Cap badge, officer, 19th Lancers (Fane's Horse), 1903-1922

Brass badge in the form of the regimental number, '19', over crossed lances, with a scroll bearing the title, 'Lancers'.

The 19th Lancers (Fane's Horse) trace their lineage to 1860, when they were raised on 14 January at Cawnpore by Lieutenant Walter Fane for service in the 2nd China War (1856-1860). The regiment's personnel were largely drawn from 3rd Hodson's Horse. During the 2nd China War the regiment earned the battle honours 'Taku Forts' and 'Pekin'.

In 1861 it was added to the Bengal line of cavalry as the 19th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry, but in 1864 the title was changed to 19th Regiment of Bengal Cavalry (Lancers). In 1874 they were retitled as the 19th Regiment of Bengal Lancers, and fought in the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880) earning the battle honours 'Ahmad Khel' and 'Afghanistan 1878-80'. In 1901 the regiment was renamed as the 19th Bengal Lancers (Fane's Horse), and in 1903 they were renamed as the 19th Lancers (Fane's Horse).

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the regiment consisted of one squadron each of Sikhs, Punjabi Musalmans and Pathans, and one combined squadron of Sikhs and Dogras, and they were based in Sialkot. The regiment arrived in France in October and missed the First Battle of Ypres. They were attached to the 2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade and participated in the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Cambrai, before being transferred to the Palestine Campaign to support General Allenby's final destruction of the Ottoman Army. During the First World War the regiment earned the battle honours 'Somme 1916', 'Bazentin', 'Flers-Courcelette', 'Morval', 'Cambrai 1917', 'France and Flanders 1914-18', 'Megiddo', 'Sharon', 'Damascus' and 'Palestine 1918'. In 1921 the regiment amalgamated with 18th King George's Own Lancers, to form the 18th/19th Lancers. In 1922 King George V granted the regiment a new title in his honour, and it became the 19th King George's Own Lancers.

From the Field Marshal Sir John Chapple Indian Army Collection.