11th Hussars
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The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a British Army cavalry regiment.
The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons. In 1840 the regiment was named for Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, who later became the regiment's Colonel. The 11th Hussars charged with the Light Brigade, which was commanded by their former colonel, Lord Cardigan, at Balaklava during the Crimean War.
The regiment's nickname, the Cherry Pickers, came from an incident during the Peninsular War, in which the 11th Hussars were attacked while raiding an orchard. They were distinguished thereafter by their cherry red trousers, unique among British regiments and worn in all styles of uniform except battledress.
World War II
In 1940, the 11th was located in Africa as Italy declared war on Britain. The unit immediately began to conduct various raids against Italian positions. The Hussars captured Fort Capuzzo and, in an ambush east of Bardia, captured General Lastucci of the Italian Tenth Army.
See also:
Amalgamation
On October 25 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) to form the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own). In 1992, as part of the Options for Change defence review, the Royal Hussars were amalgamated with the 14th/20th King's Hussars to form the King's Royal Hussars. The 11th Hussars are unofficially perpetuated by C squadron of the King's Royal Hussars.
Notable members
- James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan - leader of the Charge of the Light Brigade
- Alexander Roberts Dunn - the first Canadian to win the Victoria Cross
- David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson - British politician
- Francis Newall, 2nd Baron Newall - British politician
- Nicholas Soames - British Politician