8th (King’s Royal Irish) Hussars

8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars
Crest of the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and tie colours
Active	1693–1714 1715–1716 1719–1958
Country	Kingdom of Ireland (1693–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–1958)
Branch	British Army
Type	Cavalry of the Line/Royal Armoured Corps
Role	Light cavalry
Size	550 men
Nickname(s)	The Crossbelts
Motto(s)	Pristinae virtutis memores
March	The Galloping 8th Hussar (quick), The Scottish Archers (slow)
Anniversaries	Balaklava Day, St Patrick's Day
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	HRH Prince Phillip

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 including the First World War and Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, and went on to distinguish itself in the battles of the Korean War, but was recommended for amalgamation in the 1957 Defence White Paper prepared by Duncan Sandys. The regiment was amalgamated with the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, to form the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars in 1958.

The regiment was first raised by Henry Conyngham as Henry Conyngham's Regiment of Dragoons in Derry in 1693, and ranked as the 8th Dragoons. They soldiered at home as part of the Irish Establishment but were deployed to Spain in 1704 to take part in the War of the Spanish Succession.

The regiment took part in a skirmish near Tanarite at which Henry Conyngham was killed: Robert Killigrew took over but was also killed at the Battle of Almansa in April 1707. Under their new colonel, John Pepper, the 8th Dragoons routed a Spanish cavalry regiment at the Battle of Almenar in July 1710, and, according to tradition, took possession of the enemy regiment's crossbelts. This earned the regiment the nickname "Crossbelt Dragoons," borne for many years. The regiment was captured in its entirety at the Battle of Brihuega in December 1710.

The regiment returned home and was disbanded in 1714. It was re-raised again in 1715 and deployed to Scotland as part of the response to the Jacobite rising of 1715 and again for the Jacobite rising of 1745. The regiment then moved back to Ireland, where in 1751, they were formally titled as the 8th Regiment of Dragoons and numbered for the first time as the 8th Dragoons. In 1775 they received their first title, "The 8th King's Royal Irish Light Dragoons". The regiment was renamed in 1777 for King George III as the 8th (The King's Royal Irish) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons. The regiment was deployed to the Low Countries in 1794 for service in the Flanders Campaign and took part in a skirmish at Bousbecque where they captured the French guns. After being directed by King George III to wear buff accoutrements as an honour, the regiment returned to England in November 1795.