Pouch badge of the 18th Hussars, 1883-1902.
NAM. 1956-02-1043-1Introduction
In 1759 a unit known as the 19th Regiment of Light Dragoons was raised at Moore Abbey in Ireland. This was renumbered as the 18th in 1763 and the 4th in 1766, only finally becoming the 18th in 1769.
It fought in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, only to be disbanded in 1821. An 18th regiment of line cavalry was re-formed in 1858 out of troops taken from the 15th Hussars, taking the disbanded 18th Light Dragoons as its ancestor regiment.
An officer of the 18th Light Dragoons, c1815.
NAM. 1958-08-1Serving in the Boer War and on the Western Front of World War One, the regiment also gained a royal honorific when it was renamed in 1903 after Mary, wife of George V.
It underwent its final name change in 1921 to become the 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own), a year before it was merged with the 13th Hussars to form the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own).
Key facts
Motto:
- 'Pro Rege, Pro Lege, Pro Patria Conamur' (meaning 'We Strive For King, For Law, For Country')
Titles to date:
- 19th Regiment of Light Dragoons
- Drogheda’s Horse
- Drogheda Light Horse
- Drogheda Cossacks
- 18th Light Dragoons
- 18th (King’s Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons
- 4th Regiment of Light Dragoons
- 18th Regiment of Light Dragoons
- 18th Regiment of Light Dragoons (Hussars)
- 18th Hussars
- 18th (Princess of Wales’s Own) Hussars
- 18th (Victoria Mary, Princess of Wales’s Own) Hussars
- 18th (Queen Mary’s Own) Hussars
- 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary’s Own)
- 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary’s Own)
- Light Dragoons
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Regimental Museum
Regimental Merchandise
National Army Museum Collection
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