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. The main role of the 17th/21st Lancers service after the war was as part of the British Army of the Rhine serving as part of NATO’s conventional deterrent against the Warsaw Pact Armies of Eastern Europe. It also served throughout the world with both squadron and troop deployments to Hong Kong, Borneo, Aden, Libya, Belize, Kuwait and Cyprus. The main operational commitment post war for the Regiment was in Northern Ireland. Since 1969 and the beginning of the ‘troubles’, the 17th/21st were regularly deployed to the Province in both mounted and dismounted roles. The Regiment was employed in Saladin, Saracen and Ferret armoured cars during the first two and bloodiest years of the troubles. The Regiment also conducted dismounted four-month emergency tours. The Gulf War 1991

Early wars: Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Central India, South Africa 1879, South Africa 1900–1902The regiment was formed in England during the interwar period by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers on 27 June 1922. [1] The regiment was deployed to Meerut in India in 1936 and it was mechanised in 1938. [2] Valentine tanks of the 17th/21st Lancers near Brandon in Suffolk, England, 12 September 1941. Brighton, Terry (2004). Hell Riders: the Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-101831-3. The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times. No.36888. London. 2 October 1902. p.4. After the French revolution of 1789, Britain, Holland and Spain sought to undermine the Republic, because they saw republicanism as a threat to their own monarchies. The French declared war on all three countries in February 1793. In response, Britain again increased the size of the standing army and in February 1794 the 21st Light Dragoons was raised for a third time. Cannon, Richard (1841). Historical Record of the Ninth or the Queen's Royal Regiment of Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1715 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841. John W. Parker.

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] Military unit Irish Cavalrymen, 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the War of the American Revolution, 1775-1783 The regiment was originally raised in Bengal by the East India Company in 1858 as the 3rd Bengal European Light Cavalry, for service in the Indian Rebellion. [1] As with all other "European" units of the Company, it was placed under the command of the British Crown in 1858, and formally moved into the British Army in 1862, when it was designated as a hussar regiment and titled the 21st Regiment of Hussars. [1] A detachment saw service in the 1884–5 expedition to the Sudan, with the Light Camel Regiment. In 1897 it was re-designated as a lancer regiment, becoming the 21st Lancers. [1] The Indian origin of the regiment was commemorated in its "French grey" facings - this distinctive light blue/grey shade having previously been the uniform colour of the East India Company's eight regiments of Bengal Native Cavalry. [2] Mahdist War [ edit ] Lt Winston Churchill 1898Raugh, Harold E. (2004). The Victorians At War, 1815–1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1576079256. 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. Latest intelligence - The War - Movements of Transport". The Times. No.36087. London. 12 March 1900. p.5.