The 11th Hussars earned their nickname twice: once in a Spanish orchard in 1811, and again in Lord Cardigan's crimson overalls thirty years later.
Quick answer. The British 11th Hussars were nicknamed the Cherrypickers after an incident at Garcia Hernandez in Spain on 11 July 1811, when a detachment of the regiment, then the 11th Light Dragoons, was surprised by French cavalry while picking cherries in an orchard. The nickname was reinforced in the 1840s when Lord Cardigan, the regiment's colonel, dressed them in cherry red trousers.
The cherry orchard incident
The regiment was serving in the Peninsular War under Wellington. A troop of the 11th Light Dragoons, picketed near the village of San Martin del Trevejo in Estremadura, dismounted to pick cherries from an orchard. French dragoons rode in on them, sabres drawn. The British soldiers scrambled back to their horses with their shakos full of fruit. Only quick action by their officers saved them from a mauling. The story spread through the army within days, and the nickname stuck.
The incident could have ended the regiment's reputation. In the event the 11th fought with distinction for the rest of the Peninsular campaign, at Salamanca, Vitoria and the Pyrenees. They were part of Wellington's advance into southern France in 1814. The nickname lost its sting and became a point of pride.
Cardigan's crimson overalls
In 1840 the regiment was converted from light dragoons to hussars and placed under the colonelcy of James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan. Cardigan was independently wealthy and famously vain. He spent lavishly on the regiment's dress, dressing them in dark blue dolmans with gold braid and distinctive crimson overalls, the first British hussar regiment to wear coloured trousers rather than regulation grey. The crimson suited the nickname and the nickname suited the crimson. By the mid 1840s the two had merged permanently.
Cardigan was a demanding colonel, prone to disciplining officers who did not meet his dress standards. His memory in the regiment was mixed, but no one disputed that the Cherrypickers of 1854 were among the most elegantly dressed cavalry in Europe.
Balaclava
On 25 October 1854 the Light Brigade, five regiments including the 11th Hussars, received a confused order to charge Russian artillery at the eastern end of the North Valley at Balaclava. Lord Cardigan led them personally, the 11th in the second line. They rode a mile and a half under fire from three sides. The guns were taken briefly, but the brigade had to withdraw under fire from the same guns and from Russian cavalry on their flanks. Of 110 men of the 11th who began the charge, 25 were killed and 50 wounded. The regiment lost almost two thirds of its strength in twenty minutes.
The charge was a tactical disaster and a strategic footnote, but Tennyson's poem fixed it in national memory within three weeks. The 11th Hussars became permanently associated with that twenty minutes of valley.
After the Crimea
The regiment served in India during the Mutiny and after. They were in Egypt in 1884 and 1885. They fought in the Second Boer War, where their crimson overalls stayed in the stores and khaki took over for the field. In the First World War they were in the retreat from Mons and at Ypres, converted to a cycle unit for a time, then back to horse. The Second World War took them to the Western Desert in armoured cars, then into tanks for the campaign in North West Europe.
In 1969 the 11th were amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars to form the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own), which in 1992 joined the Royal Irish Hussars to become the King's Royal Hussars. The successor regiment still parades in the 11th's crimson overalls on ceremonial occasions. The orchard, Cardigan and Balaclava all survive in the mess silver.
The uniform
A late Victorian 11th Hussar wore a dark blue dolman with gold braid in eighteen rows across the chest, a matching pelisse with black fur edging, crimson overalls with a gold stripe, Hessian boots and a brown fur busby with a crimson bag and white plume. The sabretache was crimson with the regimental crest in gold. Officers wore a mess jacket in the same colours for dinner. The crimson overalls remain, now worn with No 1 Dress in the King's Royal Hussars.
Common questions
What were the crimson overalls called?
They were called crimson overalls or simply the crimson trousers. In mess dress the matching garment was called crimson pantaloons.
Did the cherry orchard story really happen?
The incident at San Martin del Trevejo in 1811 is recorded in regimental letters and in later Peninsular histories. The details vary, but the general outline of a detachment being surprised while picking cherries is well attested.
Who was Lord Cardigan?
James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, was colonel of the 11th Hussars from 1836 and the commander who led the Light Brigade's charge at Balaclava. He was a famously vain and expensive colonel.
How many 11th Hussars died at Balaclava?
Twenty five killed and about fifty wounded out of a strength of around 110 who began the charge. The regiment lost roughly two thirds of its men in twenty minutes.
Do the crimson overalls still exist?
Yes. The successor regiment, the King's Royal Hussars, still wears the crimson overalls with No 1 Dress on ceremonial occasions. The crimson is a direct line of descent from Cardigan's 1840 pattern.