The 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry was a regular military cavalry regiment, which was formed by the Honourable British East India Company in the year 1787. Later the unit became a part of the British Indian Army. Before the Great Revolt of 1857, the battalion was under the Madras Army, which was the armed forces of Madras Presidency were amongst of the 3 primary Presidency Armies in British India. The Madras Presidency Army was established with the purpose of guarding the commercial interests of the English East India Company. The army regiment was also incorporated as a part of the Madras Command. Till the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the armed forces of the British Indian Presidencies functioned under the British East India Company. The Government of India Act 1858, authorized after the Great Revolt in 1857, transferred the authority and control of these Presidency Armies to the British Crown from the East India Company.
The 3 distinct presidency armies, namely the Madras Army, the Bengal Army and the Bombay Army, were merged in the year 1903 and the United British Indian Army was formed. The 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry was also known as the 26th King George`s Own Light Cavalry. The military battalion was awarded the battle honours for Mysore, Seringapatam, Ava, Afghanistan (1878 to 1880) and Burma (1885 to 1887).
When the First World War culminated, the British Government of India restructured and grouped the entire British army in India. The distinct single battalion infantry units were unified together to form multi battalion regiments of 4 to 6 battalions in each regiment. In the year 1922, the 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry merged with the 30th Lancers (Gordon`s Horse) and was renamed as the 8th King George`s Own Light Cavalry.
After the nation gained independence from the domination of the British Empire in India in the year 1947, the country was divided by the Partition of India. As an effect, two sovereign states were created, namely the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India. The British Indian Army was accordingly divided among India and Pakistan. The 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry was apportioned to the modern Army of India.
Designations of 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry
The military regiment, initially known as the 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry of the British Indian Army, held various titles through out its service during the restructuring and renumbering of the army, like all the other British Indian army units. These are listed as follows -
* 5th Regiment of Madras Native Cavalry in 1787
* 1st Madras Native Cavalry in 1788
* 1st Madras Light Cavalry in 1816
* 1st Regiment of Madras Lancers in 1886
* 26th Light Cavalry in 1903
* 26th Prince of Wales Own Light Cavalry in 1909
* 26th King George`s Own Light Cavalry in 1910
* 8th King George`s Own Light Cavalry (merged with 30th Lancers Gordon`s Horse) in 1922
* Assigned to modern Indian Army in 1947
