Indian 'Cavalree' officer of Skinner's Horse. Caricature style gouache painting, Snaffles,1910.

Indian 'Cavalree' officer of Skinner's Horse. Caricature style gouache painting, Snaffles,1910.

The 1st Duke of York's Own Lancers (Skinner's Horse) was a unit of the British Indian Army from 1922 to independence and thereafter a unit of the Indian Army. Its foundation was when it was raised in 1803 as Skinners Horse by James Skinner (Sikander Sahib) as an irregular cavalry regiment in the service of the East India Company, the regiment became (and remains) one of the seniormost cavalry regiments of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. There were two regiments of Indian Cavalry raised by Colonel James Skinner in 1803. They became the 1st Bengal Lancers and the 3rd Skinner's Horse. On the reduction of the Indian Army in 1922, they were amalgamated and became Skinner's Horse (1st Duke of York's Own Cavalry). The old 1st Lancers wore yellow uniforms (unique in the world) and the old 3rd wore blue. Each regiment had the full-dress (mounted) long 'Kurta' worn with a turban and cummerbund, also a full-dress (dis-mounted) or levee, dress. These were not in general use after 1914 but could still be worn by officers on special assignments (e.g. as an aide-de-camp). The mess jacket and waistcoat of the old 1st Bengal Lancers was adopted by the 1922 regiment of Skinner's Horse and was the cold weather mess dress until 1939. All six of these uniforms are in the collection of the National Army Museum.

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