- 5th Royal Irish Lancers
The 5th Royal Irish Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the
British army formed in 1689 as "Owen Wynne's Dragoons".They fought in the
Battle of the Boyne and at theBattle of Aughrim under William of Orange. They went on to serve with theDuke of Marlborough during theSpanish War of Succession and earned three battle honours there.Renamed the 5th Royal Irish Dragoons, they served in
Ireland and were active during theIrish Rebellion of 1798. However, they were accused of treachery; their accusers claimed their ranks had been infiltrated by rebels. This accusation appears to have been false, but nevertheless they were disbanded in 1799.In 1858 they were reformed as a
lancer regiment and served inIndia . A section served inEgypt in 1885, taking part in the battles atSuakin . They served with distinction in theSecond Boer War from 1899 to 1902, gaining battle honours atBattle of Elandslaagte and The Defence of Ladysmith.They then returned to England where they stayed, until the outbreak of
World War I , where they were part of theBritish Expeditionary Force and saw action continually from 1914 to 1918 in some of the war's bloodiest battles.Disbanded in 1922 due to the establishment of the
Irish Free State , they were amalgamated with the16th The Queen's Lancers to become16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers . That regiment, too, was amalagamated with the17th/21st Lancers to form theQueen's Royal Lancers in 1993.External links
* [http://www.royalirishlancers.co.uk/history.htm Irish Lancers History]
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