The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, and went on to distinguish itself in the battles of the Korean War, but was recommended for amalgamation in the 1957 Defence White Paper prepared by Duncan Sandys.

[1] The regiment was deployed to the Low Countries in 1794 for service in the Flanders Campaign and took part in a skirmish at Bousbecque where they captured the French guns.

It fought at the Battle of Laswari in November 1803; Scindia was defeated and Holkar submitted after 3,000 of his men died at Farakhabad in 1805; a peace treaty was signed in January 1806.

After this engagement until 25 October, the regiment furnished patrols and outpost duties, being billeted close to vineyards and barns containing water, corn, hay and fuel.

Lieutenant Colonel Sherwell led the King's Royal Irish Hussars, forbidding two soldiers to carry their swords in the charge because they had "Disgraced the regiment by smoking in the presence of the enemy".

The most celebrated action of the war came three months later at Gwalior when a squadron of the 8th, under Captain Heneage fought a large Indian force under Rani Lakshmibai trying to leave the area.

THE Queen has been graciously pleased to confirm the grant of the Decoration of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer, Farrier, and Private of Her Majesty's 8th Hussars, which decoration has been provisionally conferred upon them by Major-General Sir Hugh Henry Rose, G.C.B., Commanding the Central India Field Force, in accordance with the rules laid down in Her Majesty's Warrant instituting the same, on account of an Act of Bravery performed by them in India, as recorded against their several names, viz.

Selected for the Victoria Cross by their companions in the gallant charge made by a squadron of the Regiment at Gwalior, on 17 June 1858, when, supported by a division of the Bombay Horse Artillery and Her Majesty's 95th Regiment, they routed the enemy, who were advancing against Brigadier Smith's position, charged through the rebel camp into two batteries, capturing and bringing into their camp two of the enemy's guns, under a heavy and converging fire from the Fort and Town.

In 1994, a man watching racehorses being trained on the Curragh glimpsed a small piece of metal being thrown up with mud by a horse galloping by; this turned out to be a Victoria Cross (minus its bar).

His biographer Richard Holmes wrote that the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars at this time had a reputation as an expensive regiment for junior officers, who sometimes drank claret for breakfast.

In a telegram of 2 May Lord Roberts said: "Hamilton speaks in high terms of the services of the 8th Hussars under Colonel Clowes and a made-up regiment of Lancers, which came into Broadwood's brigade and assisted in making the Boers evacuate their position".

Mahon succeeded in holding his position until forces under John French came to his assistance when the Boers were driven back in a south-easterly direction, having sustained some losses.

Colonel Le Gallais[17] of the 8th Hussars had done splendid service as a leader of Mounted Infantry, and he fell on 6 November 1900[18] after he had inflicted a defeat on De Wet at Bothaville.

[20] The majority of the casualties occurred from the unsanitary conditions of the trenches, the cavalry being held almost exclusively in reserve, waiting for "the gap" constantly warned off, but never used.

They took part in what would be the Regiment's last mounted charge at Villers-Faucon when B and D Squadrons, supported by a howitzer battery and two armoured cars, attacked a heavily defended German position.

During the German spring offensive of 1918, "C" Squadron under Captain Adlercron, defended the village of Hervilly until being forced to retreat, only to recapture it later that day at the loss of 66 casualties.

Their particular brand of soldiering was at an end after 242 years; the King's Royal Irish Hussars had their horses replaced with 15 Cwt Ford V8 pick-up trucks mounted with Vickers–Berthier machine guns.

As part of the preparations, petrol dumps were created by burying supplies in the sand with a piece of wood indicating the burial site and marking the position on maps.

The leaguer was discovered by the 15th Panzer Division during the night and in the ensuing engagement left the Irish Hussars with just four Stuart tanks fit for battle; 35 having been captured or destroyed.

On 1 December, to assist ANZAC forces, the regiment charged "cavalry style" again at Sidi Rezegh and although the action was successful, Major Sandbach was killed.

After a re-fit and influx of recruits at Beni Yusef, the 8th Hussars were temporarily converted to armoured cars but before seeing action in them were issued with new tanks.

The 8th fought hard as a composite unit with the 4th City of London Yeomanry (casualties having reduced the size of both regiments) before having to withdraw with the rest of the British Eighth Army to El Alamein.

The 8th pushed German forces further and further back, taking part in the actions to close the Falaise pocket suffering more casualties of men and tanks.

Colonel Gouldburn moved on at this juncture and was replaced by Lt Col Desmond Fitzpatrick of the Royal Dragoons with Major Wingate Charlton DSC (formerly with "Glubb" Pasha in the Arab Legion) as second in command.

Having trained flat-out to become familiar with Centurion MkIII tanks they sailed from Southampton to Korea on the HMT Empire Fowey on 11 October 1950, docking in Pusan on 14 November.

[48] C Squadron, commanded initially by the one-eyed veteran Captain Peter Ormrod and then by Major Henry Huth (flown in from Japan) was left to undertake the taskings given to the Hussars alone.

Cornet Venner, who had behaved with great gallantry at every stage of the day's fighting, lost his scout-car, but guided one Centurion out of trouble and escaped, wounded, himself.

Three platoons of Infantry suddenly appeared, in parade-ground order, out of the river bed – and were blown to confusion with some of the last ammunition the tanks carried.

[51] Major Henry Huth received the DSO for his part in the Imjin battles and Captain Peter Ormrod won the Military Cross.

[50] "It was at the Battle of the Imjin River in April 1951 that the Centurions of the 8th Hussars won lasting fame when their tanks covered the withdrawal of the 29th Brigade in heroic fashion in the face of the overwhelming Chinese Spring Offensive".