HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY AT WAR

The Second Household Cavalry Regiment’s war was a short and exciting one, from Normandy in July 1944 to Germany in May 1945. In the vanguard of the Guards Armoured Division, 2 HCR, an armoured reconnaissance regiment, was continuously on the advance and rarely out of contact with the enemy. Sometimes progress was slow and grinding, while at other times it was with exhilarating speed. Written shortly after the War, this book draws on the recollections of those who were in the thick of the action; the young troop leaders, their corporals-of-horse, and troopers. Roden Orde has taken great care to weave an accurate, balanced and readable account, the story of an entire regiment, from the commanding officer to the youngest trooper. This inclusive style was ahead of its time, with a narrative that has a contemporary feel to it. The story cracks on and Sir Winston Churchill later described it as ‘the best regimental history I have ever read’. The book is well illustrated with many contemporary photographs, hand-drawn maps, and wonderful paintings and drawings, some of which have not been seen for many years.

Roden Orde, the author, was born in 1910. He served in the Second Household Cavalry Regiment, as an officer, during the Second World War, and was later an official observer at the Nuremberg trials. After leaving the army he became a stockbroker. He was commissioned to write the wartime history of 2HCR by his former commanding officer, receiving plaudits from Sir Winston Churchill, Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks, and many former members of 2HCR. He died in 1985.

Eric Meade-King was born in 1911 and studied at the Westminster School of Art. He wrote and illustrated The Silent Horn, Summer Sketches of Horses and Hounds (1938). He served in Second Household Cavalry Regiment during the war, as a corporal, producing first-hand illustrations of the campaign, a war-artist in the true sense. He died in 1987.