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Chesterfield grants Freedom of Entry to the Borough for the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s)

The 9^th/12^th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) Regiment is to receive The Freedom of Entry to the Borough in recognition of the Regiment’s importance in the region and its close association with the Borough of Chesterfield.

The honour will be granted at a Special Council meeting at Chesterfield’s Town Hall on Friday 10^th February at 6.30 p.m.

Cllr Peter Barr, Mayor of Chesterfield said: “The Freedom of Entry to the Borough is a very special honour and is rightly given to a Regiment which, over the years, has served our Borough, region and country, with loyalty, bravery and a selflessness that few of us can even begin to imagine.  We are exceptionally proud of all the men and women who have, and continue to serve, in this very influential Regiment.”

Lieutenant Colonel William J O Fooks, Commanding Officer at the 9^th/12^th Royal Lancers said: “For us this very significant event will not only reaffirm the strong relationship this Regiment already has with the Borough but also afford us the opportunity to deepen this relationship and work more closely with the Borough going forward.”

The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) remains a cavalry Regiment, although now equipped with armoured vehicles and with a reconnaissance role.  It has been based in northern Germany since 2000.  The Regiment recruits mainly from the Midlands, including Derbyshire, and several of its recent recruits come from Chesterfield

The Regiment was formed on 11th September, 1960 at the Garrison Church in Tidworth, when the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers amalgamated with the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s). 

Its predecessor regiments had taken part in campaigns dating back to the early eighteenth century.

Both regiments played an active role in both world wars, using their lances in one of the last cavalry charges in the First World War, and gaining recognition for their part in the North African and Italian campaigns in the Second World War.  More recently, the 9^th/12^th Lancers have been active in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their most famous battles are recorded on their Guidon, which is carried when the Regiment is on parade.

The Regiment has already received the Freedom of Entry into Derby in 1972, and Derby is the home of their regimental museum. 

After returning from Afghanistan the 9th/12th Royal Lancers took part in homecoming parades in several East Midlands towns.  Their homecoming parade in Chesterfield was on 28th November, 2011, led by the Light Cavalry Bank and Lancers on horseback.

Source:Chesterfield Borough Council

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