page_title: 4th Queen's Own Hussars
section_title: Formation and early history
hierarchical_section_title: 4th Queen's Own Hussars / History / Formation and early history
caption_attribution_description: Charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade, 25th Oct. 1854, under Major General the Earl of Cardigan, by William Simpson Print shows Lord Cardigan leading the charge of the light brigade toward Russian artillery on the left, in the foreground, Russian artillery fire on the left flank of the charging light brigade, as artillery on the hills in the background fire on the right flank; Russian cavalry wait in readiness to engage the British or to counterattack. Українська: Атака бригади легкої кавалерії, 25 жовтня 1854 року під Балаклавою у Кримській війні, Вільям Сімпсон, 1 березня 1855 року. Key.
context_page_description: The 4th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars, to form the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958.
context_section_description: The regiment was first raised by the Hon. John Berkeley as The Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Dragoons in 1685, as part of the response to the Monmouth Rebellion by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 4th Dragoons. The regiment transferred its allegiance to King William III in February 1689 and fought the depleted forces of James II in Scotland in later that year. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Steenkerque, where it suffered heavy losses, in August 1692 and at the Siege of Namur in July 1695 during the Nine Years' War. The regiment suffered heavy losses again at the Battle of Almansa in April 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession and next fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715 during the Jacobite rising.
  The regiment saw action at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743, when Trooper George Daraugh bravely recovered the regimental standard that had been seized by a French officer during the War of the Austrian Succession. The regiment suffered a serious reverse when it was ambushed during a series of disastrous events leading up to Fall of Ghent in July 1745 and then fought bravely to mitigate the British defeat at the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747. The regiment was formally titled as the 4th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751 and, having helped suppress the Gordon Riots in 1780, it was named for Queen Charlotte as the 4th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons in 1788.
  The regiment fought at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809 under Sir Arthur Wellesley and then contributed to a successful ambush of the enemy at the Battle of Usagre in May 1811 during the Peninsular War. The regiment took part in a successful charge at the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 and in the aftermath seized some of Joseph Bonaparte's silver; it then fought at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment was designated a light dragoons in 1818, becoming the 4th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and went to fight at the Battle of Ghazni in July 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War.
  The regiment next saw action, as part of the light brigade under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan, at the Battle of Alma in September 1854. The regiment was in the second line of cavalry on the right flank during the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. The brigade drove through the Russian artillery before smashing straight into the Russian cavalry and pushing them back; it was unable to consolidate its position, however, having insufficient forces and had to withdraw to its starting position, coming under further attack as it did so. The regiment lost four officers and 55 men in the debacle. Private Samuel Parkes was awarded the Victoria Cross during the charge for saving the life of a Trumpeter, Hugh Crawford.
  The regiment became the 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars in 1861. Winston Churchill was commissioned as a cornet in the 4th Hussars in February 1895.
caption: The charge of the Light Brigade, October 1854; The 4th (Queen's Own) Light Dragoons were in the second line of cavalry (in the middle of the picture) on the right flank (towards the back of the picture)
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