5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards
The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World War and the Korean War. In August 1992, as a consequence of the Options for Change defence cuts, the regiment was amalgamated with the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards to form the Royal Dragoon Guards.
History[edit]
Formation[edit]
The regiment was formed in 1922, as the 5th/6th Dragoons, at Cairo, Egypt by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons.[1][2]
In 1923, the regiment was deployed to Risalpur, India.[3] In 1927, the regiment discarded the "6th" and inserted Inniskilling into its title, thereby becoming the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.[1] In the following year, the regiment moved to the UK for the first time, as the 5th Dragoon Guards. In 1935, it gained the Royal accolade to become the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.[1] In 1938, as part of the preparation for the Second World War, the regiment was mechanised; in the following year, it joined the newly formed Royal Armoured Corps (RAC).[1]
Regimental museum[edit]
The regimental museum, along with that of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, is based in Enniskillen Castle.[6][7] A further display can be seen in the Cheshire Military Museum at Chester Castle.[8]
Uniform[edit]
At the time of amalgamation, care was taken to ensure that the new regiment's uniform retained a balance of features from both former regiments. Thus in full dress, the red and white plume of the 5th Dragoon Guards was worn on the (silver) helmet of the 6th Dragoons, the helmet badge of the 5th was worn, but the collar badge of the 6th. Yellow facings (collar and cuffs) were retained from the 6th Dragoons, but in order not to lose the distinctive green facings of the 5th Dragoon Guards, it was proposed that green breeches/overalls be worn. (Green breeches had formerly been worn in the eighteenth century, when the regiment was known as 'the Green Horse'.) The proposal was accepted, and a new tradition established. After mechanisation, green trousers began to be worn with various orders of dress (a custom still maintained by the successor regiment, the Royal Dragoon Guards).[9]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[10]
The Commanding Officers have been:[11]
The colonels-in-chief were as follows:[1]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[1]
