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{{Short description|British Army cavalry regiment}}
{{infobox military unit
|unit_name= 5th Royal Irish Lancers
|image=5th lancers.png
|caption=[[Cap badge]] of the regiment
|dates= 1689–1799<br>1858–1922
|country= {{flag|United Kingdom}}
|allegiance=
|branch= [[Image:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
|type= Cavalry
|role= Line Cavalry
|size= 1 Regiment
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|nickname= ''The Redbreasts''
|patron=
|motto= ''Quis separabit'' (Who shall separate us?)
|colors=
|colors_label=
|march= Slow: ''Let Erin Remember'', ''The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls''
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
|disbanded=
|flying_hours=
|website=
|notable_commanders=[[Field Marshal]] [[Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth]]<br>
[[General]] [[Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dover]]<br>
General [[Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore]]<br>
[[Major General]] [[Thomas Cooke (British Army officer)|Thomas Arthur Cooke]]<br>
Major-General [[Henry Jenner Scobell|Sir Henry Jenner Scobell]]<br>
Field Marshal [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby]]
}}
The '''5th Royal Irish Lancers''' was a [[Cavalry regiments of the British Army|cavalry regiment]] of the [[British Army]]. It saw service for three centuries, including the [[World War I|First World War]]. It amalgamated with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers]] to become the [[16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers|16th/5th Lancers]] in 1922.
==History==
===Early wars===
[[File:BENNET(1900) p012 Bugler Sherlock.jpg|thumb|left|Bugler Sherlock of the 5th Lancers at Nicholsons Nek Kraal (near Ladysmith, South Africa) in 1899]]
The regiment was originally formed in 1689 by Brigadier James Wynne as '''James Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons'''.<ref name=regiments>{{cite web|url=http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D05L.htm |title=5th Royal Irish Lancers |publisher=Regiments.org |access-date=10 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609150708/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/D05L.htm |archive-date=9 June 2007 }}</ref> It fought at the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in July 1690<ref>Willcox, p. 23</ref> and at the [[Battle of Aughrim]] later that month under [[William III of England|King William III]].<ref>Willcox, p. 39</ref> Renamed the '''Royal Dragoons of Ireland''' in 1704,<ref name=regiments/> it went on to fight under the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] at the [[Battle of Blenheim]] in August 1704 during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]].<ref>Willcox, p. 93</ref> At the [[Battle of Ramillies]] in May 1706 the regiment helped capture the entire French "Regiment du Roi",<ref>Willcox, p. 105</ref> after which it fought at the [[Battle of Oudenarde]] in July 1708<ref>Willcox, p. 115</ref> and at the [[Battle of Malplaquet]] in September 1709.<ref>Willcox, p. 121</ref>
In 1751, it was retitled '''5th Regiment of Dragoons''' and in 1756 it became the '''5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons'''.<ref name=regiments/> As such, it served in [[Ireland]] and had the honour of leading the charge against the rebels at the [[Battle of Enniscorthy]] in May 1798 during the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]].<ref>Willcox, p. 145</ref> However, its troops were accused of treachery: their accusers claimed their ranks had been infiltrated by rebels.<ref name=continental>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29736/29736-h/29736-h.htm |title=Continental Magazine|date=April 1863|publisher= Project Gutenberg|access-date=10 June 2016}}</ref> Following an investigation, it was found that a single individual, James M'Nassar, had infiltrated the regiment: he was ordered to be "transported beyond the seas".<ref>Willcox, p. 149</ref> According to ''Continental Magazine'':
<blockquote>The circumstance was commemorated in a curious way. It was ordered that the 5th Royal Irish Light Dragoons should be erased from the records of the army list, in which a blank between the 4th and 6th Dragoons should remain forever, as a memorial of disgrace. For upward of half a century this gap remained in the army list, as anybody may see by referring to any number of that publication of half-a-dozen years back.<ref name=continental/></blockquote>
[[File:Christ Church Mhow Plaque 5th Royal Irish Lancers.jpg|thumb|The 5th Royal Irish Lancers were stationed at Mhow between 1888 and 1889 and placed this brass plaque inside [[Christ Church, Mhow]] with a small built-in cabinet]]
The regiment was reformed in 1858, keeping its old number and title, but losing precedence, being ranked after the [[17th Lancers]].<ref name=regiments/> It was immediately converted into a [[lancer]] regiment and titled '''5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons (Lancers)'''.<ref name=regiments/> In 1861, it was renamed the '''5th (or Royal Irish) Lancers''' and then the '''5th (Royal Irish) Lancers'''.<ref name=regiments/> The regiment served in [[India]] between November 1863 and December 1874<ref>Willcox, p. 162-164</ref> and a contingent joined the [[Nile Expedition]] in autumn 1884.<ref>Willcox, p. 171-188</ref> It then fought against the forces of [[Osman Digna]] near [[Suakin]] in 1885 during the [[Mahdist War]].<ref>Willcox, p. 189-198</ref> The regiment again left for India in November 1888, serving there for ten years until they were posted to [[South Africa]] in February 1898. They were stationed at [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]] until October 1898, when they went to [[Pietermaritzburg]], where they remained until the outbreak of the [[Second Boer War]] in October 1899.<ref name=TT23101902>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - The return of the 5th Lancers|date=23 October 1902 |page=5 |issue=36906}}</ref>
===Second Boer War===
[[File:Battles of the nineteenth century (1901) (14781886902).jpg|thumb|left|The Battle of Rietfontein on 24 October 1899 during the Second Boer War]]
As one of two cavalry regiments stationed in South Africa on the outbreak of war, the regiment consequently took part in the early fighting. They fought at the [[Battle of Elandslaagte]] on 21 October 1899, at the Battle of Rietfontein on 24 October 1899, and was part of the besieged garrison of Ladysmith during the [[Siege of Ladysmith]] November 1899 to February 1900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/imperial-units/527-5th-royal-irish-lancers|title=5th (Royal Irish) Lancers|publisher=Anglo-Boer War|access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> After the relief of that town, they were re-horsed, and formed part of General Sir [[Redvers Buller]]′s army, taking part in all his actions until his [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] army joined with the main army at [[Belfast, Mpumalanga|Belfast]]. They accompanied Buller in his advance into the [[Lydenburg]] district, and then, under General [[John Brocklehurst, 1st Baron Ranksborough|John Brocklehurst]], made the forced march through the Dulstroom Valley to join General [[Ian Hamilton (British Army officer)|Ian Hamilton]]. Later they formed part of General [[Horace Smith-Dorrien|Smith-Dorrien]]′s flying column. In January 1901, still under General Smith-Dorrien, they covered the left of General Sir [[John French, 1st Earl of Ypres|John French]]′s big movement down to the Swaziland border. They then served under General [[Sir Bindon Blood]], and operated in the Carolina district until July 1901, when they travelled by rail to [[Cape Colony]]. Here they formed part of Colonel [[Aylmer Hunter-Weston|Hunter-Weston]]′s mobile column.<ref name=TT23101902 /> The regiment thus stayed in South Africa throughout the hostilities, which ended with the [[Peace of Vereeniging]] on 31 May 1902. Following the end of the war, 340 officers and men of the regiment left South Africa on the SS ''City of Vienna'', which arrived at [[Southampton]] in October 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home |date=1 October 1902 |page=8 |issue=36887}}</ref>
The regiment, as part of the [[3rd Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Cavalry Brigade]], was also involved in the [[Curragh incident]] in March 1914.<ref name=nam>{{cite web|url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/5th-royal-irish-lancers|title=5th Royal Irish Lancers|publisher=National Army Museum|access-date=11 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812094916/http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/5th-royal-irish-lancers|archive-date=12 August 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
===First World War===
[[Image:Mons commemorative plaque 03.JPG|thumb|Sculpture at the town hall of Mons to commemorate the liberation of the city by the 5th Royal Irish Lancers on 11 November 1918]]
The regiment then returned to England, where it stayed until the outbreak of [[World War I]], when it became part of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]], sailing from Dublin to France as part of the [[3rd Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Cavalry Brigade]] in the [[2nd Cavalry Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Cavalry Division]] in August 1914 for service on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/lancers.htm|title=The Lancers|publisher=The Long, Long Trail|access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> It saw action during the [[Battle of Mons]] in August 1914.<ref name=nam/> During the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] in November 1917 [[George William Burdett Clare]] received the [[Victoria Cross]] posthumously.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=30471|date=8 January 1918 |page=724|supp=y }}</ref> The 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers also has the grim honour of being the regiment of the last British soldier to die in the Great War. This was Private [[George Edwin Ellison]] from Leeds, who was killed by a sniper as the regiment advanced into Mons a short time before the armistice came into effect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/894827|title=Casualty details—Ellison, George Edwin|publisher=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]|access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>
The regiment was renamed '''5th Royal Irish Lancers''' and disbanded in 1921, but a squadron was reconstituted in 1922 and immediately amalgamated with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers]] to become the [[16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers|16th/5th Lancers]].<ref name=regiments/>
==Regimental museum==
The regimental collection is held at [[The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum]] which is based at [[Thoresby Hall]] in [[Nottinghamshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-14295666|title=Charge of the Light Brigade bugle stars at new museum|publisher=BBC|date=26 July 2011|access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref>
==Battle honours==
The regiment was awarded the following [[Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies|British battle honours]]:<ref name=regiments/>
* ''Early Wars'': [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]], [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]], Oudenarde, Malplaquet,  Suakin 1885, [[Siege of Ladysmith|Defence of Ladysmith]], [[Second Boer War|South Africa 1899–1902]]
* ''The Great War'': Mons, Le Cateau, [[Retreat from Mons]], [[Marne 1914]], [[Aisne 1914]], [[Messines 1914]], [[Ypres 1914]], 1915, Gheluvelt, St. Julien / [[Bellewaarde]], [[Arras 1917]], [[Scarpe 1917]], [[Cambrai 1917]], [[Second Battle of the Somme (1918)|Somme 1918]], St. Quentin, Amiens, [[Hindenburg Line]], Canal du Nord, [[Pursuit to Mons]], [[France and Flanders 1914–18]]
==Victoria Crosses==
*Private [[George William Burdett Clare]] - First World War, 28–29 November 1917
*Lieutenant [[Frederic Brooks Dugdale]] - [[Second Boer War]], 3 March 1901
==Regimental Colonels==
Colonels of the Regiment were:<ref name= regiments/>
;James Wynne's Regiment of Dragoons
*1689–1695: Brig-Gen. James Wynne
;Royal Dragoons of Ireland (1704)
*1695–1715: Gen. Hon. [[Charles Ross (British Army officer, born 1667)|Charles Ross]]
*1715–1729: Col. Hon. Thomas Sydney
*1729–1732: Gen. Hon. [[Charles Ross (British Army officer, born 1667)|Charles Ross]] (reappointed)
*1732–1737: Lt-Gen. [[Owen Wynne (British Army officer)|Owen Wynne]]
*1737–1758: F.M. [[Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth]]
;5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons
*1758–1760: Gen. [[John Mostyn (British Army officer)|John Mostyn]]
*1760–1787: Gen. Hon. Sir [[Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dover]], KB
*1787–1799: Gen. The Rt. Hon. [[Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore]], PC
*''1799: Regiment disbanded at Chatham''
*''1858: Regiment re-formed''
;5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons (Lancers)
*1858–1868: Gen. [[Sir James Charles Chatterton, 3rd Baronet|Sir James Charles Chatterton]], Bt., GCB, KH
;5th (Royal Irish) Lancers
*1868–1872: Gen. Edward Pole
*1872–1887: Gen. [[Henry Darby Griffith]], CB
*1887–1892: Lt-Gen. Sir [[Somerset Gough-Calthorpe, 7th Baron Calthorpe]], KCB
*1892–1896: Lt-Gen. Hon. Charles Wemyss Thesiger
*1896–1906: Lt-Gen. [[William Godfrey Dunham Massy]], CB
*1906–1908: Maj-Gen. [[Thomas Arthur Cooke]], CVO
*1908–1912: Maj-Gen. Sir [[Henry Jenner Scobell]], KCVO, CB
*1912–1921: F.M. Sir [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby]], GCB, GCMG, GCVO (to [[16th/5th Lancers]]).
*''1921: Regiment disbanded''
*''1922: Regiment re-formed and amalgamated with the [[16th The Queen's Lancers]] to form the [[16th/5th Lancers]]''
==See also==
*[[British cavalry during the First World War]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|first=Major Walter Temple|last= Willcox|title=The Historical Records of the Fifth (Royal Irish) Lancers from their Foundation as Wynne’s Dragoons (in 1689) to 1908|publisher=Arthur Doubleday|year=1908|isbn=9781843427322|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalrecor00willgoog}}
==External links==
* [http://www.royalirishlancers.co.uk/history.htm Irish Lancers History]
{{Royal Lancers}}
{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I}}
{{Great War in Ireland}}
[[Category:1689 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Irish regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:1922 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army|5-005 Royal Irish Lancers]]
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army in World War I|L05]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1689]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1922]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Second Boer War]]