The Life Guards, the senior Regiment in the British Army, were formed as the 'Horse Guards' at the Restoration in 1660 from a group of 80 Royalists who had gone into exile with King Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1652. They first saw action at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion and subsequently in both the Jacobite wars and during the War of Austrian Succession. They were re-designated the 1st and 2nd Life Guards in 1788, a period from which the majority of today's state dress originates. They formed the front charging line of the Household Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo, staging the famous charge against the French Cuirassiers that saved the British centre from being overrun. During the 19th century, the
Life Guards served in Egypt, as part of the Household Cavalry Regiment, taking part in the moonlight charge at Kassassin, and also in the Sudan and South Africa. During the Great War, the Regiment saw action at Mons, Le Cateau, Ypres, Loos, and most notably at Zandvoorde where two complete squadrons were lost. During the Second World War, the Life Guards contributed men to both Household Cavalry Regiments, the second of which was described by General Sir Brian Horrocks as the 'finest armoured car regiment he had ever seen'. They landed at Normandy in July 1944 and spearheaded the Guards Armoured Brigade advance through France to liberate Brussels and became the only forces to make contact with the Polish Free Forces during the advance to the bridge at Arnhem. Research Life Guards
Abbreviations
Warfare
Research Life Guards