The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

and

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

ners in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, before being amalgamated into the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1956. The lineage is maintained by B (Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry) Squadron, part of The Royal Yeomanry.

History

Formation and early history

The regiment was first formed as the Gentlemen and Yeomanry of Warwickshire in 1794, who raised four

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

s of

. These four troops were regimented in 1796 as the Warwickshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry; the regiment expanded to a fifth troop in 1813, a sixth in 1831, and in 1854, with the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

causing an upsurge in martial sentiment, two more troops were formed.

Second Boer War

The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but due to the string of defeats during

Black Week Black Week refers to the week of 10–17 December 1899 during the Second Boer War, when the British Army suffered three devastating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso. In total, 2,776 British ...

in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army. A Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

. The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry

s to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each for the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

. The regiment provided the 5th (Warwickshire) Company for the 2nd Battalion in 1900 and the 103rd (Warwickshire) Company for the same battalion in 1901. In 1901, the regiment was reorganised as

mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely speciall ...

as the Warwickshire Imperial Yeomanry. In 1908, it was transferred into the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

, returning to a cavalry role and equipped as

hussars A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely a ...

, under the new title of The Warwickshire Yeomanry. The regiment was based at

Northgate Street Northgate Street is a street in the City of Gloucester, so named because its northern end was originally the location of the north gate in the city's walls. The street runs from the crossroads of Northgate, Eastgate Street, Eastgate, Southgate ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

at this time.

First World War

In accordance with the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (''7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer ...

(''

7 Edw. 7 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, c.9''), which brought the

into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.

1/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry

The regiment mobilised in August 1914, but remained in England until 1915, when they sailed for Egypt with

2nd Mounted Division The 2nd Mounted Division was a yeomanry ( Territorial Army cavalry) division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a 2nd Line duplicate of itself, ...

. During the move, the horse transport ''Wayfarer'' was torpedoed on 11 April 1915 having just left

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...

; although she did not sink, the horses had to be rescued. Volunteers of the regiment saved 763 horses, receiving a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and twelve

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

s. They arrived in Egypt on 24 April, before being moved to Gallipoli for service as dismounted infantry. They landed at

Suvla Bay View of Suvla from Battleship Hill Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as par ...

on 18 August and saw action at the Battle of Scimitar Hill, on 21 August. The regiment took heavy losses, but remained in the line until withdrawn at the end of October. It was assigned to the Australian Mounted Division in February 1917, serving in Palestine as cavalry, and seeing action at the First and Second Battles of Gaza, the

Charge at Huj The Charge at Huj (8 November 1917), (also known by the British as the Affair of Huj), was an engagement between forces of the British Empire' Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the Ottoman Turkish Empire's, Yildirim Army Group during the Sin ...

as well as the

Battle of Mughar Ridge The Battle of Mughar Ridge, officially known by the British as the action of El Mughar, took place on 13 November 1917 during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Figh ...

and the Battle of Jerusalem. It was withdrawn in April 1918, and amalgamated with the 1/1st South Nottinghamshire Hussars into B Battalion,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

, soon renamed the 100th (Warwickshire and South Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, which would serve on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

for the remainder of the war. On 27 May 1918 this unit was on board the transport vessel '' SS Leasowe Castle'' which was sunk by SM UB-51 with a loss of 101 lives. At the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, it was serving as Army Troops with the Fourth Army.

2/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry

The 2nd Line regiment was formed at

in September 1914. In April 1915, it joined the 2/1st South Midland Mounted Brigade at

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

and in June moved to the

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...

area where the brigade joined the

2/2nd Mounted Division The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad ...

. On 14 July 1915, it was at Holkham and in October at Fakenham. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became the 10th Mounted Brigade (and the division

3rd Mounted Division The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad ...

) at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

. In July 1916, there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments were converted to

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

; the 2/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry remained mounted and transferred to the 1st Mounted Brigade in the new 1st Mounted Division (3rd Mounted Division redesignated) at

Thorndon Park Thorndon Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Brentwood in Essex. Part of it is run by Essex County Council as Thorndon Country Park, and the Essex Wildlife Trust manages its visitor centre. The site is semi-natural woodl ...

, Brentwood. In November, it was at Epping and in April 1917 back to Thorndon Park. In September 1917, the regiment was also converted to cyclists and joined 214th Brigade in 71st Division at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

. This brigade was intended to serve at Murmansk. On 12 February 1918, the brigade joined the 67th Division, still at Colchester. In March, all fit men were posted to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the Murmansk operation was cancelled. The regiment remained in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

for the rest of the war.

3/1st Warwickshire Yeomanry

The 3rd Line regiment was formed at

in June 1915 and affiliated to the 4th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison, garrison town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 road, A338 about north of the A303 road, A303 primary ro ...

. In early 1917, it was absorbed into the

5th Reserve Cavalry Regiment Seventeen Cavalry Reserve Regiments were formed by the British Army on the outbreak of the Great War in August, 1914. These were affiliated with one or more active cavalry regiments, their purpose being to train replacement drafts for the active ...

, also at Tidworth.

Between the wars

Post war, a commission was set up to consider the shape of the Territorial Force ( Territorial Army from 1 October 1921). The experience of the First World War made it clear that

was surfeit. The commission decided that only the 14 most senior regiments were to be retained as cavalry (though the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

and the Scottish Horse were also to remain mounted as "scouts"). Eight regiments were converted to Armoured Car Companies of the

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

(RTC), one was reduced to a

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

in another regiment, one was absorbed into a local infantry battalion, one became a signals regiment and two were disbanded. The remaining 25 regiments were converted to brigades of the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of ...

between 1920 and 1922. As the 2nd most senior regiment in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

, the regiment was retained as horsed cavalry.

Second World War

The regiment did not mechanise before the outbreak of the

; on mobilisation, it was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, and moved in 1940 to the Middle East, where it saw service in Iraq and Syria in 1941. It was mechanised as an armoured regiment in late 1941 and transferred into the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

, with the division redesignating itself as 10th Armoured Division. The regiment then saw service in the North African Campaign, fighting at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

whilst attached to the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant ...

. It was deployed to Italy in 1944, where it saw action in the Italian Campaign in June and July.

Post-war

On 1 January 1947, the TA was reconstituted, and the regiment followed suite, reforming as the Warwickshire Yeomanry and was armed with tanks shortly afterwards. It was then placed directly under Northern Command and was reorganised into three squadrons: * Regimental Headquarters, in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

* B Squadron, in

* C Squadron, in

* D Squadron, in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

After formation, the regiment gained its affiliation with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars. This affiliation would continue into the Warwick and Worcs Yeomanry until the hussars' disbandment in 1992.Frederick Volume I, pp. 55–56. In 1956, the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

announced its intention to reduce the size of the Territorial Army, due to its high running costs. One of the changes to be brought by this reorganisation was the merging of several

regiments into new larger regiments. Therefore, in November 1956 it was announced that the Warwickshire Yeomanry and the

Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I as horsed cavalry before being converted to an anti-tank regiment of the Royal Artil ...

were to be amalgamated. In 1957, the regiment completed this transition and became known as the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry.

Battle honours

The Warwickshire Yeomanry was awarded the following

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s (honours in bold are emblazoned on the

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* *
Queen's Own Warwickshire & Worcestershire Yeomanry Comrades Association
– Website dedicated to past and present serving members of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars, and all successor units. {{British Cavalry Regiments World War I Warwickshire Yeomanry Yeomanry regiments of the British Army Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations established in 1794 1794 establishments in Great Britain Military units and formations in Warwickshire Regiments of the British Army in World War II