Omdurman" was the regiment's only battle honour, giving rise to the satirical regimental motto of "thou shalt not kill." [6] That same year, the regiment was given the title 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers, taking the name from Queen Victoria who was the Empress of India. [1] Service in Ireland and India [ edit ] A troop from the 21st Lancers passing Marlborough House, circa 1911 In 1806, it was sent to assist an attempt to capture the Spanish colony of Buenos Aires, which proved unsuccessful. After moving to garrison Cape Colony, it then sailed to India in 1808. During its time there, it fought in the Third Maratha War (1817-18). The regiment saw service in Germany in 1761 [5] and was renumbered the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons in April 1763 [3] In 1764 the regiment went to Ireland. [6] In May 1766 it was renumbered again, this time as the 3rd Regiment of Light Dragoons. [3] It regained the 17th numeral in 1769 as the 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. [3] American Revolution [ edit ] Birch leading the 17th Dragoons in the Old South Meeting House, Boston (1775) [7] 17th Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (17th Lancers) (1784–1810) Fortescue, Sir John William (1895). A History of the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own). Macmillan and Co. Its first overseas service came when a detachment of the unit was sent to Germany during the Seven Years War (1756-63).

Babits, Lawrence Edward (2001). A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807849262. The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit.Led by Lt Col Samuel Birch, the regiment was sent to North America in 1775, arriving in Boston, then besieged by American rebels in the American Revolutionary War. [8] It fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, a costly British victory, in June 1775. [8] The regiment was withdrawn to Halifax. [9] It fought at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 [9] at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 [10] and at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. [10] It was in action again at the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in October 1777, [11] the Battle of Crooked Billet in May 1778 [12] and the Battle of Barren Hill later that month. [12] Brumwell, Stephen (2007). Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe. Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 9780826436351. In 1806 the 21st was deployed to Cape Town, to protect the Indian trade route. In fact the closest the regiment came to Napoleon and his armies was after the war ended in 1815, when the 21st furnished a troop to guard and escort the Emperor on the remote Atlantic island of St Helena. RW Smith (2004). "Modderfontein, 17 September 1901". Military History Journal. 13 (1). Archived from the original on 3 April 2009 . Retrieved 2 August 2009.

Raugh, Harold E. (2004). The Victorians At War, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1576079256. Brighton, Terry (2004). Hell Riders: the Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-101831-3.

Regimental museums

The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922. [3] Regimental museum [ edit ]