The beginnings

Light Dragoons have always been rather special troops. They were first raised in the middle of the Eighteenth Century for reconnaissance and patrolling - in other words scouting - but soon acquired a reputation for courage and dash in the charge. Originally, each regiment of cavalry formed a light troop, but so successful was the idea that whole regiments were formed. The 15th Light Dragoons were the first ever (1759), and others quickly followed including the Eighteenth and Nineteenth. The Thirteenth, raised as heavy dragoons (mounted infantrymen) as early as 1715, were also converted to the light role.

These Light Dragoon regiments fought all over the world in the half-century that followed, notably in India and North America. They distinguished themselves under the Duke of Wellington in Spain and Portugal in the Napoleonic wars, and three of them were present at the battle of Waterloo (1815).

In the Crimean War (1854-56), the 13th Light Dragoons were in the fore front of the famous Charge of the Light Brigade, immortalized by Tennyson's poem of that name ("Into the valley of death rode the six hundred").
The regiments adopted the title hussars at this time, and the uniform became very stylish, aping the hussars of the Austro-Hungarian army. But soon the blues and yellows and golds gave way to khaki as the British Army found itself in skirmishes throughout the far-flung Empire, in India and South Africa especially.

In the Great War (1914-18) the four regiments fought in France, both mounted and in the trenches on the Western Front, and some of them on horseback in the Middle East. The 15th Hussars produced two Field Marshals - Sir John French, who was commander in chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which sailed for France in 1914, and Sir Philip Chetwode, who became Commander in Chief India.

After the war the army was reduced in size, and the first of the major amalgamations took place in 1922, the Thirteenth and the Eighteenth Hussars combining, and the Fifteenth with the Nineteenth.

As the war clouds gathered again in 1939, the regiments were hastily mechanized. Both the 13th /18th Hussars and the 15th/19th Hussars went to France that year in light tanks, in the same scouting role for which they had been raised two centuries earlier. After Dunkirk and the evacuation of this second BEF, the regiments re-equipped and re-trained in England until in 1944, at the Normandy landings, the 13th/18th Hussars became the first Allied tanks to lay a track on French soil. They had swum for over two miles from their landing craft by means of special flotation equipment. Both regiments subsequently fought all the way through France, Belgium and Germany until the final Nazi surrender in May 1945.

In the 1950s and 60s, the regiments continued to see plenty of active service in what was to be the twilight of the British Empire - notably in Malaya and Aden. But the main effort was in the divided Germany as part of BAOR - the British Army of the Rhine. Along with other NATO allies, BAOR's role was to deter Soviet aggression during what became known as the Cold War.
From time to time the regiments were also called on to assist in Northern Ireland, sometimes in armoured cars, sometimes on foot.

Formation

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s - the end of the Cold War - the army faced reductions again, just as it had in 1922, and many cavalry regiments were amalgamated. The 13th/18th Royal Hussars and the 15th/19th King's Royal Hussars, as they were then known, chose to amalgamate with one another since they shared much history and recruited from the north of England.

And so, in December 1992, The Light Dragoons were formed. Or perhaps we should say reformed, since the new name harked back to the original Light Dragoons. The Princess of Wales became their first colonel in chief. Almost immediately, the new regiment began a long series of operational deployments in the Balkans, prompting a former chief of defence staff to describe them as the best regiment in the army - "consistently the best officered, best recruited and the most effective."

It was formed on the 1st December, 1992 from the amalgamation of two regiments, becoming the first Dragoon regiment in the British Army for over twenty years:

• 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)
• 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars

Present day

The Light Dragoons are a Formation reconnaissance regiment with a history in the reconnaissance role which dates back to the early 18th Century. Currently based in Robertson Barracks, Swanton Morley, Norfolk, formerly RAF Swanton Morley they are commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Angus Watson MBE.

They are highly experienced operationally with 14 tours of the Balkans during the 1990’s. They have deployed twice to Iraq on Operation TELIC in 2003 and 2005.

C Squadron deployed on a six month operational tour of duty in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Operation HERRICK 5 with 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines.

In April 2007 the majority of the regiment including elements of HQ Squadron, B Squadron complete and specialists from D Squadron were deployed for a six month tour in Afghanistan with 12 Mechanised Brigade on Operation HERRICK 6.

The Light Dragoons recruit principally in the North East of England (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham) and in South Yorkshire and have strong connections with these areas. For this important reason, the regiment is known as England’s Northern Cavalry.

Formation reconnaissance

Formation Reconnaissance: The Role

By means of Formation Reconnaissance (FR), commanders at brigade and divisional level are able to gain accurate and timely information from the battlefield.

Operating up to fifty miles ahead of the main body, the FR taskforce identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy’s defences, or locates the main thrust of his attack. FR soldiers achieve this either by advancing into contact with the enemy and probing his positions, or by establishing a matrix of covert observation posts which can identify, assess and report the enemy threat.

Information thus gained gives the commander the battlefield intelligence he requires to plan the battle ahead, allowing him to concentrate force against the enemy’s weakest point or to best counter an attack.

A Formation Reconnaissance Regiment, is equipped with the Scimitar. They also use other vehicles in this class, such as the Sultan command and control vehicle and the Samaritan field ambulance. The organisation is 3 Squadrons (A, B, C) , each of 12 FV107 Scimitar and 4 FV103 Spartan, D Squadron has experts in demolitions, sniping, controlling fast jets (JTAC) and using the FGM 148 Javelin anti tank missile system.

Vehicles

Scimitar, Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)

Spartan CVRT

Sultan CVRT

The Light Dragoons are equipped with the family of Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) vehicles. Although they have been in service with the British Army for some 30 years, they are very capable, fast, manoeuvrable and well protected.

The main recce vehicle is the Scimitar which is armed with a 30mm cannon and a machine gun and uses a very efficient thermal imaging sight for gathering information and target acquisition.

The Spartan is used as an armoured personnel carrier and is crewed by recce soldiers who are experts in demolitions, sniping, controlling fast jets and the Javelin anti-tank missile system.

The Sultan is a command vehicle equipped with a state of the art communications system for controlling the battle.

Nicknames

• A Squadron "The Empire"
• B Squadron "The Guards"
• C Squadron "The Legion"
• D Squadron "The Enemy"

Operational honours

During service in Afghanistan the following members of the regiment were Mentioned in Despatches (MID):

• Sergeant Michael WILKINSON
• Lieutenant Nicholas William David BINNINGTON
• Major John GODFREY

Colonels-in-chief

• HRH The Princess of Wales (1992–1996)
• HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1997–2002)
• HM The King of Jordan (2003–)

The Light Dragoons is one of only two regiments in the British Army to have a foreign monarch as its Colonel-in-Chief (the other being the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). HM King Abdullah served in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, one of the antecedents of the Light Dragoons.

The dragoons were traditionally soldiers trained to fight on foot, but transport themselves on horseback. In other words, they moved as cavalry but fought as infantry.

Alliances

• Canada - The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
• Canada - The South Alberta Light Horse
• Australia - 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
• India - 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse)
• Pakistan - 6th Lancers
• Pakistan - 19th Lancers
• Malaysia - 2nd Royal Armoured Regiment
• Royal Navy - HMS Northumberland

• France- 4e Chasseurs d'Afrique

Affiliated yeomanry

• The Northumberland Hussars
• The Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry

Order of precedence

Preceded by: The King's Royal Hussars

Cavalry Order of Precedence

Succeeded by: The Queen's Royal Lancers