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World War I
[edit]
The 1st regiment remained at the North-West Frontier of British India throughout the war. The 3rd regiment had been stationed in Meerut when the war broke out. The regiment was a part of the 7th (Meerut) Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. The brigade received orders to mobilise on 24 October 1914.[2] It sailed from Bombay and reached Marseilles port in France by 15 December 1914.[21]
The regiment was in France till August 1916. It saw extensive action in many parts of France. It was awarded the battle honours France and Flanders for its fine performance. It was sent to Mesopotamia as a part of the 7th Meerut Cavalry Brigade Headquarters. The regiment was then ordered back to India where it concentrated in Rawalpindi in August 1916 for operations in Afghanistan.[22] A detachment of the regiment was tasked to guard the post at Gumboz and held against the attack by the Marris on 17 February 1918.[2]
The regiment won the following gallantry awards –[23]
- Companion of the Indian Empire : Risaldar Habibur Rahman Khan (1st regiment).
- Military Cross : Jemadar Ami Lal (3rd regiment).
- Order of British India : Risaldar Mardan Khan, Risaldar Nathe Khan, Risaldar Major Muhammad Akham Khan (1st regiment); Risaldar Major Balwant Singh (3rd regiment).
- Indian Order of Merit : Risaldar Faiz Muhammad Khan, Jemadar Muhammad Umar Faruk Khan (1st regiment); Dafadar Lal Singh, Lance Dafadar Khem Singh, Jemadar Indar Singh, Dafadar Jawahir Singh (3rd regiment).
- Indian Distinguished Service Medal : Sowar Nishan Ali, Jemadar Raknuddin, Trumpeter Abdul Majid Khan, Sowar Ghulam Muhammad Khan, Lance Dafadar Ali Hussain, Jemadar Muhammad Tagi Khan (1st regiment); Dafadar Gurdiyall Singh, Acting Lance Dafadar Pritam Singh, Sowar Chhaja Singh (3rd regiment).
- Indian Meritorious Service Medal : Sowar Sabr Ali Khan, Sowar Abdul Shakoor Khan, Dafadar Hadiyar Khan, Dafadar Ashrafulla Khan (1st regiment); Dafadar Chhaja Singh, Sowar Pakbar Singh, Dafadar Nand Singh, Lance Dafadar Nahar Singh (3rd regiment).
- Croix de Guerre (French) : Dafadar Zahur Ali (3rd regiment).
- Bronze Medal of Military Valor (Italian) : Dafadar Kutab Khan (3rd regiment).
- Crucea Servicul Credincois (Romanian) : Sowar Pretam Singh (3rd regiment).
Interwar period
[edit]After World War I, the cavalry of the British Indian Army was reduced from thirty-nine regiments to twenty-one. On 18 May 1921, the two regiments of Skinner's Horse were amalgamated at Sialkot with the new title of the 1st Duke of York's Own Skinner's Horse.[22] Each of the squadrons was equipped with one Hotchkiss gun and with .303 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifles. The machine gun troops of the Headquarters Squadron were equipped with the .303 Vickers machine gun. The traditional sillidar-system of most of the cavalry was abolished shortly after World War I and Indian troopers were now provided with government horses rather than having to provide the animals themselves in return for a higher rate of pay. The Skinner's Horse accordingly acquired the status of a fully regular regiment of the British Indian Army and received standard government-issue equipment for all purposes.[22][24]
World War II
[edit]At the beginning of World War II the regiment was still mounted, but was quickly converted to act as a mechanised reconnaissance regiment and was attached to the 5th Indian Division and when the division was sent to the Sudan, formed part of Gazelle Force.[25]
During the rest of the war the regiment was attached variously to the 4th Indian Infantry Division; the British 10th Armoured Division, the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade and the 10th Indian Infantry Division. The regiment fought in East Africa, North Africa and Italy and was awarded battle honours for Agordat, Keren, Amba-Alagi, Abyssinia, Senio Flood Bank and Italy.[22] The senior Pakistani politician Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan (1915–1998), who served with Skinner's Horse in Sudan/Africa during the Second World War, has written a brief but memorable account of the regiment's service there, in his memoirs, "The Nation that Lost its Soul" (Lahore: Jang Pubs, 1995).
The regiment won the following gallantry awards –[26][27]
- Distinguished Service Order (DSO) : Lieutenant Colonel IF Hossack.
- Military Cross : Captain RP Prentice, Lieutenant RE Coaker.
- Indian Order of Merit : Risaldar Mohd Yunus Khan.
- Indian Distinguished Service Medal : Risaldar Amar Singh, Lance Dafadar Dip Chand, Lance Dafadar Mohd Sharif Khan, Lance Dafadar Bhure Khan, Sowar Munshi Singh, Sowar Raj Singh, Sowar Sardar Singh.
- Mentioned in dispatches : Lieutenant Colonel IF Hossack, Lieutenant Colonel T Scott, Captain HT Addams Williams, Lieutenant RE Coaker, Risaldar Major Bhanu Singh, Risaldar Mohammed Yunus Khan, Lance Dafadar Bhure Khan, Lance Dafadar Abdul Hakim, Lance Dafadar Munshi Khan, Lance Dafadar Feroze Khan, Lance Dafadar Ikram-ud-din, Sowar Raj Singh.
Post War
[edit]
The regiment was switched to tanks in 1946, receiving the Stuart tank, and a year later Churchills. In 1947 with the Indian independence, the regiment became part of the Indian Army Armoured Corps. The first Indian commander was Lieutenant Colonel RM Bilimoria, and the regiment was stationed at Ahmednagar.
The regiment took part in the annexation of Hyderabad in 1948, following which it stopped the use of Stuart tanks.[28][29] The Churchill tank remained in use until 1957, after which the regiment was equipped with Sherman Mk IV's.
In 1965, equipped with Sherman tanks, the unit's B Squadron supported 50th Parachute Brigade near Dograi and 2 troops helped 3 Jat in the epic battle of Dograi.[7] Eight years later, in 1965 the regiment converted to the T-54 and then to the T-55.
The regiment with its T-55 tanks was part of the 2 Independent Armoured Brigade under 39 Infantry Division.[30] It took part in operations initially in Samba and then in Shakargarh sector and was awarded the battle honour Harar Kalan.[31][7][32]
The regiment won the following gallantry awards-
- Vir Chakra : Captain Vikram Deuskar.[33]
- Sena Medal : Dafadar Rup Singh, Lance Dafadar Gurdial Singh,[34] Sowar Nathu Lal
- Mentioned in dispatches : 2nd Lieutenant Virender Kumar Jetley, 2nd Lieutenant A Khullar, 2nd Lieutenant Bhupinder Singh Mandare, Risaldar Bhan Singh[35]
In 1979, the regiment converted to the T-72 tanks. In 2003, a special service was held at the St. James' Church, Delhi, which was built by James Skinner, to commemorate the bicentenary of the regiment.[36]
Uniforms
[edit]The old 1st Lancers wore yellow uniforms (uniquely in the British Empire) and the old 3rd wore dark blue. The "yellow" was actually close to mustard in shade and led to the regiment being nicknamed "Canaries" or "Yellow Boys" from its formation.[37] Each regiment had the full-dress (mounted) long 'Kurta' worn with a turban and cummerbund for all ranks, also a full-dress (dismounted) or levee, dress for British officers only. These were not in general use after 1914 but could still be worn by officers on special assignments (e.g. as an aide-de-camp) or while attending court functions. The merged Skinner's Horse was assigned a dark blue full dress with yellow facings in 1922 but by 1931 the historic yellow and black had been restored. The yellow mess jacket and black waistcoat of the old 1st Bengal Lancers was adopted by the 1922 regiment of Skinner's Horse and was the cold weather mess dress until 1939. All six of these various uniforms are in the collection of the National Army Museum.
The cap badge of the regiment prior to independence consisted of a central rose over crossed lances, with a crown between the lance-heads. A scroll below bears the inscription, 'Himmat-I-Mardan Madad-I-Khuda'. The present cap badge replaced the crown by a horse mounted by a cavalryman.[38]
Battle and Theatre Honours
[edit]Bhurtpore, Ghuznee 1839, Khelat, Afghanistan 1839, Candhahar 1842, Maharajpore, Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, Kandahar 1880, Afghanistan 1879–1880, Punjab Frontier, Pekin 1900, France and Flanders 1914–16, North West Frontier India 1915, Baluchistan 1918, Afghanistan 1919, Agordat, Keren, Amba Alagai, Abyssinia 1940–41, Senio Floodbank, Italy 1943–46, Harar Kalan, Punjab 1971.[3][7]
The regiment was awarded with the 'Guidon' on 31 March 1971 at Babina by the then President V. V. Giri.
Notable personnel
[edit]- General Sir Crawford Trotter Chamberlain GCIE, CSI
- General Sir William Orfeur Cavenagh KCSI
- Lieutenant General GS Grewal PVSM : General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command[39]
- Lieutenant General Rakesh Kumar Loomba PVSM, AVSM : General Officer-Commanding III Corps, Director General of Military Intelligence[40]
- Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC : 25th General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command[41]
- Lieutenant General Rajni Kant Jagga PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC : General Officer-Commanding XII Corps, Director General of Mechanised Forces[42]
- Lieutenant General PS Mehta AVSM, VSM : General Officer-Commanding XXI Corps[43]
Affiliate regiments
[edit]
United Kingdom – Light Dragoons The affiliation of the regiment with Light Dragoons dates back to 1842, when the two regiments fought in the Afghan war together.[44][45]
Deployments
[edit]1st Lancers
[edit]- Peshawar (?? - 9 March 1889)[46]
- Sagar (9 March 1889 - 17 December 1894)[46]
- Meerut (17 December 1894 - 5 March 1898)[47]
- Lucknow (5 March 1898 - ??)[48]
- China (?? - June 1901)[49]
- Lucknow (June 1901 - 19 March 1903)[49]
- Jhansi (19 March 1903 - 11 February 1908)[18]
- Lucknow (11 February 1908 - 4 January 1909)[50]
- Dera Ismail Khan (4 January 1909 - 28 March 1912)[51]
- Peshawar (28 March 1912 - ??)[52]
- Delhi (31 October 1919 - 5 February 1920)[53]
- Lucknow (5 February 1920 - ??)[54]
- Sialkot[55]
3rd Skinner's Horse
[edit]- Loralai (?? - 28 April 1888)[46]
- Kanpur (28 April 1888 - 5 February 1892)[46]
- Faizabad (5 February 1892 - ??)[56]
- Kohat (?? - 26 February 1899)[49]
- Meerut (26 February 1899 - 26 December 1904)[49]
- Neemuch (25 December 1904 - 23 November 1910)[18]
- Meerut (23 November 1910 - ??)[57]
- Quetta[53]
- Sibi[54]
- Sialkot (until amalgamation)[58]
Post Amalgamation
[edit]Commandant
[edit]1st Lancers
[edit]- Colonel R. Morris (10 September 1887 - 10 September 1894)[46]
- Major R. F. Gartside-Tipping (10 September 1894 - 10 September 1901)[47]
- Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Hayes (10 September 1901 - 1 April 1907)[49]
- Lieutenant-Colonel C. Davis (1 April 1907 - 1 April 1912)[50]
- Lieutenant-Colonel C. Bailey (1 April 1912 - 5 December 1914)[52]
- Lieutenant-Colonel P. Holland-Pryor (5 December 1914 - 7 July 1916)[60]
- Lieutenant-Colonel F. D. Russell (7 July 1916 - ??)[61]
- Lieutenant-Colonel L. E. Dening (1 December 1920 - ??)[58]
3rd Skinner's Horse
[edit]- Colonel G. W. Willock (17 January 1887 - 24 March 1892)[46]
- Colonel E. A. Money (24 March 1892 - 16 August 1895)[56]
- Lieutenant-Colonel G. H. Elliott (16 August 1895 - 30 September 1899)[62]
- Major H. J. J. Middleton (30 September 1899 - 1 May 1905)[49]
- Lieutenant-Colonel A. N. Carr (1 May 1905 - 1 October 1908)[63]
- Lieutenant-Colonel W. E. A. Blakeney (1 October 1908 - 1 October 1913)[51]
- Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. Wall (1 October 1913 - 1 October 1918)[64]
- Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. Gaussen (1 October 1918 - 29 May 1920)[58]
- Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. W. Conway-Gordon (29 May 1920 - amalgamation)
Post Amalgamation
[edit]- Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. W. Conway-Gordon (amalgamation - ??)[59]
