Army Regiments - Cavalry regiments - Bowles's Regiment of Dragoons/12th Regiment of Dragoons/The 12th Prince of Wales's Regiment of (Light) Dragoons/9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)
Below is some genealogy information on the 12th Light Dragoons, 12th Lancers and Prince of Wales's Royal Lancers cavalry regiment of the British army that may help searches for military ancestors.
Theatres of War, Army Regiments, Naval Detachments, RAF
Description: Formed in 1715 as Bowles's Regiment of Dragoons, raised in Berkshire. In 1751 they were renamed the 12th Regiment of Dragoons. In 1768 they were renamed The 12th Prince of Wales's Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. In 1801 they were part of a force sent to thwart Napoleon in Egypt, defeating the French at Alexandria. In 1809 they were part of a British force of 40,000 which landed at Antwerp. However, the 12th never made it off the ships! In 1811 joined the war on the Iberian peninsular, helping to defeat the French. In 1815, following Napoleon's escape from Elba, the 12th were sent once again to fight. They defeated Napoleon at Quatre-Bras and the following day fought at the battle of Waterloo. In 1816 they were renamed the 12th (Prince of Wales's Royal (Lancers). During the First World War they fought along the Western Front. In 1928 the regiment was mechanised. During the Second World War the regiment fought in the Western and North African fronts, fighting at the battle of El Alamein and in the invasion of Italy. In 1960 they were amalgamated with the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers forming the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). Their nickname is The Supple Twelfth.
Military actions:
- Boer war: Belmont and Graspan
- Boer war: Paardenburg
- Crimean: Siege of Sevastapol
- Napoleonic war: Peninsular War
- Napoleonic war: Quatre-Bras
- Napoleonic war: Waterloo
- WWII: El Alamein
- WWII: Invasion of Italy
Reading materials:
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