18th King Edward ' s Own Cavalry The 18th King Edward ' s Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army . It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of the 6th King Edward ' s Own Cavalry and the 7th Hariana Lancers . These regiments served the British Crown from before the Indian Mutiny to World War II . 6th King Edward ' s Own Cavalry . The 6th King Edward ' Own Cavalry was raised at Fatehgarh in 1842 by Lt W H Ryves as the 8th Regiment of Bengal Irregular Cavalry , Their first action was in 1843 during the Gwalior Campaign in central India for which they earned the battle honour " Punniar " . In 1845 they were involved in the First Anglo - Sikh War and participated in the " Battle of Moodkee " the " Battle of Ferozeshah " and the " Battle of Sobraon " They were next in action in Egypt during the 1882 Anglo - Egyptian War where they were awarded the battle honours " Egypt 1882 " as a theatre honour and also honours for the " Battle of Tel - El - Kebir " . It was while on service in Egypt that khaki was worn by all ranks for the first time . During World War I they were part of the 1st Indian Cavalry Division , 2nd ( Sialkot ) Cavalry Brigade which arrived in France in November 1914 . They were involved in the First Battle of Ypres and other actions on the Western Front but notably in , the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Battle of Cambrai The brigade formation was ; They moved to Egypt in March 1918 and were transferred to 22nd Mounted Brigade . They took part in Allenby ' s campaign in Palestine . The regiment then spent the period 1919 - 20 in West Asia on occupation duties . It returned to India in October 1920 , landing at Bombay from where it took a train to Ferozepur which is reached on the 15th October 1920 . 7th Hariana Lancers . The 7th Hariana Lancers was formed in 1846 as a regiment of Bengal Irregular Cavalry raised in Meerut and Cawnpore by Captain Liptrott . The Regiment was raised after the First Sikh War in anticipation of the Second War starting . When the Second Sikh War broke out , they did not become involved in any engagements but found themselves in the reserve force . In 1857 when the Indian Mutiny broke out they were stationed on the North West Frontier the regiment remained loyal and did not mutiny . As a result of the mutiny and the reconstruction of the Bengal army , the irregular cavalry regiments 8th to 16th were disbanded and the 17th became the 7th Bengal Cavalry . They went to Burma in 1886 during the 3rd Burmese War which would be their last action until the Great War . In 1915 during World War I they were part of the forces sent to Mesopotamia and fought in the Battle of Shaiba where on 13 Apr Major Wheeler received a posthumous VC . They would lose a squadron in the actions at Kut - Al - Amara , they returned to Bolarum in October 1916 . Like all regiments of the Indian Army , the 7th Cavalry underwent many name changes in the various reorganisations . They are listed below . There seems to be no reason for the name chosen in the 1904 reorganisation other than a large number of the men came from that district . In December 1919 the regiment moved to Mesopotamia , landing at Basra on the 31st December . They served here until July 1920 when it returned to India , returning to its depot as Risalpur on the 12th July . Victoria Cross . One member of the 7th Hariana Lancers was awarded the Victoria Cross , Major George Godfrey Massy Wheeler . On 12 April 1915 at Shaiba , Mesopotamia , Major Wheeler led his squadron in an attempt to capture a flag which was the centre - point of a group of the enemy who were firing on one of his troop ' s picquets . He advanced , attacked the enemy ' s infantry with the lance , and then retired while the enemy swarmed out of hidden ground where Royal Artillery guns could attack them . On 13 April Major Wheeler led his squadron to the attack of the North Mound . He was seen far ahead of his men , riding straight for the enemy ' s standards , but was killed in the attack . World War II . In World War II the regiment was mechanised in December 1940 and attached to the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade which as initially part of the 31st Indian Armoured Division . The brigade was sent to Egypt and the Western Desert Campaign and was attached to a number of different formations including the 2nd Armoured Division , 7th Armoured Division and the 9th Australian Division who they were with at the Siege of Tobruk . It also supplied men for the Indian Long Range Squadron . The brigade was later overrun by the Italians during the Battle of Gazala and took some days to reform . The Brigade formation was : However the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade part of the desert war was over . On the 30th June the Brigade was ordered to hand over 50 % its vehicles to the 8th Army . The brigade was dispersed in July , initially allotted to the defence of the Delta then ordered to perform guard duties however it was reformed in August . It travelled overland to Sahneh in Persia via Baghdad , again under the command of 31st Indian Armoured Division where it remained until late November , when they moved to Shaibah , seven miles from Basra . From here the Regiment returned to India in January 1943 and the brigade was reconstituted as the 43rd Indian Infantry Brigade ( Lorried ) at Shaibah at the end of January 1943 . When in India it moved to Rawalpindi in the middle of 1943 and commenced conversion and reorganisation as a light cruiser regiment . By the end of the year the regiment successfully converted into a light cruiser tank regiment . The regiment was split up after that , serving in different parts of India when the Japanese surrender came in August 1945 . External links . Follow this link to view the uniforms of the late 19th Century