8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars Regiment (King’s) Cap Badge – LUGS VERSION

Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars Regiment Cap Badge for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars Regiment cap badges.

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The 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into The Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars in 1958. The 8th Hussars entered the trenches on the Western Front for the first time on 9 December 1914, not having arrived in time to take any part in the Retreat from Mons. The first action that the 8th encountered was in December 1914 at the Battle of Givenchy. The majority of their time was spent sending large parties forward to dig trenches and this continued for the whole of the war. In May 1915, they took part in the Second battle of Ypres where the Germans first used chlorine gas. In September 1915 the 8th Hussars transferred to the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. The majority of the casualties occurred from the unsanitary conditions of the trenches, the cavalry being held almost exclusively in reserve, waiting for “the gap” constantly warned off, but never used.

In July 1916, the King’s Royal Irish Hussars fought at Bazentin, then Flers-Courcelette the following month, both battles being in the Somme area. They returned to the Somme area in March 1917 to clear the small pockets of machine guns left by the retreating Germans. They took part in what would be the Regiment’s last mounted charge at Villers-Faucon when B and D Squadrons, supported by a howitzer battery and two armoured cars, attacked a heavily defended German position. B Squadron charged, then attacked on foot (the armoured cars were quickly put out of action) and drew the enemy’s fire. D Squadron charged and captured the village with few casualties. The Squadron Commander, Major Van der Byl was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for the action. Two Maxim machine guns were captured in this action and have been used as guardroom adornments by the 8th Hussars and successor regiments since 1918. During the German spring offensive of 1918, “C” Squadron under Captain Adlercron, defended the village of Hervilly until being forced to retreat, only to recapture it later that day at the loss of sixty-six casualties. In March 1918 they were transferred to the 9th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. On 11 March they came on the British War Establishment i.e. D squadron was absorbed into the others. The Germans began to collapse soon after the allies began their final offensive in August, the 8th fighting at St Quentin, Beaurevoir and Cambrai and the Pursuit to Mons. On 11 November 1918 whilst camped at Maffles, the regiment heard that the Armistice had been signed. The 8th Hussars had 105 soldiers killed and countless wounded throughout the four years of the war.

In 1938 the regiment was transferred Light Cavalry Brigade of the Mobile Division, (The Matruh Mobile Force) which later became the 7th Armoured Division, The Desert Rats. Light tanks were issued in January 1939. These were cast-offs from the 7th Hussars and the band was converted to an Anti-Tank Troop in 15 Cwt trucks (portees). Transfer from Cavalry of the Line to the Royal Armoured Corps came in May 1939 as the regiment prepared for war after the Italian invasion of Albania. For the first time black berets were worn as working dress instead of the traditional cavalry “side-hat”. In August 1939 the regiment was sent into the desert to prepare positions at the Mersa Matruh Line. As part of the preparations petrol dumps were created by burying supplies in the sand with a piece of wood indicating the burial site and marking the position on maps. The regiment was part of the offensive against the Italian Army in North Africa in June 1940. Sidi Omar was captured immediately and Fort Capuzzo three days later, followed by Fort Maddalena. On 22 October, supporting the Cameron Highlanders an attack was made against Maktila. Other actions took place as part of the campaign against Italian forces including the battle at Sidi Barrani where 14,000 prisoners were captured and the action at Bardia. On 5 January 1941 the regiment captured and occupied El Adem airfield and by 8 January 1942 were part of the forces surrounding Tobruk. In February 1941 they were involved in the decisive Battle of Beda Fomm, which lead to the capture of most of the Italian forces in North Africa at the time.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars Regiment cap badges.