Dates: 1693 - 1958

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 regiment was first raised in Ireland as Henry Conyngham’s Regiment of Dragoons in Derry/Londonderry in 1693, and ranked as the 8th Dragoons. It was briefly disbanded from 1714 to 1715, and 1716 to 1719, reforming each time without any loss of precedence. In 1751, it was formally titled as the 8th Regiment of Dragoons, and designated light dragoons in 1775 as the 8th Regiment of Light Dragoons.

The regiment was renamed in 1777 for George III as the 8th (The King’s Royal Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, and became hussars in 1822, as the 8th (The King’s Royal Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars). The title was simplified in 1861 to the 8th (The King’s Royal Irish) Hussars. After service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars in 1921, and was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939. Fighting with distinction in North Africa, Greece, France & Germany during World War 2. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but was slated for reduction in the 1957 Defence White Paper, and was amalgamated with the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars, to form the The Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars the following year.

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