Governor General's Bodyguard

Governor General's Bodyguard
Lord Wellesy reviewing his body guards at Baligunj near Calcutta, 1805
Active	1773 - 1950
Country	India
Allegiance	British Indian Army
Branch	Cavalry
Engagements	French invasion of Egypt (1798) campaign to seize Java First Burmese War Gwalior War First Anglo-Sikh War Third Burmese War North-West Frontier Mesopotamia World War I World War II
Battle honours	Java Ava Mahrajapore Moodkee Ferozeshah Aliwal Sobraon

The Governor General's Bodyguard was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was, in effect, the Indian equivalent of the Household Cavalry of the British Army.

The regiment was first formed in 1773 as the Governor's Troop of Mughals for the first Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings. It was composed of various contingents raised from various parts of India.

The regiment saw extensive service. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egyptian campaign that removed a French force that had invaded Egypt. In 1811 the regiment was involved in the campaign to seize Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from the Dutch, which was successfully achieved (Java and other Dutch territories were not returned to the Dutch until 1816, after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars). In 1824 the First Burmese War began and the regiment took part in that conflict, winning the battle honour "Ava".

The regiment saw service in the Gwalior War of 1843, fighting at the Battle of Mahrajapore (29 December) that saw a British victory against the Mahrattas. The regiment saw extensive service in the First Sikh War in 1845. This war saw the most battle honours awarded to the regiment in a single campaign. It was involved in the first engagement of that conflict, at Mudki (Moodkee), where the regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Charles Digby Dawkins, was killed. The regiment took part in the subsequent battles of the war; at Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and the last battle of the war, Sobraon.It was also active during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.