:3rd Dragoon Guards

{{Short description|British Army cavalry regiment}}

{{Infobox military unit

|unit_name = 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards)

|image = 3rd Dragoon Guards Cap Badge.jpg

|caption = Badge of the 3rd Dragoon Guards

|dates = 1685–1922

|country= {{flag|Kingdom of England}} (1685–1707)
{{flag|Kingdom of Great Britain}} (1707–1800)
{{flag|United Kingdom}} (1801–1922)

|branch = Army

|type = Line Cavalry

|role = Cavalry

|size = One regiment

|command_structure =

|current_commander =

|garrison = RHQ

|ceremonial_chief =

|ceremonial_chief_label = Colonel-in-Chief

|colonel_of_the_regiment =

|nickname =The Old Canaries{{cite book |last1=Burnham|first1=Robert|last2=McGuigan|first2=Ron|year=2010|title=The British Army against Napoleon|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Frontline Books|isbn=978-1-84832-562-3|page=122}}

|motto = Ich Dien (I Serve)

|colors =

|identification_symbol_2 =

|march = Quick - God Bless the Prince of Wales
Slow - Men of Harlech

|battles =

|notable_commanders =

|anniversaries =

}}

The 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards in 1765. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922.

History

File:David Morier (1705^-70) - Private, 3rd Dragoon Guards, 1751 - RCIN 405606 - Royal Collection.jpg, 1750)]]

The regiment was first raised by Thomas Hickman-Windsor, 1st Earl of Plymouth as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse in 1685 as part of the response to the Monmouth Rebellion, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and was ranked as the 4th Regiment of Horse.{{cite web|url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/DG3.htm|title=3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's)|access-date=March 30, 2007|last=Mills|first=T.F.|work=regiments.org |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070227063643/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/DG3.htm |archive-date =February 27, 2007}} The regiment saw action at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704, the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession.{{cite web|url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/3rd-dragoon-guards-prince-wales|title=3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's)|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=4 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809213843/http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/3rd-dragoon-guards-prince-wales|archive-date=9 August 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} In 1746 it was ranked as the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and formally titled in 1751 as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards.

Shortly thereafter, in 1765, it took the title 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, for the future George IV. It took part in the suppression of the Bristol riots in 1831 and, after service in India, took part in the British Expedition to Abyssinia in 1868. The regiment was employed chasing the elusive General Christiaan de Wet in spring 1901 during the Second Boer War.{{cite web|url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/516-3rd-prince-of-waless-dragoon-guards|title=3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards|publisher=Anglo-Boer War|access-date=4 August 2016}}

File:3rd Dragoon Guards uniform.jpg

The regiment, which was in Cairo at the start of First World War, landed in France as part of the 6th Cavalry Brigade in the 3rd Cavalry Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/dragoonguards.htm|title=The Dragoon Guards|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=4 August 2016}} where it fought at the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 and the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917.

It retitled as 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) in 1921, and was amalgamated with the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards the following year.{{cite book|author=John Pimlott|title=The Guinness History of the British Army|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5L0qAQAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Guinness Pub.|isbn=978-0-85112-711-8}}

Regimental museum

The regimental collection is held in the Cheshire Military Museum at Chester Castle.{{Citation| url = http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/museums/0000000024-Cheshire-Military-Museum.htm| title = Cheshire Military Museum| access-date = 18 February 2011| publisher = Army Museums Ogilby Trust| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110617114853/http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/museums/0000000024-Cheshire-Military-Museum.htm| archive-date = 17 June 2011| url-status = dead| df = dmy-all}} Some items are also held by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum at Edinburgh Castle.{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsdgmuseum.com/|title=Welcome|publisher=Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum|access-date=24 June 2018|archive-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527135235/http://www.scotsdgmuseum.com/|url-status=dead}}

Battle honours

The regiment was awarded the following battle honours:

  • Early Wars: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Warburg, Beaumont, Willems, Talavera, Albuhera, Vittoria, Peninsula, Abyssinia, South Africa 1901–02.Chant, p. 16
  • The Great War: Ypres 1914, 1915, Nonne Bosschen, Frezenberg, Loos, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Somme 1918, St. Quentin, Avre, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18.HMSO, p .4

Commanding Officers

{{Incomplete list|date=November 2020}}

The Commanding Officers have been:{{cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/REGIMENTAL%20COs.pdf|title=Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie|page=15|access-date=3 November 2020}}

  • 1958–1960: Lt.-Col. J. M. Ashton
  • 1960–1962: Lt.-Col. George P. Badham
  • 1962–1965: Lt.-Col. Edward I. Stanford
  • 1965–1967: Lt.-Col. William R. B. Allen
  • 1967–1970: Lt.-Col. Henry S. L. Dalzell-Payne
  • 1970–1971: Lt.-Col. Anthony J. Bateman

Colonels

The colonels of the regiment were as follows:

=<small>1685</small> 4th Regiment of Horse=

File:4th Regiment of Horse, 1687.jpg

File:Cornelius wood memorial St leonards bucks.jpg]]

=<small>1746</small> 3rd Regiment of Horse=

=<small>1751</small> 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards=

=<small>1765</small> 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards=

=<small>1921</small> 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's)=

See also

References

{{Reflist |30em}}

Sources

  • {{cite book|first=Christopher|last= Chant|title=The Handbook of British Regiments (Routledge Revivals)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ieeOAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|date=18 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-64724-8}}
  • {{cite book|author=HMSO|title=Battle Honours Awarded for the Great War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1K-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|date=13 February 2012|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=978-1-78150-187-0}}

{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I}}

{{Royal Scots Dragoon Guards}}

Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army

Category:Dragoon Guards

Category:1685 establishments in England

Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922

DG3

Category:Military units and formations established in 1685