2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen's Bays)


caption= 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen's Bays)
dates=1685-1959
country=Britain
allegiance=
branch=Army
type=Cavalry
role=Royal Armoured Corps
size=Regiment
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=The Bays
patron=
motto= "Pro rege et patria" (Latin "for King & Country")
colors=
march=Quick - "Rusty Buckles",
Slow - "The Queen's Bays"
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 by King James II. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in 1959.

The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse (1685-1715)

The regiment was first raised as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse in 1685, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 3rd Regiment of Horse.

The Regiment fought at the battles of the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim (1691).

Peterborough's Horse fought in Portugal and overthrew two French regiments in a famous charge at the battle of Almanza (1707).

The Queen's Own Regiment of Horse (1715-1746)

In 1715, in recognition of its services in the Great Jacobite Rebellion, King George I renamed the Regiment The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Horse, for Princess Caroline of Wales, and titled as The Queen's Own Regiment of Horse in 1727 when her husband rose to the throne as King George II.

2nd Queens Regiment of Dragoon Guards (1746-1767)

In 1746 the Government, determined to save money, decided to reduce the regiment from the status of Horse (who were better paid) to that of Dragoons (who would cost less). There was such and outcry that eventually the 3rd Regiment of Horse became the 2nd Queens Regiment of Dragoon Guards.

The Regiment earned its first battle honours during the Seven Years' War at the Battles of Corbach and Warburg on 31st July 1760; where Hanoverian and British forces defeated the French. The Regiment distinguished itself at Warburg fighting under the command of the famous Marquis of Granby. In a celebrated charge, the Marquess lost his wig, giving rise to the expression 'going at it bald headed'. At the battle of Willems (1762) the Bays captured several French regiments by 'charging the flying foe sword in hand'.

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) (1767-1921)

Shortly thereafter, in 1767, the Regiment was ordered to be mounted on bay horses accompanied by the new title 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays). This is emphasised in the Regimental badge which is simply the word 'BAYS' within a laurel wreath surmounted by a crown.

The Regimental motto is "Pro Rege et Patria", which is Latin for "For King and Country"

When the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857 the Bays were ordered to India. On arrival at Calcutta late in November, The Bays were informed that they were to go to Allahabad with the utmost speed to join Hope Grant's Cavalry Division in Sir Colin Campbell's force. This meant a 500 mile journey, 400 miles of entailed marching across India with their newly issued horses. Captain Seymour wrote:

"Very hard marching we shall have had, as the last ten days are forced marches. We are marching with our heavy baggage, yet we have no less than 2,000 paid camp followers! We march at 4am, always in the dark for two hours, and this adds much to the ordinary confusion of a march. We sleep in our tents, but our tents are never up with the regiment for some time after we reach our new camping ground. It is all very rough I assure you... our Officers have been greatly plagued with their native servants, as owing to the times one is obliged to pay them in advance. Nearly all those engaged in Calcutta have bolted...I fortunately did not engage one there, none of mine have left me... my Establishment is complete".

From the end of January onwards the Bays were regularly employed in minor mopping up operations which characterized the later stages of the Mutiny. In March they took part in the siege of Lucknow Captain Seymour wrote:

"We came on bodies of Cavalry and Infantry of the enemy. Bays where ordered to the front to charge and persue! Away we went as hard as possible, Major Smith and I leading. We did not stop for three miles, cutting down and pursuing the mutineers right up to Lucknow, and across the river. We are told the most gallant. smartest, though somewhat rash thing that was done before Lucknow".

The Bays were on duty in Ireland between 1875-1885 and were deployed several times to assist the local civil force during the First Irish Home Rule_Bill.

They were stationed in India between 1885-1894 and then in Egypt in 1895-97.

The Bays fought in South Africa (1899-1902), arriving in 1901, and capturing Commandant Pretorius.

In The First World War (1914-18) the Bays formed a part of the original Expeditionary force ('The Old Contemptables') and were heavily engaged throughout the War in France and Flanders, fighting in all the major battles; the Retreat from Mons, Le Cateau, the battle of the Marne, Messines, Ypres, the Somme, Cambrai, the Scarpe, and in the final victorious advance of 1918.

Many honours were gained including the Retreat from Mons, Aisnes 1914, Armentieres 1914, Frezenburg, Bellewaarde, Flers-Courcelette, Arras 1917, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosiers, and Albert 1918.

One of the incidents that will long live in the memory of The Bays is their successful chase of the German cavalry at Montigny-les-Lens on the last day of the Great War.

The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards)(1921-1959)

After service in the First World War, the Regiment was again retitled The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in 1921.

In 1935 the Bays lost their horses, after 250 years, and became a mechanized regiment. They transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939.

At the outbreak of World War Two the Regiment was in England. In May 1940 the Bays were sent as part of the 1st Armoured Division to France, and were heavily engaged on the Somme. In mid June, with the collapse of the French resistance, they were evacuated back to England through the port of Brest.

The Bays arrived in the Middle East in November 1941, equipped initially with the 2 pounder Crusader Tank. They fought with great bravery at the Cauldron and Knightsbridge during the battle of Gazala, and were continuously in action for 19 days, a record for an armoured regiment in the Western Desert. They played a major part at the Battle of Alamein, the Tebaga gap, at El Hamma and the Mareth Line, and so on to Tunis.

The Bays arrived in Italy in May 1944 and were engaged in the Gothic Line, and at the battle of Coriano Ridge they lost all but three of their tanks and suffered 98 casualties in a matter of minutes when they were sent against a screen of German anti-tank guns, including 88mms. They fought in the Po Valley at the Crossing of the Lamone, and at Rimini, Coriano Ridge and Cesena. The Bays helped force the Argenta Gap and found themselves at Ferrara when the Germans Surrendered.

After the war the Bays remained in Northern Italy, Then moved to Egypt before returning to Britain in 1947. On November the 1st 1958 the Queen's Bays paraded for the last time and were reviewed by their Colonel-in Chief, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

On 1st January 1959 the 1st King's Dragoon Guards and The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) amalgamated to become 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. On the 2nd March 1959 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, their Colonel-in-Chief, presented the new Standard.

References

*cite web
url=http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/DG2bays.htm
title=The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards)
accessmonthday=March 30
accessyear=2007
last=Mills
first=T.F.
work=regiments.org Includes chronological index of titles.

*http://www.qdg.org.uk/index.php