The Interwar Years Scorpion in Norway After the First World War service of the 13th Hussars in Mesopatamia (modern day Iraq) and the 18th Husssars in France, the newly formed 13th/18th Hussars would spend most of the next two decades on the Tumultuous North West Frontier of India. The Lilywhites would remain a horsed regiment right up until 1938. When the threat of war with Germany would see the regiment recalled to England and provided with light tanks so that they could provide a reconnaissance function. The Second World War D-Day Landings 1944 1940 saw the regiment providing valuable rearguard actions as the British Expeditionary Force was cut off and evacuated from Dunkirk. For 1944, the regiment was provided with heavier and specially adapted tanks. They would be equipped with the revolutionary DD (Duplex Drive) tanks which had been designed to allow the Sherman tanks to propel themselves straight out of the sea and onto the beaches of D-Day. They swam some 5,000 yard in heavy seas in one of the first waves on Sword Beach to provide crucial backup to the infantry landing in the invasion. D-Day Landings 1944 The regiment would then play an important role in the vital battle of Caen which did so much to wear down the German strategic reserve of armour and which would ultimately allow the allied break out to take place. The unit would then propel itself across Northern Europe, through Belgium and finally ending up in Bremen, Northern Germany on VE day. Post War Ferret in Cyprus After two years as part of the Army of Occupation in Germany, the unit was sent on an unusual task from 1948. Originally planned to be sent to the Palestine Mandate, the unit was redirected to Cyrenaica (Libya) as the British withdrew hastily from Palestine. The unit was sent on to Egypt and the Suez Canal zone before being sent on to Malaya to help deal with the newly instigated Communist insurgency there.

Badge Official Name Queen Mary's Own Nicknames The Green Dragoons The Evergreens The Ragged Brigade The Geraniums The Lilywhites Motto Viret in Aeternum It flourishes for ever Pro rege, pro lege, pro patria conamur We strive for our King, our law and our country Depot York Recruiting Area South Yorkshire Regimental Marches Balaklava (Quick) 13th and 18th Hussars Slow March (Slow) Regimental Anniversary Laji Day 5th March Normandy Day 6th June Balaklava Day 25th October Colonels 1922 - 1992 Lieutenant Colonels 1922 - 1992 Soldiers 1922 - 1992 Uniforms 1922 - 1992 Equipment Fox Ferret Scorpion Sherman Valentine (amphibious) Vickers Mark IV Drumhorses 1922 - 1992 Principal Campaigns and Battles 1939 - 1945 Second World War Ypres Comine Canal Dyle Withdrawal to Escaut Bretteville Boruguebus Ridge St Pierre La Vieille Normandy Landing Caen Mont Pincon Geilenkirchen Roer Rhineland Goch Waal Flats Bremen Battle Honours Albehera, Vittoria, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Alma, Balaklava, Sevastopol, Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902, Mons 1914, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Ypres 1915, 1916, Somme 1916, 1918, Cambrai 1917, 1918, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, France and Flanders 1914-18, Kut-Al-Amara 1917, Baghdad 1917, Sharqat 1917, Mesopotamia 1916-18, Ypres-Comines Canal, Normandy Landing, Caen, Mont Pincon, Geilenkirchen, Roer, Rhineland, Goch, North-West Europe 1940, 1944-45 Recruiting Area Midlands Predecessor Units 13th Dragoons (1715 - 1778) 13th Light Dragoons (1778 - 1861) 18th Light Dragoons (1759 - 1858) 13th Hussars (1861 - 1922) 18th Royal Hussars (1864 - 1922) Successor Units The Light Dragoons (1992 - ) Suggested Reading History of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, 1947-92 by Eric Hunt Light Dragoons by Allan Mallinson History of the 13th/18th Hussars by Miller, C. H. Regimental Museum Cannon Hall Museum Cawthorne Barnsley Yorkshire