After the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht it returned to Ireland, where in 1720, French Huguenot exile and future Field MarshalJohn Ligonier took over as colonel, a position he held for 29 years. Under his command, the unit gained a reputation as one of the best trained and efficient units in the British army; between 1742 and 1747, 37 members of the regiment received battlefield commissions for distinguished service, a record 'without parallel for the period.'[5] As late as 1913, recruits were still taught about Ligonier, while his personal crest and motto were borne by every member of the regiment.[6]
Sent back to Flanders in 1742 for the War of the Austrian Succession, the regiment fought in the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy. At Lauffeld in July 1747, it took part in a famous charge led by Ligonier that allowed their infantry to escape what was an Allied defeat.[7] After the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, it returned to garrison duty in Ireland. In the army reforms of 1747, it was ranked as the 4th Regiment of Horse, or the "Black Horse". [8] It remained in Ireland until July 1760, when it fought at Warburg, during the Seven Years' War. [9]
Major Gore, the 7th Dragoon Guards, c. 1850
In 1788, it was retitled 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards, after Princess Charlotte.[10] It remained in Ireland and England throughout the wars with France and helped suppress the 1798 Irish Rebellion.[11] During the Victorian era, it was sent to South Africa in 1843, where it remained until after the 1846–1847 Xhosa War. Before leaving, the regiment was rearmed with a version of the Brunswick rifle:[12][13] despite the shortcomings of this weapon,[14][15] it dismounted to fight as infantry so frequently that on its return to England the Inspector-General of Cavalry recommended that additional infantry officers be drafted into the regiment.[16] In 1857, it was posted to India, returning home in 1867 where it remained until the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.[17]
Early Wars: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen, Warburg, South Africa 1846–7, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, South Africa 1900–02
The Great War: La Bassée 1914, Givenchy 1914, Somme 1916 '18, Bazentin, Flers-Courcelette, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Avre, Lys, Hazebrouck, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1914–18
Memorials
In Norwich Cathedral there are memorial windows to those members of the 7th Dragoon Guards who died in the Second Boer War and World War I. Under the Boer War window there is a pair of brass plates listing 64 names, as well as the laid-up standards of the regiment.[24] Under the WWI window the brass plates list 120 names. An added plate underneath is inscribed 'In Memory of the Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Troopers of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards who fell in the Second World War'.[25][26]
^Marquess of Anglesey (1993). A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919. Vol. 3 (1872-1898). Pen & Sword. pp. 173–4. ISBN9781473815001.
^Strachan, Hew (1985). From Waterloo to Balaclava: tactics, technology, and the British army, 1815 - 1854. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. p. 89. ISBN978-0-521-30439-9.
Kingdom of England (1688–1707)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922)
_-_William_Cavendish_(1640%E2%80%931707),_1st_Duke_of_Devonshire,_KG,_PC_-_1129210_-_National_Trust.jpg)
