Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the Blues and Royals.
Raised in August 1650 by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell, following the 1660 Stuart Restoration, it became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment in 1660. Based on the colour of their uniform, the regiment was nicknamed "the Oxford Blues", or simply the "Blues." In 1750, it became the Royal Horse Guards Blue and eventually, in 1877, the Royal Horse Guards .
Origins and history
The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards has its origins in the Regiment of Cuirassiers, raised by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham in August 1650. It was initially disbanded following the 1660 Stuart Restoration, before being re-constituted in the wake of the Venner Riots and creation of the English Army on 26 January 1661. The colonelcy of the new regiment was given to Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, and the regiment first paraded at Tothill Fields in London on 6 February 1661.Early duties focused on internal policing and domestic security, with three troops based primarily in Canterbury, Southwark, and Bagshot. When James II of England succeeded in February 1685 it was recalled to do policing duties in London. John Churchill, later Earl of Marlborough deserted the royal household to greet William, Prince of Orange in 1688. The following year The Blues were part of the allied army that defeated the French at Walcourt, near Charleroi, when they charged the best French infantry, leaving 2,000 dead.
Wars of succession
During the early eighteenth century the Blues were widely dispersed throughout the north country. Following the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740, the Royals became part Honywood's brigade, arriving in Flanders in August 1742. An account of the campaign was provided by Dr John Buchanan, the regimental surgeon. The unit took part in the 1743 Battle of Dettingen, after which the Household Cavalry Brigade was formed for the first time, comprising the Life Guards, Horse Grenadiers, and Blues.Granby and Seven Years' War
During the Seven Years' War, the Blues fought alongside Prince Ferdinand. The largest cavalry regiment, The Blues colonelcy was assumed by John Manners, Marquess of Granby. This great soldier understood the importance of morale. In the mould of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, a predecessor, he established a brave and efficient force. His successor, Henry Seymour Conway was one of the greatest colonels the regiment ever had over a 25-year period. Granby however, retained a passionate interest in the welfare of The Blues; his generosity and hospitality expressed later in a legion of public houses. Granby was in charge of the second division at Battle of Minden Heath in August 1759. The Blues posted sentries called Vedettes, who were so close when the French attacked that the regiment was thrown back. The Blues were eager to charge in after the infantry surge to Minden walls, but owing to Lord George Sackville's orders the reinforcements were delayed. Sackville was court-martialled and found guilty of disobeying orders.The allies had saved Hanover, and driven Marshal Louis Georges Érasme de Contades back towards the Rhine. By December 1759 The Blues were exhausted looking forward to a winter break at Osnabrück. Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston went to recruit in England; and found the Dragoon Guards who wanted to join for the superior conditions in The Blues. Granby was depressed by his son's death and that of his wife too, and the loss of his stud, so he decided to set up a Widows' Fund, and to provide better regimental medical care. His cousin, Russell Manners was raised to battalion command; and King George II's interest in The Blues was inherited by George III. Granby commanded The Blues and The Royals on their march south from Paderborn. At Warburg on 31 July 1760, The Blues lined up in the centre. The British force of 8,000 stole a march on the French positions, and charging headlong into the enemy dispersed a force of 24,000. The famous 'Charge' on trumpet and bugle sent Granby's men into history:
In February 1761, The Gold Stick, Granby led The Blues and others in a brilliant campaign. The French were hunkered down when surprised by the allies on the march, driving them back 50 miles over muddy roads. The regiment was present in the summer at the Villinghausen when they took a force twice their size led by Charles, Prince of Soubise, with the flexible use of artillery fire; the cavalry unable to gallop in the terrain. 15th Light Dragoons and The Blues encountered a skirmishing force at Wilhelmsthal on 1 July 1761. The cavalry realizing the enemy's presence took the initiative, demoralizing the French while the infantry finished. ADC Henry Townshend wounded at Vellinghausen, was killed with a trooper and three horses. Henry Seymour Conway marched the regiment to a triumphal return to England in March 1763. On demobilization, the troopers were reduced from 52 to 29 men per troop.
If Granby's grief at his son's loss was saddening, the crippling reductions to The Blues, according to William Pitt the Elder doomed "the bravest men the world ever saw to be sent to starve in country villages and forget their prowess." The harvest failures of the 1760s were compounded by rioting. The Blues were depressed to leave ex-comrades in Germany; they were used as militia for policing duties. Granby died in January 1770, to be replaced by General Seymour Conway as colonel.
Reform at Horse Guards
On returning to civil duties again in 1795 The Blues were expected to maintain public order in Loughborough and Coventry; developing the doctrinal laws of absolute military necessity. They also patrolled the shoreline for smugglers. The Blues for the most part remained in the East Midlands. In 1788 and 1789 The Blues were required to come to London to mount up the King's Life Guard, as there were inadequate personnel in the Life Guards thanks to reorganization and reform. The lack of recruits threatened the Expeditionary Forces viability in Holland. The Blues were part of a contingent of 3,500 cavalry who departed Northampton with Sir Charles Turner.In June 1793 The Blues were royal reviewed at Northampton. Commanded by Lt-Colonel Turner, they disembarked at Ostend on 15 June. They marched to join the allied army at Valenciennes, being besieged by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Blues and The Royals encountered the French at Dunkirk in a sea board march. Lieutenant Board was unhorsed and killed by a cannonball. Skirmishes continued all year, and by November they retired to winter in Ghent. The new Depot System worked well, and 1794 started with promise of success. The Blues were in Major General John Mansel's brigade, as the allies laid siege to Landrecies. Mansel was criticized as being slow to engage the enemy, when a large French force left Cambrai on 23 April 1794. Mansel was still in command when the allied army took a position north of Cambrai on the Beaumont road. Mansel vowed to avenge the shame of 24th, he told Prince Frederick, Duke of York, which he did charging and scattering the enemy, but was killed. The French line caught totally off guard were broken in the open, losing 5,000 men. The Blues lost 15 men, Quartermaster John Kipling, and 25 horses. In total allied casualties were 150. The regiment earned the epithet "Immortals" in this action.
Now commanded by Ralph Dundas, the Blues and the Royals pursued the French infantry northwards from Beaumont trapping them in a quagmire near the village of Baisieux. A French general was fought to a standstill and run through by Private Joseph White.
The battered French army retreated to Tournai. York moved into Roubaix, but Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor had run out on the allies, and returned to Vienna. The Blues returned to the depot at Northampton.
The Blues find a permanent home at Windsor
In 1796 The Blues received new weapons – the curved sabre, and the Nock Pattern Carbine. A reorganization at Horse Guards posted The Blues to a new base at Windsor. George III liked the regiment, who acted as royal bodyguards. A new barracks was built on 14 acres at Clewer Park in 1800, where a permanent barracks was built over a period of four years: 62 eight-bed dormitories for the men. Whilst life in the mess got more expensive and sociable, rates of pay stagnated. It was even more a requirement that all officers came from a moneyed background. By 1790 cornets were required to be aged eighteen, stabilizing entrants qualifications, and enabling purchasing to advance promotion rapidly. Quartermaster purchases attracted very modest incomers, raising a prospect for class mobility. And by 1800 only nine regimental commissions had transferred out in 20 years. But recruitment of cornets remained difficult in peacetime.Recruits had to pay as much as 5 guineas for a riding lesson. Officer cadets would study Regulations for the formation and Movement of the Cavalry, spending a year at regimental HQ. In 1802, The British Military Library journal was established to educate on military tactics. Stable parades happened four times daily, and great care was taken of horses. Field day drills took place in Windsor Great Park or on Winkfield Plain every Friday. Quartermaster became an increasingly responsible rank. Wives were permitted to share at Clewer Park. Messes were created for NCO's. During the Peninsular War gambling became fashionable amongst Blues' officers; and several ran up huge debts. They became a popular regiment in a royal location. Duelling was common and sent up in a number of parodies as described in the Blueviad.
More serious was the rioting of 1810 which ended in the attempted arrest of Sir Francis Burdett MP. The mob cried out for the Radical Burdett cajoling the government into ordering troops in from Clewer Park. Under the Regency Act, the King was incapacitated, therefore the Prince Regent demanded The Blues turn out in its smartest dress with the Life Guards. They were on crowd control duties on 19 June 1811 at the opening of parliament. When Princess Amelia died, they escorted the funeral cortege, on 13 November 1810, every fourth man carried a flambeau, a fact which was for the first time in the Annual Register. On the opening of parliamentary session for 1812, they marched with the Prince Regent to Westminster. But from May 1812 they were at barracks in Warrington, Lancashire to quell serious bread riots and, so had been unable to prevent the assassination of Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister, on 11 May. Designed to also assuage the volatile rhetoric of Burdett who labelled the Household Cavalry in the Commons as "the military murders". While the Blues had not been involved with the Life Guards arrest of the MP, the Blues had trampled onlookers in the Windsor riots when the horses ran scared. Hence, the old military adage "hold your horses".