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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 . HISTORY The regiment was first formed in 1773 as the Governor's Troop of Moghuls for the first Governor-General Of India , Warren Hastings . The regiment saw extensive service. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egypt ian campaign of 1801 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 -- Gwalior was effectively taken over by the British. 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 Moodkee , where the regiment's Commanding Officer (CO), 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 . In 1858 -- when the Earl Canning became the first Viceroy Of India due to India being transferred from British East India Company -rule to the British Crown , signifying the creation of the British Raj -- the regiment also became formally known as the Viceroy's Bodyguard. In 1885 the Third Burmese War -- the last war between the British and Burmese -- began and the regiment participated in it. Sometime in the 1890s , William Riddell Birdwood (later WWI General and 1st Baron Birdwood) became the Adjutant of the regiment, seeing service in a number of North-West Frontier expeditions. The First World War began in 1914 ; the British Empire , France and their allies were at war with Germany and its allies. Men of the regiment deployed to the Middle East in the fight against the Ottoman Empire -- allied with Germany -- seeing service in Mesopotamia (now Iraq ). The Second World War began in 1939 and the Allies were at war with Germany once again. In 1944 the regiment became a Mechanised Regiment , though retained a ceremonial mounted squadron. The regiment subsequently re-roled as an Airborne unit and joined the 44th Indian Airborne Division , being renamed the 44th Indian Airborne Division Reconnaissance Squadron (Governor General's Bodyguard) -- it would retain the name until sometime after the war when it reverted to its former name. In 1947 , India gained its independence; partition of that country saw the country of Pakistan established and Muslim personnel from the regiment were transferred to the Pakistani Army to form the President's Bodyguard ; the rest of the regiment remained with the Indian Army as the President's Bodyguard upon India proclaiming itself a Republic in 1950 . BATTLE HONOURS Java , Ava , Mahrajapore , Moodkee , Ferozeshah , Aliwal , Sobraon |
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