 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum | |
  Location within Edinburgh | |
| Established | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | Edinburgh Castle |
| Coordinates | 55°56′57″N3°12′01″W / 55.94913°N 3.20014°W Coordinates: 55°56′57″N3°12′01″W / 55.94913°N 3.20014°W |
| Website | www |
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum is a regimental museum displaying the collections of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and its predecessor regiments. It is based in the New Barracks (built between 1796 and 1799) at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
The museum brings together the collections of the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) (themselves the product of the amalgamation in 1922 of 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) and 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)), and The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons). The museum, which was originally located in the basement of the New Barracks, was opened by the Queen in 1995. [1] It moved above ground in the New Barracks in 2006 and was officially re-opened by the Queen on 7 July 2006. [2]
The exhibits include uniforms, medals, weapons, regalia and music of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. A highlight of the museum is the French Imperial Eagle that was captured by Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Greys from the French 45th Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. [3] It also includes military and personal memorabilia loaned by the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who served with the regiment, [2] and the Victoria Cross awarded to Sergeant Henry Ramage of the Royal Scots Greys during the Crimean War. [4]
The gift shop sells the music of the Pipes and Drums, including "Amazing Grace", which reached number one in the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa in 1972. [5] [6]
The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army. The regiment is currently based at Waterloo Lines, Leuchars Station, as part of 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland, a light adaptable force brigade.
The Blues and Royals (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Queen Elizabeth II and the Colonel of the Regiment is Anne, Princess Royal. It is the second-most senior regiment in the British Army.
A carabinier is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle. Carabiniers were first introduced in 1437 by Joseon dynasty and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical French word carabinier.
Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. The position was formerly used in the armies of several European monarchies. A Colonel-in-Chief has a purely ceremonial role in their regiment.
The French Imperial Eagle refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the Grande Armée of Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. The regiment currently serves as the Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance unit of the 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team and is therefore equipped with the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) Scimitar and is based in Battlesbury Barracks, Wiltshire.
The 3rd Carabiniers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1922 as part of a reduction in the army's cavalry by the amalgamation of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and the Carabiniers, to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards. It was renamed the 3rd Carabiniers in 1928 and amalgamated with the Royal Scots Greys, forming the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in 1971.
Dragoon Guards is a designation that has been used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army since the 18th century. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments among their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these units.
The Carabiniers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabiniers) in 1756 and the 6th Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1788. After two centuries of service, including the First World War, the regiment was amalgamated with the 3rd Dragoon Guards to form the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922.
Ensign Charles Ewart was a Scottish soldier of the Royal North British Dragoons, famous for capturing the regimental eagle of the 45e Régiment de Ligne at the Battle of Waterloo.
The 10th Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars to form the Royal Hussars in October 1969.
The 3rd Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards in 1751 and the 3rd Dragoon Guards in 1765. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922.
The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the 6th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment also fought with distinction in the Charge of the Union Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo and again as part of the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade against superior numbers at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The First World War sounded the death knell for mounted cavalry as it became apparent that technology had moved forward with greater destructive power and made horsed cavalry redundant on the modern battlefield. The British Army reorganised and reduced its cavalry corps by disbanding or amalgamating many of its famous cavalry regiments. The Inniskillings was one of those affected. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with 5th Dragoon Guards to form 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922.
In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.
The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital before returning to full duty. Normally, a variety of regimental stores will also be kept at the depot. The regimental depot is not the same as the regimental headquarters, though in practice the two will often be co-located in the same place.
Edward Hawkins Cheney CB (1778–1848) was a 19th century British soldier and hero of the Battle of Waterloo. His unique claim to fame was that he had five separate horses killed or wounded under him during the battle. His grave is said to be the only equestrian statue within a British church and is probably the only statue showing a dying horse in Britain.