First and Foremost
With a long and distinguished history stretching back more than 300 years, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards is the Cavalry Regiment of Wales and the Border Counties. Specialising in reconnaissance its soldiers fight for information about the enemy and environment.
FACTS & FIGURES
ACTIVE FROM
1 January 1959
ROLE
Light Cavalry
SPECIALISM
RECONNAISSANCE
our skills
QDG soldiers are experts in reconnaissance. They are the Army's 'eyes and ears' in the battlespace. Skilled in a wide range of weaponry, these light cavalry crewmen are equally as capable on foot as they are at the wheel of a Jackal 2 high mobility vehicle. Their adaptability means they could find themselves deployed anywhere in the world.
- Driving a Jackal 2 armoured vehicle
- Firing heavy and grenade machine guns
- Communicating with radios
- Gathering and passing on intelligence
- Commanding from the front
- Making judgement calls in tough situations
Deployments
Future deployments
Operation NEWCOMBE (Mali: 2021)
Operation CABRIT (Poland: 2020)
Past deployments
Operation CABRIT (Poland: 2018)
Operation HERRICK (Afghanistan: 2008, 2011, 2015)
Operation TELIC (Iraq: 2003, 2004, 2006)
Our People
The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a family Regiment, offering a lifetime of comradeship. We recruit largely from Wales and the border counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire.
The QDG offers a diverse career from driving a Jackal 2 and operating heavy machine guns to training as a Communications Specialist or Forward Air Controller.
Our Location
Robertson Barracks
The QDG is based at Robertson Barracks in Swanton Morley in Norfolk, as part of 7th Infantry Brigade.
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
I HAVE TRAVELLED TO AMAZING PLACES Adam, 25
Our role
From its foundation in 1685 to the present day, the Queen’s Dragoon Guards has specialised in reconnaissance: the art of seeking out the enemy and understanding how they operate.
Originally a horseback regiment, these days the Queen’s Dragoon Guards uses Jackal 2 high mobility vehicles to get around, although they’re also just as effective on foot. This versatility makes them highly employable on operations and quick to adapt to new environments.
Soldiers and officers in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards are also excellent communicators, since part of their role includes training foreign military personnel.
Through the years
Whilst 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a thoroughly modern 21st Century reconnaissance regiment formed sixty years ago, it also one of the oldest regiments in the British Army with roots spreading back well over three hundred years to 1685, before the formal formation of the British Army in 1707.
Our Location
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Robertson Barracks
1 Worthing Rd, Swanton Morley, Dereham, NR20 4QD
Exercise Diamondback
Explore our equipment
Jackal 2
Grenade Machine Gun
Guided Weapons
L115A3 Long Range 'Sniper' Rifle
PANTHER
Heavy Machine Gun
General Purpose Machine Gun
Coyote TSV
SA80 Individual Weapon
Promotion for Welsh Mountain Pony, Trooper Emrys Forlan Jones
This year’s Royal Welsh Show will have its usual pomp and ceremony and boast some of the finest animals from across the UK. But something unique involving the British Army has been "occurring" in Builth Wells during what is the largest agricultural event in Europe – Trooper Emrys Forlan Jones has been promoted.
Soldiers from the Welsh Cavalry earn their first stripes
Norfolk-based cavalrymen take their first steps on the promotional ladder.
Follow us
Contact us
Robertson Barracks
1 Worthing Rd,
Swanton Morley,
Dereham, NR20 4QD