One of Scotland’s oldest regiments is to be merged with the infantry. The end of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards marks the demise of the British Army’s cavalry after 350 years.

The cavalry, which dates back to the Civil War in the 1640s, will no longer be able to operate as an independent force but will instead be restructured and combined with the infantry into a “combat capability directorate”, according to a leaked army document.

It is feared the famous regimental names of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the King’s Royal Hussars might be lost. These two regiments are likely to be split up into squadrons and incorporated into infantry battalions.

The restructuring of the army will create three more capability directorates. Artillery and engineers forming the combat support capability directorate. Logistics and electrical and mechanical engineering forming the combat service support capability directorate. Signals and intelligence forming the combat information capability directorate.

Yesterday a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The Defence Secretary recently announced the most radical transformation of the MoD in a generation, giving the chiefs greater power to run their services.

“The army’s new capability directorates will be more agile and responsive, providing capability development and delivery better aligned to the rest of defence.”