The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated with the 1st Life Guards to form The Life Guards.
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History
The regiment was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. It fought in the Peninsular War, under the command of Major-General Charles Barton, and at the Waterloo. In 1877, it was renamed 2nd Life Guards and contributed to the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment in the Anglo-Egyptian War, in the Second Boer War and in the First World War from August to November 1914. From 1916 to 1918, the Reserve Regiment contributed to the Household Battalion. In 1918, the regiment was converted to the 2nd Battalion, Guards Machine Gun Regiment. It was reconstituted in 1919 and was amalgamated with the 1st Life Guards in 1922 to form The Life Guards.
Battle honours
The battle honours of the regiment were:
Early Wars: Dettingen, Peninsula, Waterloo, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899–1900
The Great War: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Épehy, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Cambrai 1918, Selle, France and Flanders 1914–18
Colonels-in-Chief
The Colonels-in-Chief of the regiment were:
1815–1830: King George IV
1831–1837: King William IV
1880–1910: King Edward VII
1910–1922: King George V
Regimental Colonels
The Colonels of the regiment were:
1788–1797: Field Marshal The Rt Hon The Lord Amherst
1797–1843: General The Rt Hon. The Earl Cathcart
1843–1854: General The Most Hon. The Marquess of Londonderry
1854–1863: Field Marshal The Rt Hon. The Lord Seaton
1863: General The Rt Hon. The Earl Beauchamp
1863–1876: Field Marshal The Most Hon. The Marquess of Tweeddale
1876–1890: General The Rt Hon. The Viscount Templetown
1890–1900: General The Rt Hon. The Earl Howe
1900–1905: General The Rt Hon. The Lord Chelmsford
1905–1907: Field Marshal The Rt Hon. The Lord Grenfell
1907–1919: Lieutenant General The Rt Hon. The Earl of Dundonald
1919–1922: Major General The Hon. Sir Cecil Edward Bingham