includes "Early history of the Blues (1650-1660)]
		*Short history of the Corps of Household Cavalry : The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)*. London : Lowe, [ca. 1970]

	Special Topics:
		Legge-Bourke, Henry, Sir. *The Household Cavalry on ceremonial occasions*. London : Macdonald, 1952.
		Legge-Bourke, Henry, Sir. *The King's Guards, horse and foot*. London : Macdonald, 1952.
		Legge-Bourke, Henry, Sir. The Queen's Guards, horse and foot. [new ed.] London : Macdonald, 1965.
		*The Household Brigade : a pictorial record*. London : Pitkin Pictorials, 1966.
		Simkin, Peter ; Gibbs, Barry ; Waller, William F. *The Guards : Changing of the Guard, Trooping the Colour, regimental histories*. London : Macmillan, 1972. ISBN: 0333134605
		Simkin, Peter ; Gibbs, Barry. *The Guards : Changing of the Guard, Trooping the Colour, regimental histories*. [rev. ed.] London : Pitkin Pictorials, 1982. ISBN: 0853723478 (pbk)
		*The Guards : changing of the guard, trooping of the colour, the regiments*. Rev. ed. Andover : Pitkin Pictorials, 1990.
		Dallal, Henry. *Pageantry & performance : the Household Cavalry in a celebration of pictures*. [Great Britain] : Henry Dallal, 2003. ISBN: 0954408306
		Shortman, J. K. *Memoirs of a soldier in the Household Cavalry*. Oswestry : Walkmill, 2003. ISBN: 0954309006 (pbk.)
		Dawnay, N. P. (Nicolas Payan). *The standards of the household cavalry, 1660-1967*. Aldershot : Gale & Polden, [ca. 1970] [2 v.]
		Dawnay, N. P. (Nicolas Payan). *The standards, guidons and colours of the Household Division, 1660-1973*. London : Midas Books, 1975.