Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles

Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles
Cap badge of Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles
Active	1864–present
Country	New Zealand
Allegiance	HM The Queen
Branch	New Zealand Army
Type	Mounted Rifles
Role	Light Cavalry
Size	One Regiment
Part of	Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ	Linton
Nickname(s)	QA
Motto(s)	Ake Ake Kia Kaha (Forever and Ever Be Strong)
Colors	Amber and Black
March	New Colonial
Anniversaries	16 September - Regimental Birthday 20 November - Corps Day/Cambrai Day
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel H. K. Gibbons, RNZAC
Captain-General	HM The Queen (Captain-General, RNZAC)
Colonel Commandant	Colonel(Rtd.) D.G. Grant, OBE

16 September - Regimental Birthday

Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR) is an armoured regiment of the New Zealand Army and forms part of the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps. The Regiment was formed in 1864 and is currently an armoured cavalry unit equipped with NZLAV.

On 16 September 1864, the Alexandra Troop of the Wanganui Cavalry Volunteers was accepted for service by the New Zealand Government. The troop was named after Princess Alexandra, the Princess of Wales. The troop saw active service in the New Zealand Wars, mainly on patrolling and despatch riding duties, before being disbanded in late 1865. Reformed as the Alexandra Cavalry Volunteers, the troop guarded Wanganui during the Titokowaru campaign (1868), and took part in the Parihaka operation (1881).

In 1868, Trooper William Lingard, a founding member of the Alexandra Troop, won the New Zealand Cross for rescuing a comrade under enemy fire at Titokowaru's pa at Tauranga Ika. In 1897 the unit was renamed the Alexandra Mounted Rifles. Volunteers from Alexandra Mounted Rifles served in South Africa during the Boer War, where Farrier Sergeant Major William James Hardham won the Victoria Cross at Naauwpoort, in January 1901, where he rescued two wounded comrades while under heavy enemy fire. In 1911 the unit became the 2nd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles.

In the First World War (1914–1918) men of the regiment saw active service in the Queen Alexandra's 2nd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles squadron of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade.

The squadron of 158 men and 169 horses was initially commanded by Major Jim Elmslie. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was sent from Egypt to Gallipoli in May 1915, without its horses. On Gallipoli the mounted riflemen gained a reputation as excellent scouts and hard fighters. New Zealand's mounted regiments were particularly prominent in battles fought at Outpost No 3, Table Top, Chunuk Bair and Hill 60. For his gallantry on Chunuk Bair, Major Elmslie was recommended for a posthumous Victoria Cross.