Queen to visit North Yorkshire today
She will be meeting The Royal Lancers at Catterick Garrison
The Queen is visiting an army barracks in North Yorkshire today.
Her Majesty The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own) will undertake her first visit to the Regiment since being appointed as their Colonel-in-Chief. She will address the parade, before meeting serving members and old comrades. Her Majesty will view a museum exhibition, a tunic belonging to her late father Major Bruce Shand MC & Bar, and will also present five Buchan Medals.
On arrival at Cambrai Lines, Her Majesty will be greeted by the Lord Lieutenant, Jo Ropner, and Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel Richard Charrington. Her Majesty will be received by a Royal Salute, inspect some of the 152 Lancers on parade and address her Regiment before they conduct a march past. They will be accompanied by several past and present armoured vehicles, including the HUMBER and DINGO from WW2, which her late father would have commanded, as well as the contemporary WARRIOR, and BULLDOG vehicles.
The Queen will meet families and members of the Old Comrades Association (OCA) at a reception immediately after the parade. Her Majesty will then visit the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess and present five Buchan Medals to serving and retired Lancers. The Buchan Medal is awarded to any serving or retired member of The Royal Lancers or its antecedents who has contributed in some conspicuous manner to the efficiency or military honour of the Regiment over a protracted period.
The Queen will then proceed to the Officers’ Mess where the Commanding Officer will present Major (Retd) Phil Watson, the author of ‘Their Greatest Hour’ a book which recounts the story of 21-days during which the 12th Lancers guarded the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force’s withdraw to Dunkirk in 1940. Her Majesty The Queen’s late father, Major Bruce Shand, then a subaltern in A Squadron, won an MC for gallantry during the battle. Her Majesty wrote the foreword to the book. The Queen will view her late father’s tunic, which is to be put on public display at the Regimental Museum in Derby, following its purchase at auction by the Regiment. Her Majesty will sign the visitors book before leaving through a guard of honour and a street-lining procession.
Who are The Royal Lancers?
The Royal Lancers are an Armoured Cavalry Regiment based in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. Part of 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team, the Regiment are an elite reconnaissance unit and are the eyes and ears of the British Army. They have deployed on numerous operations and exercises over the last 12 months including to Poland as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and as part of NATO’s Kosovo Force. In 2024, the Regiment is set to adopt a new role, working with the brand-new Ajax fighting vehicle.
Who was Major Bruce Shand, MC?
Commissioned in 1937, The Queen’s late father, Major Bruce Shand MC & Bar, served with the 12th Lancers during World War II. He won a Military Cross during the withdrawal to Dunkirk in 1940 and later again in 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa. Major Shand was captured on 6th November 1942, during a battle in which the crew of his armoured car were both killed and Major Shand himself severely wounded. He was held in Spangenberg Castle until he escaped in early 1945.
Shand left the army after the War.