‘Swanking Plungers’ and ‘Donkey Wallopers’

I recently came across this extract, which was about the newly-formed (at the time) Union Jack Club:

I must admit, I had not previously heard cavalry troops being dismissed as ‘swanking plungers’ before, but – and though at first glance it suggests either rhyming slang or a Spoonerism – it would seem the origin of the term is pretty straightforward:

Swanking: Derived from British military and informal slang, ‘swanking’ (or ‘swank’) means behaving in a boastful, flashy, or overly proud manner to impress others.

Plunger: In traditional military terminology, a ‘plunger’ refers to a cavalryman. Historically, it was a slang term used to describe British heavy cavalrymen who would ‘plunge’ headfirst into enemy ranks during a charge.

Alas, ‘Swanking Plunger’ appears to have long-since disappeared from the lexicon of the British army, but I am pleased to report that ‘Donkey Walloper’ is still going strong. Indeed, I remember being on exercise in the 90s, and one of the DS was a Corporal Major of the Life Guards… tired out and very much on my chin-strap one night, I mistakenly addressed one of the other DS (who was a Colour Sergeant in some infantry regiment) as ‘Corporal Major’, and he roared: “I’m not a f***ing Donkey Walloper!”