| 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge of the regiment | |
| Active | 1715–1960 |
| Country | Kingdom of Great Britain (1715–1718) Kingdom of Ireland (1718–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1960) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line cavalry |
| Size | One Regiment |
| Nickname | The Supple Twelfth |
| Motto | Ich Dien – I Serve |
| March | Quick:God Bless the Prince of Wales Slow:Coburg March |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Major-GeneralPhineas Bowles (Sr) Lieutenant-GeneralPhineas Bowles (Jr) |
The12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of theBritish Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including theFirst World War and theSecond World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in the1957 Defence White Paper, and was amalgamated with the9th Queen's Royal Lancers to form the9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in 1960.
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The regiment ofdragoons was raised inReading by Brigadier-GeneralPhineas Bowles as the Phineas Bowles's Regiment of Dragoons in July 1715 as part of the response to theJacobite rebellion.[1] It was employed escorting prisoners to London later in the year.[2] In 1718, the regiment was placed on the Irish establishment and posted to Ireland, where it remained for 75 years.[3][4]
In 1751, the regiment was officially styled the 12th Dragoons.[1] In 1768,King George III bestowed the badge of thethree ostrich feathers and the motto "Ich Dien" on the regiment and re-titled it as the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons.[1] A youngArthur Wesley (later Duke of Wellington) joined the regiment as a subaltern in 1789.[5] In April 1794, during theFrench Revolutionary Wars, the regiment took part in thesiege of Bastia inCorsica.[6]Pope Pius VI was impressed by the conduct of the regiment and ordered that medals be awarded to its officers.[6]
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The regiment landed atAlexandria in March 1801 and, although its commanding officer, Lieutenant-ColonelMervyn Archdall, was seriously injured in skirmishes,[7] it saw action at theBattle of Alexandria later in the month.[8] The regiment, under a new commanding officer, Lieutenant-ColonelJohn Doyle, captured 28 officers and 570 other ranks of the French Dromedary Regiment (French:Régiment de Dromadaires) in an action in the Egyptian desert in May 1801.[9][10] It took part in thesiege of Cairo securing the city in June 1801[8] and then participated in thesiege of Alexandria taking that city in September 1801.[11] The regiment next deployed for the disastrousWalcheren Campaign in autumn 1809.[12]
In June 1811 the regiment embarked forLisbon and, under the command of ColonelFrederick Ponsonby, took part in thesiege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812,[12] thesiege of Badajoz in March 1812[13] and theBattle of Villagarcia in April 1812 in thePeninsular War.[14] It also undertook two charges at theBattle of Salamanca in July 1812[15] before taking part in thesiege of Burgos in September 1812,[16] theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813[17] and thesiege of San Sebastián in autumn 1813.[18] The regiment next advanced intoFrance and supported the infantry at theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813.[19] The regiment marched through France and arrived inCalais in July 1814 from where it returned to England.[20]
In theWaterloo Campaign, the regiment was attached toSir John Vandeleur's light cavalry brigade. At theBattle of Waterloo in June 1815, the regiment charged down the slope to support theUnion Brigade of medium cavalry. Ponsonby fell, dangerously wounded, in themelee.[21]
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In 1816, the 12th Light Dragoons was armed with lances after the cavalry of Napoleon's Army had shown their effectiveness atWaterloo and were re-titled 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Lancers).[1] In 1855, it reinforced the Light Cavalry Brigade in the Crimea after theCharge of the Light Brigade at theBattle of Balaclava. In 1861, the regiment was renamed 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Royal Regiment of Lancers.[1] It was stationed in India between 1857 and 1860 in response to theIndian Rebellion and in Ireland from 1865 to 1870, before fighting in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War in the late 1870s.[22]
The regiment was deployed toSouth Africa for service in theSecond Boer War in October 1899, and took part in therelief of Kimberley and the ensuingBattle of Paardeberg in February 1900.[23] The commanding officer of the regiment, the11th Earl of Airlie, was killed at theBattle of Diamond Hill in June 1900.[23] Following the end of the war in 1902 they went to India. Almost 530 officers and men leftCape Town aboard SSLake Manitoba in September 1902, arriving atBombay the following month and was then stationed atAmbala inPunjab.[24]
The regiment, which had been based inNorwich at the start of the war, landed in France as part of the5th Cavalry Brigade in the2nd Cavalry Division in August 1914 for service on theWestern Front.[25] On 28 August 1914, 'C' Squadron of the 12th Lancers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Wormald, made a successful charge against a dismounted squadron of Prussian Dragoons atMoÿ-de-l'Aisne in theGreat Retreat.[26] The9th/12th Royal Lancers celebratedMons/Moy Day annually, which commemorated the last occasions on which each predecessor regiment charged with lances.[27]
In 1921 the regiment was re-titled the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's).[1] In 1928, it gave up its horses and was equipped witharmoured cars, taking over vehicles left in Egypt by twoRoyal Tank Corps armoured car units, the 3rd and 5th Companies.[28] Late in 1934, the 12th exchanged equipment and station with the11th Hussars, taking over 34Lanchester 6×4 armoured cars atTidworth.[28] Its strength would have been 12 officers and 141 other ranks, organised in a company headquarters and three sections, each with five cars.[28] Total numbers were sixteen cars, six motorcycles, a staff car, four 3-ton (3 t) and seven 30-cwt (1,520 kg)lorries.[28]
In January–February 1935 a provisionalD squadron of the 12th Lancers with eight armoured cars served as a peacekeeping force in theSaar region.[29] On 31 DecemberB andC squadrons were sent again to Egypt with 29 armoured cars as a response to theItalian invasion of Abyssinia and strengthening garrisons inLibya. By the end of 1936 the squadrons were returned to Britain, where the regiment was re-equipped withMorris Light Reconnaissance Cars.[30][31]
The 12th Lancers was anarmoured car regiment equipped with theMorris CS9, in the 1940campaign in France and Flanders, playing a key part in shielding the retreat to Dunkirk.[22] After evacuation (without their vehicles) fromMalo-les-Bains ondredgers, they were first equipped withBeaverettes, then, in June 1941, withHumbers.[32]
The Lancers landed inPort Tewfik, Egypt, in November 1941. Subsequently, the regiment fought as divisional troops for the1st Armoured Division at theSecond Battle of El Alamein in October 1942[33] and then served as a corps-level reconnaissance unit in theItalian Campaign.[22]
The regiment was deployed toPalestine in August 1946 before returning home in April 1947.[34] It was sent toMalaya in September 1951 in theMalayan Emergency and, having been posted to Harewood Barracks inHerford in January 1955 moved on to Northampton Barracks inWolfenbüttel in March 1956.[34] It returned home again in March 1959 and deployed toCyprus in May 1959.[34] The regiment was amalgamated with the9th Queen's Royal Lancers to form the9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) in September 1960.[1]
TheDerby Museum and Art Gallery incorporates the Soldier's Story Gallery, based on the collection, inter alia, of the 12th Royal Lancers.[35]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[1]
Colonels of the regiment were:[1]
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