and capture of Delhi and the relief of Lucknow in summer 1857, as well as the capture of Lucknow in spring 1858 during the Indian Rebellion: the regiment, which was described by the rebels as "the Delhi Spearmen", was awarded twelve Victoria Crosses. It was described by an ally as: "The beau ideal of all that British Cavalry ought to be in Oriental countries". The regiment was renamed the 9th (The Queen's Royal) Lancers in 1861. Second Anglo-Afghan War The regiment was posted to Afghanistan in 1878 and marched through the Khyber Pass in March 1879 as part of the cavalry brigade led by General Hugh Henry Gough. Following the murder of the British ambassador and his guards at Kabul in September 1879, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Charasiab in October 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The commanding officer of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Cleland, was killed while leading a charge at the Battle of Killa Kazi in December 1879. Major-General Frederick Roberts described the ensuing events: "The charge was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland and Captain Neville, the former of whom fell dangerously wounded: but the ground, terraced for irrigation purposes and intersected by nullahs, so impeded our cavalry that the charge, heroic as it was, made little or no impression upon the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. The effort, however, was worthy and that it failed in its object was no fault of our gallant soldiers." A squadron from the regiment took part in the Second Battle of Charasiab in April 1880 and the regiment, as a whole, undertook the long march, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bushman, leading to the relief of Kandahar and defeat of Ayub Khan in September 1880. Second Boer War During the Second Boer War, the regiment took part in the Battle of Belmont and the Battle of Modder River in November 1899, as well as the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899, Relief of Kimberley in February 1900 and the subsequent Battle of Paardeberg which resulted in Piet Cronjé's surrender. After the war, the regiment returned to Sialkot in the Punjab. In the Delhi Durbar of January 1903, the Duke of Connaught specially selected an escort from the 9th Lancers. This was popular with the regiment, but not with all Indian spectators; the regiment had been forbidden to take part as punishment for refusing to disclose the