22nd Dragoons The 22nd Dragoons was the title held by four separate Cavalry regiments of the British Army raised and disbanded between 1716 and 1945 . The last regiment of this name existed during the Second World War , from 1 December 1940 until 30 November 1945 . History . The first regiment to bear the title 22nd Dragoons was raised in 1716 . Also known as Viscount Mountjoy ' s Regiment of Dragoons , it appeared on the Army List on 16 February 1716 , but was disbanded in 1718 . In 1779 , John , Lord Sheffield raised a light dragoon regiment that was styled 22nd ( Light ) Dragoons , but this was disbanded in 1783 . On 24 February 1794 , William , Viscount Fielding raised the next regiment to use the title 22nd ( Light ) Dragoons ; this regiment lasted slightly longer , being disbanded in 1802 with the onset of peace . However , the 25th Dragoons ( raised for service in India by F E Gwyn on 9 March 1794 ) was renumbered 22nd ( Light ) Dragoons in that year . This 22nd ( Light ) Dragoons regiment served throughout the Napoleonic Wars , which began in 1805 , and was disbanded in 1820 . On 1 December 1940 , the regiment was restored to the Army List . The new 22nd Dragoons was formed from cadres taken from the 4th / 7th Royal Dragoon Guards and 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards . The regimental crest , used on the headstones of the regiment ' s dead , combined the 4th / 7th Royal Dragoon Guard ' s Star of St Patrick with the Castle of Inniskilling to represent the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards - the 4th / 7th and Inniskillings are now amalgamated as the Royal Dragoon Guards and have adopted a capbadge that is very similar to this . The regiment was assigned to 29th Armoured Brigade in 11th Armoured Division , but later was transferred to 30th Armoured Brigade in the same division . This changeover was due to the regimental loyalties of the brigade commanders . In 1942 , 30 Armoured Brigade was transferred to 42nd Armoured Division before finally joining 79th Armoured Division in 1943 . All three regiments of the 30th Armoured Brigade were re - equipped with Sherman Crab Flail Tank s - M4 Sherman tanks modified by attaching a large jib , covered in chains , to the front of the vehicle . The idea being that the tanks would clear a path through a minefield by slowly driving along flogging the ground ahead of them and , hopefully , exploding the mines ; to be effective , the tanks had to drive at no more than one and half miles per hour . Tank units thus equipped were not generally used as entire regiments , rather they were split up into troop or squadron - sized formations in support of organised set piece attacks . As such , the regiment came ashore in the first wave of the Operation Overlord landings on the morning of 6 June 1944 , with A Squadron , reinforced by two troops of C Squadron and supported by two troops of the Westminster Dragoons , landing on Sword Beach and B Squadron landing on Juno Beach . Later in the day , the final two troops of C Squadron landed on Juno , where they remained for several days on beach clearance duties . Once the beaches were cleared , the regiment saw sporadic action in the fighting through Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany , where they were at the end of the war ; the regiment was disbanded in Germany on 30 November 1945 . The regiment was awarded ten battle honours for operations in the North West Europe Theatre .