History,
8th King's Royal Irish Hussars
 Ireland
had always been a great producer of horsemen and the Irish provided a
disproportionate amount of cavalry regiments as compared to Scotland and
Wales. The 8th Hussars were such a regiment; the Celtic legacy lives on,
through the Angel harp and the crest of Armagh which surmounts the cap
badge, in the Pipe band which flourishes, and most importantly in our
retaining Northern Ireland, our oldest recruiting ground, for The Queen's
Royal Hussars. The distinction of being a Royal Regiment comes originally
from the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars.
They
were formed in 1693 after James II had been pushed out of Ireland by the
men of Ulster who had supported William of Orange against the Jacobite
cause. The Commission for raising them was given to Colonel Henry
Conyngham, thus their first title was Conyghams Dragoons. They soldiered
at home for their first decade until the War of Spanish succession took
them to Spain in 1704. The War became a series of skirmishes, one of the
most unfortunate being Tanarite where, despite inflicting three times
their own casualties, Conyngham himself was killed. Colonel Robert Killigrew
took over and it was he who led the regiment at the battle of Almanza
in 1707 alongside the 3rd and 4th Dragoons. It was a heavy defeat and
Killigrews Dragoons lost more than half their numbers killed or captured
as well as their Colonel again. Therefore it was Pepper's Dragoons who
reconstituted for the next two years and faced the enemy at Almenara in
1710, routing the Spanish cavalry and taking their crossbelts which they
then used as a distinguishing mark; they became known as the "Crossbelt
Dragoons". The campaign lingered on until 1713 but the 8th had already
been captured en masse when Brihuega was captured in 1710.
The
8th moved back to England and along with the 7th were disbanded by the
Jacobite advisors to the King because both regiments were blatantly Protestant.
Within 18 months they had to be re raised to help deal with the old pretender
in 1715. Four years later the regiment moved back to Ireland for a quarter
of a century and once again were recalled to Scotland, this time to deal
with the young pretender in 1745. They moved all over Scotland harassing
the enemy until the rebellion was crushed, then they moved back to the
emerald isle where in 1751 they were numbered for the first time as the
8th Dragoons, and in 1776 they received their first title, "The 8th
King's Royal Irish Light Dragoons". For the latter part of the eighteenth
century the regiment was exclusively stationed around Ireland, helping
the civil authorities during the disastrous potato famines and containing
the rebellious activities of the Whiteboys, lawless gangs who terrorised
their fellow peasants.
Finally
in 1794 the 8th moved to the low countries for eighteen months of conflict.
The first battle they fought on the continent in may surpassed even "The
Charge of the Light Brigade" for bravery and devotion to duty. Two
squadrons of the 8th charged a body of French infantry supported by four
guns well positioned in a churchyard in the village of Bousbecque. The
8th Light Dragoons routed the infantry, jumped the churchyard walls and
captured the guns. The casualties were staggering, of the 200 men who
engaged the French, 186 were killed, wounded or captured. Lesser skirmishes
followed for a year as the allies were pushed back into Germany and then
left for England in November 1795. Just before their departure the regiment
was heartened by a directive from George III that they should resume wearing
buff accoutrements as a special mark of Royal favour.
A
year of recuperation was all that the 8th were given before being sent
to South Africa in 1796, keeping law and order amongst the pro-French
Boers for five years, after which the regiment was sent on secret expedition
to fight the French in North Africa, only to find the enemy had gone.
The 8th were sent to Suez where they sailed for their first tour of India
in 1802, which was to last for twenty years. There was already fighting
between the English and the French backed native leaders, Sindia and Holkar.
The former of whom with his Maratha Army the 8th Light Dragoons met, and
pushed out of their fortress at Aligarh, then Agra before pursuing them
southwards. The cavalry caught the enemy at Leswaree and held them there
with continual charges until the infantry arrived.
Sindia
submitted but Holkar stood out for another two years, causing the 8th
at one stage to pursue him to farakhabad for fourteen days over a distance
of four hundred miles where they destroyed three thousand Maratha Musketeers.
After more sieges and skirmishes, a peace treaty was at last signed in
January 1806. The following year possibly the most audacious Royal Irish
soldier ever joined the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Rollo Gillespie.
His fearless exploits before he joined the regiment were legion and this
helped him endear himself to all ranks while the regiment found a new
enemy in the Pindaris, border tribesman intent on pillage in British India.
The 8th first helped to storm two tactically vital border fortresses then
in September 1812 crossed into Pindari territory to prevent them amassing
an army.
Two
years later the regiment marched North to deal with their third enemy,
the Gurkhas, who were encroaching on the borders of India from their mountainous
home of Nepal. This was the toughest enemy of the British whose denouncement
came at the fortress of Kalunga which the now Major General Gillespie
was attacking with four divisions. Gillespie died at the head of the storming
party, courageous to the end, but ironically this campaign had a beneficial
ending as subsequently the Gurkhas were recruited by the British army.
From 1815 to 1818 the Royal Irish were kept busy by the Talukdars, Pindaris,
Peshwa and the Marthas in minor insurrections before they returned to
Meerut where the Colonelcy of the regiment passed to Lieutenant General
Sir Banastre Tarleton BT. A colourful cavalry commander who had risen
by sheer ability from Cornet to Lieutenant General. In 1822 Tarleton received
orders that his regiment was to become a Hussar Regiment, retitled the
8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and reclothed with the glorious panoply
of the Hungarian horsemen. They travelled back to England the following
year with high praise from the governor-general of India and with the
Battle honour of Hindoostan, not perhaps a just reflection of the battles
and engagements which had filled their years on the subcontinent.
There
were to be thirty years of peace for the 8th Hussars, who alternated between
postings in England and Ireland, escorting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
on their first visit to Dublin in 1849 and attracting very favourable
comments from almost all their annual inspecting general officers. In
1854 the 8th Hussars embarked for the Crimea. The involved machinations
of European politics which brought England and France together after two
centuries of mortal conflict to fight against Russia, the quarrel over
guardianship of the Holy places in Palestine and the Russian threat to
the Mediterranean would have meant nothing to the 8th Hussars. They had
already lost ninety five men dead or seriously ill in the siege at Silestria
before they arrived in the Crimea.
The
first battle was near the river Alma in September 1854 and the 8th Hussars
were awarded the battle honour for a convincing defeat of the enemy. In
October Balaklava and the immortal "Charge of the Light Brigade"
took place. It was started when 25,000 Russians tried to capture Balaklava,
the British Army's only port, defended by the 93rd Highlanders, some Turks
and the Cavalry Division. Each detachment played an admirable part, the
93rd holding of six squadrons of enemy cavalry, the heavy Brigades success
over far superior numbers of enemy Cavalry and finally the Charge of the
Light Brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Sherwell led the King's Royal Irish
Hussars in the second line of the Brigade, next to the 4th Hussars, forbidding
two soldiers to carry their swords in the charge because they had "Disgraced
the regiment by smoking in the presence of the enemy". The charge
through the crossfire into the mouths of the Russian guns is vividly described
by Lieutenant the Hon S Calthorpe, an 8th Hussar ADC.
"The pace of our Cavalry increased every
moment, until they went thundering along the valley, making the ground
tremble beneath them. On they went headlong to death, disregarding
aught but the object of their attack. At length they arrived at the
guns, their numbers sadly thinned, but the few that remained made
fearful havoc amongst the enemy's artillery".
The
journey back through the same crossfire was far worse. One of the gallant
remnants was Jemmy, a rough coated terrier, who survived and served with
the regiment for another four years. The 8th Hussars lost sixty six killed
or missing of the 104 who charged.
"The
Soldiers Battle" of Inkerman was won by the infantry in November
as the abominable winter of 1854-55 set in claiming 9,000 lives, which
nevertheless did not stop the 8th Hussars overcoming the Russians at Kertch.
In September 1855 Sevastopol fell after nearly a year, and peace was signed
in March 1856. The King's Royal Irish Hussars had spent two years away
from home, had defeated a far larger army and had endured dreadful suffering
to emerge victorious.
They
spent a year in England but were called to India to help suppress the
mutiny and were ready for war in February 1858. The most celebrated action
of the war came three months later at Gwalior when a squadron of the 8th,
under Captain Heneage trounced but found themselves embroiled with much
larger enemy force trying to escape from Gwalior who they also charged
and put into confusion, winning the battle in "One of the finest
exploits of the war". General Sir Hugh Rose awarded the squadron
four Victoria Crosses, one for the officers, one for the NCO's and two
for the Corporals and troopers, all to be elected by their comrades. Captain
Heneage, Sergeant Ward, Farrier Hollis and Private Pearson were chosen.
The remaining year of the mutiny consisted of the pursuit of the rebel
forces, and another Victoria Cross was awarded to Troop Sergeant Major
Champion at Beejapore for taking over when all officers in his troop had
been wounded, although he was seriously wounded himself, leading the charge
and continuing to fight the enemy. The remainder of their time in India
was peaceful and the regiment arrived back in York in 1864.
An
uneventful decade and a half proceeded the 8th Hussars third tour of India
in 1879, when they moved almost immediately after landing to Afghanistan
to bolster Roberts force which they did for the final year of the second
Afghan war. They stayed on the subcontinent until 1889 when they moved
back to England, spending three years at Norwich where they became immensely
popular. In 1899 they were mobilised for South Africa where they had broken
out against the Boers. The 8th joined the 4th Cavalry Brigade on the advance
to Pretoria which was taken in June 1900. The minor skirmishes were punctuated
by some more major conflicts like Diamond Hill and Belfast which pushed
the enemy back until by October, only mopping up or driving had to be
done which however lasted for two years. At Geluk the 8th were surrounded
but fought themselves out of trouble, and in the summer of 1901 the regiment
was split up into two detachments operating in a semi-independent capacity,
until peace was signed in may 1902 by which time the Royal Irish had lost
fifty four lives in the war. Six years in England was followed by another
tour in India until they were mobilised for the great war, arriving in
Marseilles in November 1914.
The
8th entered the trenches on the western front for the first time on the
9th December 1914, not having arrived home in time to take any part in
the retreat from mons. They spent the whole War in the Ambala Brigade
or first cavalry brigade next to native Indian mounted regiments, seeing
their first action in December 1914 at Givenchy. The majority of their
time was spent sending large parties forward to dig trenches and this
continued for the whole span of the war. In the second battle for Ypres
in may 1915 gas was first used by the Germans who expected a breakthrough
which the 8th were sent forward to contain and this they did.
The
majority of the casualties occurred from the unsanitary conditions of
the trenches, the cavalry being held almost exclusively in reserve, waiting
for "the gap" constantly warned off but never used. In July
1916 the King's Royal Irish Hussars fought at Bazentin then Flers-Courcelette
the following month, both battles being in the Somme area, which they
returned to in March 1917 to clear the small pockets of machine guns left
by the retreating Germans. At Villiers Faucon after a "dashing attack"
the regiment captured two of these machine guns, which are still outside
the guardroom today. For the battle of Cambrai in November the 8th Hussars
were again warned for "The Gap" which did not appear, however
they did some fierce defending against the enemy counter attack.
It
was the same story for the German spring offensive of 1918, when "C"
Squadron under Captain Adlercron bravely defended the village of Hervilly
until untenable, only to recapture it later that day at the loss of sixty
six casualties. The tide turned against the Germans when the allies began
their final offensive in August, the 8th fighting at St Quentin, Beaurevoir
and Cambrai and the pursuit to Mons. On the 11th November at Maffles,
the regiment heard that the Armistice had been signed. They had lost 105
killed and many, many more wounded in the previous four years.
The
8th Hussars returned to England in 1919 and embarked almost immediately
for India where again they spent less than a year when they ordered to
Mesopotamia in order to deal with various native insurrections at Medali
which they put down, moving from there to Egypt. In 1923 the Regiment
moved back to York and completed a three year tour as part of the occupation
forces in Germany from 1926-1929, after which they returned to Aldershot
and received their first motorised transport for the machine gun squadron.
The 8th moved back to Abassia in Egypt in 1934 and their last mounted
parade was held in November 1935. Their particular brand of soldiering
was at an end after 242 years, and it is difficult nowadays to imagine
the sense of loss felt by the King's Royal Irish Hussars when the horses
disappeared and the tanks came in. In 1936 the regiment helped quell civil
unrest in Palestine and then returned to Egypt as part of the 7th Armoured
Division, the "Desert Rats".
It
was not until August 1940 that the regiment saw its first action against
the Italians near Fort Capuzzo. Later in December they helped at Buq Buq
and cut of the Italian retreat at Sidi Barrani in which 14,000 prisoners
were captured. The pursuit was now in full swing but owing to all the
breakdowns a composite squadron of the 8th joined up with the 3rd Hussars
for the sharp action at El Mechili. The regiment then returned to refit
in Cairo and when they next saw action it was against the Germans in November
1941 around Sidi Rezegh. Within four days their unstinting tenacity had
seen them defy the enemy who had far superior tanks left, and moved the
Commanding Officer of 2 RHA to comment that "the 8th Hussars chiefly...
stood between the British Empire and defeat. They were simply magnificent".
In
May 1942 Rommel recommended the attack, his main thrust of armour hitting
the 8th Hussars first at Bir Hacheim, where once again they were almost
annihilated showing amazing bravery, and the remnants fought the retreat
back to Alamien as best they could. In June one squadron reorganised with
their future partners as the 4th/8th Hussars, and faced the massive enemy
onslaught at Alam Haifa, winning a great victory. It was this squadron
that helped breach the minefields at Alamein and then joined the pursuit
for three weeks. A short break in Cyprus preceded the regiments return
to England in November 1943 where they became the Armoured Reconnaissance
regiment of the 7th Armoured Division, which trained hard and landed in
France on 9th June 1944, just after D,Day. They had to fight in the close
"Bocage" country, the antithesis of the open desert, leading
their division out of the bridgehead, fighting heavily around Briquessard
and taking a full part in Operation Goodwood. They pushed the Germans
further and further back, constantly taking casualties of men and tanks.
Reinforced by a squadron from the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, they pushed
back through France, the low countries and finally to the Rhine, fighting
hard on the way at St Pol, the Nederrijn and the Maas. In April 1945 the
8th crossed the Weser having found the German Defence of their fatherland
very spirited, but they still liberated the POW camp in Belsen before
ending the war close to Hamburg. Then the regiment went to Berlin to take
part in the Victory celebrations, justly so for its unceasing efforts
in the desert and Northern Europe.
The
regiment stayed in Itzehoe in Germany for a year, then moved to the Dutch
border to help with internal security. In 1948 the 8th returned to Leicestershire,
transferring to Tidworth in 1950 but when the Korean war broke out they
were sent out arriving in the Far East in November. Having reached the
front, north of Pyongyang, all squadrons found themselves in full retreat.
Early in the new year of 1951 Recce Troop fought a valuable action on
the Han River but lost twenty three killed or missing. In February the
UN Forces took the offensive, helping the Gloucester's capture Hill 327,
and by April patrols were probing north of the Imjin River seemingly uncontested
until a massive enemy assault on the 22nd. The Chinese split the dispersed
units, all the 8th Hussars tanks were in action, especially in the latter
stages when they protected the infantry withdrawal. Although the Gloucester's
were the heroes, the 8th won many battle honours and awards and were relieved
in December.
Between
1952 and 1958 the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars soldiered in Luneburg
enjoying an extended period of peace. This existence was ended by the
news of the amalgamation, a sad end to one of the most battle hardened
Cavalry Regiments who had given so much honour on so many continents to
the British Crown.
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