HOME PAGE 1900 to 1913 1914 to 1918 1919 to 1929 1930 to 1938 1939 to 1945 1946 to 1950 Other sections Never again

1914-18 War • Cavalry • Soldiers who fight on horseback

• Trooper • 11th (Prince of Wales Own) Hussars
Trooper 11th Hussars11th Hussars shoulder title11th Hussars cap badge11th Hussars shoulder title
In the mud and barbed wire of the Western Front The fighting in France and Flanders there was little use for troops on horseback.
Cavalry had taken part in the opening battles of the Great War which then settled into four years of static trench warfare.
In other theatres of war places where the war was being fought such as Palestine the mounted soldier was used with effect.
The lowest rank in the infantry is a Private, in the Cavalry it is a Trooper often abbreviated to Tpr.
In Victorian days Cavalry were the elite best part of the British Army.
If a soldier in a photograph is wearing spurs which show as an oval of leather covering his bootlaces he is something to do with horses.
Mounted troops soldiers who rode horses often wore bandoliers to carry spare ammunition as the usual waistbelt pouches would be uncomfortable when seated on a saddle. Both the Royal Field Artillery and the Army Service Corps troops favoured bandoliers and spurs.The number of men serving in the RFA and ASC was enormous compared with those in the Cavalry and Yeomany; so be careful not to jump to conclusions.

• Many Cavalry Regiments were dismounted later in the war and became infantry in France and Flanders.

• In 1937 most Cavalry Regiments were mechanised by being changed from horses to armoured cars or Tanks.