13th/18th Royal Hussars



The 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.

Formation
On 9 September 1922, the 13th/18th Hussars was formed by the amalgamation of the 13th Hussars and the 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own). It became known as the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) in December 1935. The regiment transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in April 1939.

World War two
During the Second World War, it served as the reconnaissance regiment of the 1st Infantry Division in the Battle of France, and with the 27th Armoured Brigade. It was subsequently transferred to the 8th Armoured Brigade during the Battle of Normandy, where it was equipped with Sherman DD tanks.

Cold War
The unit was the garrisoned regiment at Long Kesh at the introduction of Internment in 1971 by the then British Government, which saw the holding of Irish Republican Army (IRA) suspects without trial. The remnants of the "Kesh" were still extant at the site of HMP Maze until its demise.

After this tour, the regiment was stationed at Wimbish near Saffron Walden in Essex. It was equipped with the 'Fox' armoured car until 1982, when it was stationed in the northwest German town of Herford, becoming part of 1st British Corps. Here it was equipped with the CVR(T) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) 'Scimitar', 'Spartan' and 'Sultan' and in 1983 it was re-equipped with the Long Range Anti-Tank Guided Weapon (LRATGW) system, 'Swingfire' which was vehicle mounted on the CVR(T) 'Striker'. During this period, in 1985, the regiment detached a composite squadron ('B' Squadron) back to HMP Maze as part of the roulement tours of the time.

In December 1986, the regiment returned to the United Kingdom, to the Hampshire garrison of Tidworth, where it formed part of the AMF(L) force. From here the regiment also sent three squadrons on UN peace-keeping tours to Cyprus in 1987, 1989 and 1990.

The regiment's final posting was as the Corps Reconnaissance Regiment, again as part of 1 (BR) Corps in the German town of Wolfenbüttel, close to what used to be the inner-German border with East Germany.

Present
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the threat from Eastern Europe diminished in the eyes of the politicians and in the early 1990s, the then British government introduced a measure designed to streamline the armed forces, called Options for Change. This programme saw many soldiers leave the forces on a mass "redundancy" package, this in turn led to the coming-together of several units within the British army.

The regiment amalgamated with the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars to form The Light Dragoons on 1 December 1992.

Their mottoes remain Viret et aertenum - 'May Their Name Flourish Forever' and Pro rege, Pro lege, Pro patria conamur - 'For King, For Justice, for Country we fight'.

Battle honours
Combined battle honours of the 13th and 18th Hussars:

The Second World War: Dyle, Withdrawal to Escaut, Ypres-Comines Canal, Normandy Landing, Bréville, Caen, Bourguébus Ridge, Mont Pinçon, St. Pierre La Vielle, Geilenkirchen, Roer, Rhineland, Waal Flats, Goch, Rhine, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45.