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1st King's Dragoon Guards.
Regimental Music:
Slow March: Mercadante.
Quick March: The Radetsky March.
The Regimental Quick March of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards was the famous Radetsky March, composed in 1848 by Johann Strauss and dedicated to Field Marshall Radetsky. It later became the regimental march of the famous Austrian Cavalry Corps, Radetsky Hussars, which were named after him. It is though to have been introduced to the King's Dragoon Guards by their bandmaster, Herr Schramm, who though it a suitable march, and it was then adopted by the regiment as their official march.
The Regimental Slow March was based on themes from an Opera by the Italian composer Mercadente, who died in Naples in 1870. His Operas were especially successful in Vienna, and it is possible that their Austrian bandmaster Schramm was responsible for selecting and adopting the Mercadente material.Regimental Badge:
Badges
Prior to 1896. Officers Full Dress.
The Royal Cypher within the Garter, on a metal diamond star.
Other Ranks. On a white- metal star a gilt Garter, within which a white-metal numeral 1 on a black leather ground.
1896-1915. The Austrian Double-headed Eagle, on a scroll, inscribed 'King's Dragoon Guards'. The reason for the adoption of this badge is that the Emperor Francis Josef of Austria was Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment from 1896 until the outbreak of the Grear War 1914. The wearing of this badge ceased in 1915 but resumed again in 1937. Before the adoption of the Eagle the regiment had as its badge the Royal Cypher within the Garter.
1915-1937. An eight-pointed star, surmounted by an Imperial Crown, the letters 'K.D.G.' within the Garter, in the centre of the star.
1937-1959. The double-headed eagle of Austria.
Uniform
1685 to 1714. Scarlet with bright yellow facings.
1714 to 1857. Scarlet with blue velvet facings.
1847 to 1959.
Tunic. scarlet with blue velvet facings.
Breeches. Blue with yellow stripe.
Helmet. Dragoon Guard pattern with red plume, white plume for the band.
The King's Dragoon Guards were raised in 1685 as Lanier's or the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse. The first mention of uniform occurs in 1686, when the both regiments (Lanier's or the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse. KDG, and Peterborough's or the 3rd Regiment of Horse, Queen's Bays) were reviewed by JamesII on Hounslow Heath.
The 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse (KDG) were clad in long full-skirted crimson coats, with collars, which were faced and lined with yellow, which was the Stuart colour. The coats were decorated with a large number of buttons, down the front, on the cuffs and pocket flaps, as well as along the slits at the back and side. They wore leather jackboots, coming halfway up their thighs, known as 'Gambados'. They had buff gauntlets, and broad-brimmed black hats, turned up at one side and worn with a white feather. The cloaks were of red Both regiments had a Kettle-drummer and trumpeters, who were clothed in in rich costumes. (A portrait of Captain W P Ashurst 1722 shows in the background a detachment of KDG riding four abreast, with trumpeters in yellow coats and riding grey horses).
In 1714 the regiment received its first change of name to that of King's Regiment of Horse, 2nd Horse. A Royal Warrant of 19th December 1746 changed the status of Regiments of Horse to that of Dragoon Guards, ((The reasons for the change were that Regiments of Horse were paid more than Dragoons hence the government of the day saw a way of saving money), the King's Regiment of Horse, 2nd Horse become 'Our First, or King's Regiment of Dragoon Guards'. The old distinction of velvet facings for regiments of Horse was allowed to continue, the KDG retained their blue. Trumpeters were replaced by a drummer and hautbois. The clothing warrant of the KDG for 1751, which was the same for the Bays except for the regimental colour, facings and distinctions, describes the uniform.
Drummers and Hautbois: Red coat blue facings and lining, ornamented with yellow lace with a blue stripe, long hanging sleeves fastened at the wrists, blue waistcoats and breeches, blue cloth caps, embroidered with the King's Cypher within the garter and crown over, the little red flap, with the White Horse and motto 'Nec Aspera Terrent' back of cap red with tassle hanging behind, blue turn-up with a drum and 1. D.G. in the middle.
Cloaks: Red lined blue, blue collar, buttons set at top in same manner as on the open coat upon frogs or loops of yellow and blue lace.
Watering or Forage caps: Red turned up with blue, 1DG on the little flap.
In 1767 the KDG gave up their blue waistcoats and breeches for the same buff as the Bays. This only lasted for a few years for in 1774 both regiments changed their waistcoats and breeches to white.
A major change occured in 1812 when a new helmet was issued, often called the 'Waterloo' helmet. It had a black leather skull piece with a metal crest and plate bearing the regiment and a reverse G.R. Cypher. To the front of the metal crest was fixed a little tuft of black horsehair, which then swept back into a long flowing tail which hung down behind. In 1834 the black helmet was changed to an all-brass helmet with a metal crest terminating into a lions head, which was removable to enable the large bearskin crest to be fitted for full-dress occasions. A KDG inspection report of 1834 remarks: 'The helmet worn by the band has a scarlet ornament above the crest in lieu of bearskin. In 1843 a new type of brass helmet was introduced with acrest and long black horsehair tail, and this was again replaced by the 'Albert' helmet with a central spike supporting a black plume, white for the band.
In 1848 the coatee was shortened when, after the Crimean War, it was replaced by a full-skirted tunic, which gave more protection to the stomach, much of the elaborate and expensive decoartion being removed at the same time. The new tunic was scarlet with collar, cuffs and edging in the regimenatl colour, fastened by eight buttons down the front. In 1864 the loops of lace on the tunic collar hiding the colour of the facings were abolished, as were the loops and buttons on the cuffs and skirt, and an 'Austrian' knot of yellow was substituted on each sleeve of the tunic.
With minor changes in detail, full-dress uniform remained the same for both the KDG and Bays up to amalgamation in 1959.
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