Bot at 18:48, 27 November 2022

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{{For|the Canadian regiment|The Governor General's Body Guard}}
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{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Governor General's Bodyguard
| image = Insignia of the Governor General's Bodyguard.jpg
| caption = Insignia of the Unit after it was renamed as Viceroy's Bodyguard<ref name=Hodson>{{Cite book |last=Hodson |first=Vernon Charles Paget |url=http://archive.org/details/historicalrecord00hodsrich |title=Historical records of the Governor-General's Body Guard |date=1910 |publisher=London : W. Thacker |others=University of California Libraries}}</ref>
| dates = 1773 - 1950
| country = {{flag|British India}} {{flag|Dominion of India}}
| allegiance = {{army|British India}} {{army|India}}
| branch = [[British Indian Army|Army]]
| type = [[Cavalry]], [[Royal guard]]
| role = [[Household Cavalry]]
| size =
| command_structure =
| garrison = [[Ballygunge]]
| ceremonial_chief =
| colonel_of_the_regiment =
| notable_commanders = [[William Mayne (officer)|William Mayne]] (1847-51)
| identification_symbol = GGBG, later VRBG
| nickname =
| patron =
| motto = Auspicio Regis et Senatus Angliae
| colors = Uniform: red; facings blue.
| march =
| mascot =
| battles = Operations against the Sanyasis, 1773-74<ref name=Hodson /> 
[[First Rohilla War]] 
Insurrection of [[Maharaja Chait Singh]], 1781 
[[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] 
[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria]], 1801 
Capture of [[Barabati fort]], 1803
[[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] 
[[Invasion of Java (1811)]] 
[[Paika Rebellion]] 
[[Third Anglo-Maratha War]] 
[[Kol uprising]] 
[[Barrackpore mutiny of 1824]] 
[[First Burmese War]] 
[[Gwalior Campaign|Gwalior War]] 
[[First Anglo-Sikh War]] 
[[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] 
[[Santhal rebellion]] 
[[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] 
[[Third Burmese War]] 
[[North-West Frontier (military history)|North-West Frontier]] 
[[Mesopotamia]] 
[[World War I]] 
[[World War II]]
| anniversaries =
| decorations = [[Mysore Medal|Capture of Seringapatam]]<ref name=Hodson /> 
[[Egypt Medal (1801)]] 
[[Java Medal]] 
[[Burma Medal]] 
[[Gwalior Star]] 
[[Sutlej Medal]] 
[[India General Service Medal (1854)|Burma 1885]] 
[[Army of India Medal]]
| battle_honours = [[Java (island)|Java]] [[Inwa|Ava]] [[Gwalior Campaign|Mahrajapore]] [[Battle of Moodkee|Moodkee]] [[Battle of Ferozeshah|Ferozeshah]] [[Battle of Aliwal|Aliwal]] [[Battle of Sobraon|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]].

==History==
The regiment was first formed in 1773 as the '''Governor's Troop of [[Mughal Empire|Moghuls]]''' for the first [[Governor-General of India]], [[Warren Hastings]]. It was composed of various contingents raised from various parts of India.<ref>Gaylor, etc 1992</ref><ref name=Hodson />

The regiment saw extensive service. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egyptian campaign that removed a French force that had [[French invasion of Egypt (1798)|invaded Egypt]]. In 1811 the regiment was involved in [[Invasion of Java (1811)|the campaign]] to seize [[Java]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]) from the [[Netherlands|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 Campaign|Gwalior War of 1843]], fighting at the Battle of Mahrajapore (29 December) that saw a British victory against the [[Mahratta Empire|Mahrattas]]. The regiment saw extensive service in the [[First Anglo-Sikh War|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 [[Battle of Mudki|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 [[Battle of Ferozeshah|Ferozeshah]], [[Battle of Aliwal|Aliwal]], and the last battle of the war, [[Battle of Sobraon|Sobraon]]. It was also active during the [[Indian Mutiny]] of 1857.

===Transfer to the Crown===
In 1858, when the [[Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning|Earl Canning]] became the first [[Viceroy of India]] upon the transfer of Indian rule from the [[British East India Company]] to the [[British Crown]], the regiment also became formally known as the '''Viceroy's Bodyguard'''. The subsequent recruitment and selection was from various elite regiments and units of the [[British Indian Army]]. In 1885, the [[Third Burmese War]], the last war between the British and Burmese, began and the regiment participated. In 1893, [[William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood|William Riddell Birdwood]] (later World War I [[General]] and 1st Baron Birdwood) became the Master [[Adjutant]] of the regiment, seeing service in a number of [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North-West Frontier]] expeditions, with his home (regimental) base in [[Dehradun]].

=== Clothing ===
Clothing regulations of 1913 were as below:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Indian |first=Army Department |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.505458 |title=Army Regulations, India |date=1913}}</ref>

'''Uniform:''' red; facings blue. '''Badges and Device:''' '''''On buttons —'''''
* British officers.— burnished, with the Royal and Imperial Cypher in a Garter, bearing the motto of the Order of tho Garter, and a Tudor crown above.
* Indian officers.— Brass, with crossed lances ; Tudor crown in upper angle, and "G. G. B. G." across the lower angle.
'''''On field cap, —''''' A Tudor crown in gold embroidery. '''''On forage cap. —''''' Tudor crown surmounted by a lion, passant, regardant, in gold ombvoidery. '''''On pouch. —''''' In gold embroidery the monogram "G. G. B. G." surmounted by a Tudor crown. '''''On pouch belt. —''''' Gilt burnished, side prickers and chains.
===World War I and II===
In the [[First World War]], men of the regiment were deployed to the [[Middle East]] in the fight against the German allied [[Ottoman Empire]], seeing service in [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamia]] (now [[Iraq]]).

In 1944, the regiment became a mechanised one, though retaining a ceremonial mounted squadron. The regiment subsequently re-roled as an [[airborne forces|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.

===Independence===
In 1947, the [[Partition of India]] saw the country of [[Pakistan]] established and [[Muslim]] personnel from the regiment were transferred to the [[Pakistani Army]] to form the Governor General's Bodyguard, Pakistan. The rest of the regiment remained with the [[Indian Army]] as the [[President's Bodyguard (India)|President's Bodyguard]] upon India proclaiming itself a [[republic]] in 1950.

==Battle honours==
*[[Java (island)|Java]]
*[[Inwa|Ava]]
*[[Gwalior campaign|Mahrajapore]]
*[[Battle of Moodkee|Moodkee]]
*[[Battle of Ferozeshah|Ferozeshah]]
*[[Battle of Aliwal|Aliwal]]
*[[Battle of Sobraon|Sobraon]]

==See also==
* [[President's Bodyguard (India)]]
* [[President's Bodyguard (Pakistan)]]
* [[Household Cavalry]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1773]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1950]]
[[Category:British Indian Army regiments]]
[[Category:British Indian Army cavalry regiments]]
[[Category:Indian World War I regiments]]
[[Category:Indian World War II regiments]]

Governor General's Bodyguard - Revision history

Bot at 18:48, 27 November 2022