HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY INFORMATION - THE LIFE GUARDS

THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY -

BRIEF REGIMENTAL HISTORY OF

THE LIFE GUARDS 1945-1992

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THE LIFE GUARDS

1945 - 1992

1945	The Life Guards Armoured Car Regiment was formed in Germany in September 1945 from the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment, a wartime amalgamation of The Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues).
1946 - 1948	In 1946 they saw service in the Canal Zone and Cairo. The following year, during the Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine, they were engaged in internal security duties - returning to England in 1948 via Egypt.
1952 - 1956	Border Patrols on the Iron Curtain in Germany were undertaken in 1952-53, the Regiment returning to England prior to departing for Egypt in January 1954. While in Egypt the Regiment had elements in Aden and Cyprus, where terrorism had just started.
1956	They returned to England in 1956 but were alerted for the Suez operation in June of that year. The following year the Armoured Car Role was converted to an air-portable one, and The Life Guards became part of the Strategic Reserve.
1958 - 1964	Action against dissident tribesmen in Aden and Oman was the Regiment's task in 1958-59, followed by further service in Germany from 1960-62, and eventual return to England. However, in 1964 Squadrons were flown out to Cyprus where Greek-Turkish fighting was going on, and they formed a part of the UN Force.
1966 - 1968	In 1966 The Life Guards were flown out to Malaya, Singapore and Borneo and from 1967-68 a Squadron of the Regiment saw service in Hong Kong.
1968	In October 1968 The Life Guards returned from the Far East to Windsor where they became an Armoured Reconnaisance Regiment in 3rd Division. 'B', 'C' and HQ Squadrons each served independently on tours in Northern Ireland between July 1969 and November 1970. 'C' Squadron also saw service in Norway, Denmark, Greece and Turkey as part of the NATO mobile force. 'A' Squadron were in the Persian Gulf as an independent squadron from September 1969 to June 1970.
1971 - 1975	In September 1971, The Life Guards became a Tank Regiment for the first time in their history, and on conversion from Armoured Cars moved to BAOR where they relieved The Blues and Royals. In July 1972, again for the first time in their history, the Regiment became an Infantry Battalion, and served a four-month tour in Belfast before returning to their Chieftain Tanks in BAOR. The Infantry role was repeated in 1974 when the Regiment returned to Northern Ireland on another four-month tour, this time in Armagh.
1975 - 1980	The Regiment returned to Windsor in October 1975 to change with The Blues And Royals, and take on a new generation of tracked armoured cars - Scorpion and Scimitar. 'B' Squadron served a four-month tour in Northern Ireland from December 1975, and 'C' Squadron became part of the NATO mobile force again, visiting Norway and Denmark until this commitment was transferred to the RAC Centre Regiment in 1978. Two Squadrons served in Cyprus on six-month tours with the United Nations force, one in 1976 and one in 1979. The Regiment continued to provide Squadrons for four-month tours in Northern Ireland; each Squadron served there in succession from April 1977 until April 1978, two in Dungannon and one in Londonderry. A Squadron went to Kansas in the United States on a six-weeks exchange in 1977, and the Regiment also sent a detachment to the Sudan, and a Troop to Belize from October to December 1977.
1979	The Colonel of The Life Guards, Lord Mountbatten, died in 1979, and was succeeded - as Colonel of The Life Guards - by Major General Lord Michael Fitzalan Howard, a former commander of the Household Division.
1980 - 1984	In February 1980 The Life Guards and The Blues And Royals once again changed roles, with The Life Guards returning to Detmold on Chieftain Tanks, for which a fourth squadron, 'D' Squadron, had to be established. During their tour, The Life Guards sent squadrons on four occasions to train in Canada, and in 1981 their own Battle Group. In 1982 'D' Squadron completed a three month tour of HMP Maze in Northern Ireland as the prison Guard force, and in May 1983 the same Squadron returned to England to represent the Regiment in the Presentation of Standards by Her Majesty The Queen on Horse Guards Parade.
1984	In January 1984 The Life Guards left Detmold for the last time for Windsor, where once again they changed roles with The Blues and Royals. The Regiment itself became part of the newly formed 5th Airborne Brigade, based at Aldershot. In 1984 and 1986, 'C' and 'B' Squadrons, respectively, served six-month tours in Cyprus with the United Nations Force. In June 1986 'C' Squadron went on a five-week exchange with 1/9 US Cavalry in Fort Hood, Texas.
1990 - 1991	After intensive training in Germany, 'A' Squadron flew initially to Saudi Arabia, late in 1990 - subsequently followed by 'B' and 'C' Squadrons - from where their Challenger 1 tanks played a vital role in the Gulf War. They were back in Germany by 1 July 1991.
1992	The Regiment returned from Germany to Windsor in 1992, and this year saw the merging of The Life Guards with The Blues And Royals into a single regiment - The Household Cavalry Regiment - although each retained its distinctive identity.