HISTORY OF THE VIII KING’S ROYAL IRISH HUSSARS 1693-1927

The Regiment was raised in northern Ireland in January 1693, shortly after the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim had seen the end of the French supported Irish rebellion and the Jacobite cause in Ireland. In the warrant authorising the formation of the regiment it was stated that the men should be known Protestants – Catholics were out! Known first as Colonel Cunningham’s (Conyngham) Regiment of Dragoons, it became the 8th Dragoons in 1751 and then Light Dragoons until 1822 when it was designated King’s Royal Irish Hussars. The first of the many campaigns in which it was to fight was the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) during which it was in action in Spain over a period of some eight years. During its next two hundred years it would see plenty of action – in the Crimea (Charge of the Light Brigade), in the Indian Mutiny, the 2nd Afghan War, the South African War and the Great War. All these campaigns are, of course, well covered, but there is plenty on the life of the Regiment, its officers and men, its changes in dress, its weapons and equipment, pay and conditions of service. There are tables showing nationalities of the men, their ages, their heights, lengths of service – even the ages and sizes of the horses – this in the period immediately following the ‘45’ rebellion.
There are some useful appendices for researchers at the end of Vol 2. There is the regimental calendar arranged on a monthly basis whereby any significant event in the history of the Regiment is shown in the relevant month with the date, day of the week and year in which it occurred. Thus, in January we read that the warrant for raising the Regiment was issued by William III on the 18th, a Sunday, in the year 1693; and in October we can see the Regiment sailed from Bombay for France on Friday 16th, 1914. There is the succession of Colonels from 1693 and commanding officers from 1750 when the appointment of CO was separated from that of Colonel of the Regiment, followed by an 86-page list of regimental officers, year by year, arranged by rank and seniority as in the Army Lists. There is an index to this list, arranged alphabetically with the dates each officer served with the regiment; and finally there is the list of RSMs from 1811 when that rank was established. The history concludes with a comprehensive 33-page index.