The Light Dragoons can look back on a history which began in the days of the first Jacobite rebellion. The controversial plan to reduce the size of Britain's armed forces saw the merger in 1992 of two famous regiments with long and distinguished histories, the 13th/18th and the 15th/19th Hussars. Reverting to the style used when the original four regiments were raised in the 18th century, the new regiment is known as The Light Dragoons. Allan Mallinson, who commanded the 13th/18th Hussars from 1988 to 1991, traces the histories of the four separate units, mirroring the last 250 years of British history, during which time no major campaign has been fought without the participation of at least one of the regiments.