Trooper, 3rd Horse, 1705 (2nd Dragoon Guards – Queen’s Bays)

Description

The 3rd Horse, raised by the Earl of Peterborough in 1685, became the 2nd or Queen’s Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1746, and in 1762, being mounted for the first time on bay horses entirely, acquired the title Queen’s Bays. The regiment served as horse cavalry until 1937, when it was mechanised with light tanks. The regiment became part of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939. After service in the First and Second World Wars, the regiment amalgamated with the 1st King’s Dragoon Guards in 1959 to form the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards by which it is now known. This trooper is wearing the uniform worn by cavalry during Marlborough’s wars: a plain practical scarlet coat, button holes ornamented with white tape, and cuffs of the regimental facing colour. The carbine was carried attached to a swivel on the shoulder belt under the man’s right arm, with the muzzle resting in a bucket forward of his right foot. The cavalry at this time consisted of Horse, being cavalry proper, and Dragoons being mounted infantry. Their equipment and uniform were much the same, except that Dragoons wore a lighter pattern of boot to assist in dismounted work. Under Marlborough, a great cavalryman, the two became indistinguishable. Troopers of Horse received more pay than Dragoons, which was no doubt regarded as an injustice which was remedied in 1746 by a process familiar to all servicemen: the pay of the Horse was reduced to that of the Dragoons. To compensate them for the loss of cash, they were given the honorific title of Dragoon Guards.