18th Hussars

[petey22]

dear all
I'm a bit new to the military side of things and this may sound a silly question, but, the 18th Hussars seem to be also called the 'Queen Mary's own guard ', but the mention of different Counties, Glouc etc, together with the 18th Hussars is somewhat confusing me. Were there different divisions within the 18th Hussars depending on which County you where born ? or am I trying to make this more difficult ?
all the best
Pete Rogers

[km1971]

Hi Pete

The 18th regiment of cavalry was re-formed in 1858 as Light Dragoons. Apart from Lancers who obviously had a lance, other regiments of cavalry were at the time called Dragoons, - Dragoon Guards, Dragoons and Light Dragoons - and the difference between them was to do with weight – weight of horse and man combined. Dragoon Guards were the elite.

In 1861 the 18th Light Dragoons were re-named Hussars, after the Hungarian Huszar (or Huzar) who wore a dashing uniform. So they were really following a fashion. In 1903 they were renamed the 18th (Princess of Wales’s Own) Hussars when the future George the fifth became Prince of Wales; and in 1910, when he became king, they were renamed the 19th (Queen Mary’s Own) Hussars.

In 1921 they were re-named 18th Royal Hussars (Queen’s Mary’s Own), and in 1923 they merged with the 13th Hussars to form the 13th/18th Hussars.

Cavalry regiments did not have battalions like the infantry, They had no county affiliation, and a Cavalry Division was made up of two or three Cavalry Brigades, which in turn was made up of up to six cavalry regiments.

The name you have would have been used between 1910 and 1921.

Ken

[petey22]

Hi Ken
fascinating,,,,, I never realized that weight of man and horse combined was so important although logical when you think about it, thanks very much for your reply, I really must delve into the Military history side of things, I'm sure it can reveal lots of information about my ancestors.
I have a couple photograph's of Charles Rogers, private 3839, 18th Hussars and a photo of his medals, one of which reads South Africa 1901 and 1902,,,, another ; Belfast, Laings nek, Orange free state, defense of Ladysmith, Talana, another two that I'm not too sure of ? I believe the names refer to encouters with the Boers.
Thanks again and all the best
Pete

[neil1821]

Hi Pete,

The medals you have are the Queens South Africa Medal (QSA) and the Kings South Africa Medal (KSA). The clasps on both read upwards in chronological order - in other words Talana first, Belfast last.

The medal roll for the QSA curiously has 3839 Pte H.Rogers, 18th Hussars.

I wonder now what the other two medals are?
Can you pick out the ribbons from the Victorian medals on this chart?
http://www.worldmedals.co.uk/Rib/Britrib/britribb.htm

or on this page?
http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/british_index.htm

[petey22]

hi all,,
now this is getting really interesting !!  found all sorts of stuff on Internet regarding the encounters with the Boers, absolutely thrilling to read all about what they all went through while under siege, having to eat their horses and the bombardment they had to endure.
I have Charles Rogers, private 3839, 18th Hussars, his discharge paper in 1902,  dont know when he signed up, but I've heard that he ran away from home after a bust up with his Pa ( both in the photo ), lied about his age and joined up.
In the great War he joins the 5th reserve Calvary Reg. ( private 28564) 4-1-1915 to 18-5-1917, when he is discharged after being gassed.
Can anyone give me some tips as to how I can obtain his (if any) military records,,, would it be two applications for the 18th Hussars and the 5th Calvary ? Would really appreciate any pointers.
all the best
Pete

[petey22]

hope this works

[petey22]

sorry wrong photo

[petey22]

Hi Neil,

are they the Victory medal 1914-1919 and British war medal 1914-1920 WW1 ?

cheers
Pete

[km1971]

Hi Pete

...defense of Ladysmith

Then he was in the siege of Ladysmith alongside my GF who was a sergeant in the Liverpool. Although you must learn to spell it 'Defence of Ladysmith'.

The clasps match the medal roll for the 18th Hussars. It will be the Queens South Africa medal with the clasps for Belfast, OFS, Talana, Defence of Ladysmith and Laing’s Nek. Apart from the OFS the others are considered battle clasps. I was in South Africa in 2005 and visited Talana, Ladysmith and Laing’s Nek.

The second medal will be the King’s South Africa medal and you had to be in SA for at least 18 months to receive this. So they were there from the beginning until sometime in 1902.

The 18th Hussars were in Natal at the start of the war and took part in the first battle, at Talana. Their colonel managed to get himself and one squadron of 18H, plus other mounted infantry, captured. Pte Rogers is not mentioned as being captured at Talana, so he must have been with the two squadrons that chased the Boers a different way. The Boers would usually release the ORs less equipment, after a few days, as they had no facilities to keep lots of prisoners. Officers were usually sent to Pretoria – as in “Young Winston” – and this must have what happened to Lt Col Moeller, as his clasp entitlement is only for Talana and the Transvaal. He would have been released from Pretoria in June 1900 when Lord Roberts captured the place, and Moeller was severely wounded a few days before the battle of Belfast, so he did not receive a clasp for that battle. You can tell a lot from the combination of clasps, see - http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/boer_war.htm

The Liverpools, 18th Hussars and 5th Dragoon Guards took part in an engagement at Lombard’s Kop (or Ladysmith) on 30th October 1899, before the siege started. And being mounted infantry the 18H were frequently engaged in actions during the siege.


Ken