John Doogan

 Private John Doogan
1st Dragoon Guards

On January 28, 1881 at the action of Laing's Nek, Major Brownlow was dismounted during a charge, owing to his horse being shot. Doogan, who was the Major's servant, seeing the precarious position of his master, rode to his assistance, and though himself severely wounded, sprang from his horse to induce him to accept his mount, receiving another wound while engaged in this gallant act.
 

Medals of the Regiments:
The 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards

 
  
   

Above: cap badge 1915 - 1937  Above;  The post 1938  double headed eagle badge.
 This eagle emblem was the symbol of  Emperor Francis Joseph II of Austria and is based on a similar badge worn from 1896 - this earlier badge was discontinued in 1915 for obvious reasons in favour of the badge pictured left. (note: similar eagle badge design was also adopted by the amalgamated regiment in 1959) 

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  The 1st (King's) Dragoon Guards
1685 -1959
 
 
 

Titles

Period
The Queen's or "2nd" Regiment of Horse. 1685 - 1746
1st King's Dragoon Guards 1746 to amalgamation in 1959
 
Motto: Honi soit qui mal y pense
Regimental Journal: 'Regimental Journal of the King's Dragoon Guards'
WWI Battle Honours; 3.  Victoria Crosses; 0. Died; 124
WWII Battle Honours; 26.  Victoria Crosses; 0.  Died; ??
Other Victoria Crosses : 1,  Doogan  (for the Boer Revolt 1880-1881)
Amalgamated: 1959 with the   2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)  to form 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
 
Two officers of the  KDG are on the Staff officer's list with Peninsula War MGS medals, but the regiment as a whole had no qualifying service.
 
 

Battle of Waterloo 1815

Waterloo Medal 1815

Number: 573

 

 
 
 

Crimean War  1854 - 1856

Crimea Medal 1854 -56

 
Clasp: → ..none...

Sebastopol
Total Medals
Number: → 24 ? 345369
 

Men who served in the Crimea also eligible for:

Turkish Crimea Medal 1855

 
 
 
 

Second China War 1856-60

Second China War Medal 1856-60

   
clasp: ..none...

Taku Forts 1860

Pekin 1860
total medals
numbers:3 317302 321
     

Roll is annotated  -difficult to read but looks like: - "269 serving , 11 Depot (1 to mint) 18 dead (2 to mint) 24 Discharged & to Leave (6 to Mint) 1 duplicate  = 323"   which is 1 or 2 different from our count. 

 
 
 

South Africa and the Zulu War 1876-79

South Africa Medal 1877-79

clasp: ...none....

1879
total
numbers : 78 641 719
 
 

Medal numbers from Forsyth roll, includes 6 medals and clasps returned to mint. One officer is shown KIA attached to the 4th Hussars and 14 men "died on service"

 
 
 

Black Mountain Expeditions, 1888 & 1891.

India General Service Medal 1854

Clasp:

Hazara 1888

Hazara 1891
Numbers: 12 5

 

 
The Regiment also served in the Boer Revolt of 1880-1881 winning a Victoria Cross.
 

South African War 1899 - 1902 or "Boer War"  (main body served from February 1901)

Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902.

815 names on the roll. 97% have some combination of : Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 Only.
In addition  25 odd men; such as 1KDG officers on attachment to other units, a signaller, two men attached to 14th Hussars, etc, etc., accrued the following:

 
clasp;

Natal

Rhodesia
Relief of Mafeking

Belmont

Modder River
Relief of Ladysmith
numbers; 1* 5 3 4 3 5
             
clasp;

Tugela Heights
Relief of Kimberley

Paardeberg

Driefontein

Johannesburg

Laing's Nek
numbers; 5 2 8 4 7 4
             
clasp;

Diamond Hill

Wittebergen

Belfast
     
numbers; 7 3 4      
 

*4139 Cpl. Charles Christian "with Corps of Signals"

Odd men possibly entitled to The King's South Africa Medal , main body generally not. (received date bars for their QSA instead)

             
Officers NCOs and Men
KIA & DOW Wounded Missing / POW KIA & DOW Death from disease Wounded Missing / POW
4 8 2 9 27 30 5
 
 
 
 

The Great War 1914 - 1918 

 

Regiment was in India when war declared, sailed for France 16th October 1914, arrived 7th November 1914. Returned to India 7th October 1917 for the remainder of the war. 124 deaths total for the period, of which 91 other ranks are recorded as died in France and Flanders.

 

Men landed France and Flanders prior to 1/1/1916 entitled to a 1914 or 1914-15 Star as appropriate. Also the British War Medal & Victory Medal

 

 

 
 
 

Third Afghan War 1919

India General Service Medal 1908

clasp:
Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919
numbers: 377*

*see note on following medal

 
 
 

Iraq 1919 - 20

General Service Medal 1918 -62

clasp:

Iraq
numbers: 296*

* roll not seen , number of this and the preceding IGS medal from the Orders and Medals Research Society June 2007 Journal article; "Campaign Medals to the Heavy Cavalry Regiments" by Barney Mattingly
 
 

WW2 1939 - 1945 (Royal Armoured Corps)

WW2 Stars:  Africa   Italy
     
clasps 8th Army?  
     

(most also entitled to the 39-45 star  and 1939-45 War Medal)

 
WW2 Battle Honours (emblazoned in bold)
Beda Fomm Tobruk Sortie Tobruk 1941 Defence of Tobruk
Relief of Tobruk Defence of Alamein Line Gazala Bir Hacheim
Alam el Halfa Point 201 (Roman Wall) El Hamma Akarit
Advance on Tripoli Tebaga Gap Tunis Capture of Naples
North Africa 1941-3 Scafati Bridge Gothic Line Monte Camino
Capture of Perugia Arezzo Athens Garigliano Crossin
Italy 1943-4 Greece 1944-5
 
 
 
 
 

Jewish / Arab Disturbances, Palestine 1945 -48   (In theatre 1945-48)

General Service Medal 1918 - 62

  
Clasp:

Palestine 1945-58
Number:?
 
 
 

The Malay Emergency: Operations against Communist insurgents. 1948-60  (In theatre 1956-?)

General Service Medal 1918 - 62

  
Clasp:

Malaya
Number:?

equipped with Daimler armoured cars and Ferret scout cars.

 
 

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Selected Links

Museum Website  (1st Queen's Dragoon Guards) excellent site detailed histories.
 
 

Selected Bibliography, 1st King's Dragoon Guards.
 
Author Title Publisher
(Cannon's Historical Records Series). Historical Record of the First, or King's Regiment of Dragoon Guards; containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in the year 1685, and of its subsequent Services to 1836.. 122 pp. London: William Clowes and Sons, 1837
By Capt. 1. O'Donnell 1st King's Dragoon Guards: Extracts from the Regimental Records, Army Despatches, and other papers connected with the History of the Regiment from the Formation in 1685 to 1912. 60 pp.  London: William Clowes and Sons Ltd., 1913.
Lieut.-Col. H. J. Williams  — Another edition was published covering 1685 to 1920. 42 pp  London: William Clowes and Sons Ltd., 1920
  A Short History of 1st King's Dragoon Guards, from the Regimental Records, Army Despatches, and other papers connected with the history of the Regiment from its formation in 1685 to 1929. 66 pp Aldershot: Gale & Polden Ltd., 1929.
Col. D. McCorquodale, Major B. L. B. Hutchings, Major A. D. Woozley. History of the King's Dragoon Guards, 1938-1945. 403 pp Glasgow: printed for the Regiment by McCorquodale & Co. Ltd., 1950.
  1st King's Dragoon Guards. A Brief Pictorial Record of the Regiment, 1685-1958. 32 pp. portraits, illustrations.  Aldershot: printed by Gale & Polden Ltd., 1958
  King's Dragoon Guards. 250th Anniversary of the Raising of the Regiment, 1685-1935. 24 pp. (Souvenir album containing Roll, reproductions of photographs, standards, badge, etc.) Aldershot: Gale & Polder Ltd., 1935
     

 

 Bibliography for this page.

 
Author/Compiler Title Publisher
Officers of the Regiment. Unpublished rolls in the care of the National Archives; WO 100/ etc. -
Forsyth, D. R. South African War Medal Roll 1877 - 8 - 9 Roberts Publications Ltd. (nd).
     
     
  and other sources as listed on the Northumberland Fusiliers page  
 

 

 

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