The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an

Armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

formed in 1793. It saw action in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It amalgamated with the

Scottish Horse The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army's Territorial Army raised in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. It saw heavy fighting in both the First World War, as the 13th Battalion, Black Watch, and in the World War II, S ...

to form the

Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse is adopted as the C squadron of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry as a Light Cavalry Squadron. It is a Yeomanry Squadron of the British Territorial Army (Army Reserve). It was formed following the ...

in 1956. The lineage is maintained by "C"

Squadron of The

Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY) is a reserve light cavalry regiment created in 2014 as part of the restructuring of the British Army's Army Reserve. It is operationally paired with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, based at Leuchars ...

based in

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

History

Formation and early history

The Kirkcaldy Troop was raised in 1797 but, after becoming the Fife Yeomanry Cavalry in 1803, it was disbanded in 1828. The unit was re-raised as the Fife Yeomanry Cavalry in 1831 but was disbanded again in 1838. It was raised again as the 1st Fifeshire Mounted Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1860. Meanwhile, the Forfar Yeomanry was raised in 1794 but it was also disbanded in 1828. The unit was re-raised as the Forfarshire Yeomanry in 1856 but disbanded again in 1862. It was raised again as the 1st Forfarshire Light Horse Volunteer Corps in 1876.

Second Boer War

On 13 December 1899, the decision to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War was made. Due to the string of defeats during

Black Week Black Week refers to the week of Sunday 10 December – Sunday 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 on Sunday 10 December, Mage ...

that same month, the British government realised they were going to need more troops than just the regular army, thus issuing a Royal Warrant on 24 December. This warrant officially created 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 ...

(IY). The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each. In addition to this, many British citizens (usually mid-upper class) volunteered to join the new regiment. The two regiments co-sponsored the 20th (Fife and Forfarshire Light Horse) Company, IY, which served in 6th (Scottish) Battalion, IY. In 1901 the 1st Fifeshire Mounted Rifle Volunteer Corps and the 1st Forfarshire Light Horse Volunteer Corps amalgamated to form the Fifeshire and Forfarshire Imperial Yeomanry. The word "Imperial" was dropped from the title on the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908. The regiment was based at Hunter Street in

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

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 act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territor ...

('' 7 Edw. 7, c.9''), which brought 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 in ...

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 Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

They were dismounted and eventually became the 14th (FFY) Battalion of the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

. As part of the

74th (Yeomanry) Division The 74th (Yeomanry) Division was a Territorial Force infantry division formed in Palestine in early 1917 from three dismounted yeomanry brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of XX Corp ...

they served in Egypt and Palestine in 1917 and 1918 before moving to France in 1918.

2/1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

The 2nd Line regiment was formed in September 1914 and in January 1915 was assigned to the

2/1st Highland Mounted Brigade H21 or H-21 may refer to: * British NVC community H21, a type of heath community in the British National Vegetation Classification * Highway H21 (Ukraine) * , a Royal Navy H-class submarine * , a Royal Navy S-class destroyer * Mata Hari (1876– ...

. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence; the brigade was numbered as 1st Mounted Brigade and joined the

1st Mounted Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of thre ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. In July 1916, the 1st Mounted Division was reorganised as the

1st Cyclist Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of thre ...

and the regiment was transferred as a mounted unit to the 2nd Mounted Brigade in the new 1st Mounted Division (the former

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 ...

) in the Brentwood area. In November 1916, the regiment was converted to a

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

unit in 6th Cyclist Brigade at

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. By July 1917, it was at

Acklington Acklington is a small village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the south-west of Amble, inland from the North Sea coast. It is served by Acklington railway station. The name is Anglo-Saxon Old English meaning 'farmstead of Eadlac's ...

and it remained there until early 1918 when it went to Ireland with the 6th Cyclist Brigade. It was stationed at

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Irish National Stud#The Japanese Gardens, Japane ...

until the end of the war.

3/1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915; that summer, it was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. In June 1916, it was at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. The regiment was disbanded in early 1917 with personnel transferring to the 2nd Line or to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion of the

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

Between the wars

On 7 February 1920, the Regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ still at

. Following the experience of the war, it was decided that only the fourteen most senior yeomanry regiments would be retained as horsed cavalry, with the rest being transferred to other roles. As a result, on 6 January 1921, the Regiment was one of eight converted and reduced to 2nd (Fife and Forfar) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps, later renumbered as 20th (Fife and Forfar) Armoured Car Company,

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 an armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks and structured under 12th A ...

. On 30 April 1939, it was transferred to the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. By 1939, it had become clear that a new European war was likely to break out, and the doubling of the Territorial Army was authorised, with each unit forming a duplicate. The Lothians were expanded to an armoured regiment in August 1939 as the 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and formed a duplicate 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry in the same month.

Second World War

1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

The 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry landed in France as reconnaissance regiment for the

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

in the British Expeditionary Force in September 1939 and then took part in the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in June 1940. The battalion later served in the United Kingdom with the 28th Armoured Brigade in the 9th Armoured Division until August 1944 when it moved to North West Europe and saw action at the

crossing of the Rhine The crossing of the Rhine River by a mixed group of barbarians which included Vandals, Alans and Suebi is traditionally considered to have occurred on the last day of the year 406 (December 31, 406). The crossing transgressed one of the Roman E ...

with the

31st Armoured Brigade The 31st Armoured Brigade was an Armoured warfare, armoured brigade formation of the British Army during the Second World War, British Army, created during the World War II, Second World War. Unit history The 31st Army Tank Brigade was formed ...

in the

79th Armoured Division The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy ...

in March 1945.

2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

The 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry took part in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

with the 29th Armoured Brigade in the

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armour ...

in June 1944. It subsequently saw action in

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the ...

in June 1944,

Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...

in July 1944,

Operation Bluecoat Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July until 7 August 1944, during the Second World War. The geographical objectives of the attack, undertaken by VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the British Second Army ...

in August 1944 and the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

in December 1944.

Post-war

When the Territorial Army was re-formed in May 1947, the regiment resumed its pre-war role as an Armoured Car Regiment. It amalgamated with the

to form the

in 1956. Although The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse was disbanded in 1975, the linage is maintained by "C"

Squadron of The

based in

Memorials

A book of remembrance is housed at Cupar Old Parish Church and there is a carved stone plaque dedicated to "To the memory of all ranks – The Fife Light Horse and The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry 1860–1918" inside the ruined church building at Tulliallan Old Churchyard (also known as Woodlea Old Cemetery) at Kincardine on Forth.

Battle honours

The

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 Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry are displayed on the guidon which was laid up at Cupar Old Parish Church when the regiment was amalgamated. After amalgamation, the battle honours were carried on to the guidon of the

and today are represented on the guidon of the

Queen's Own Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is a reserve light cavalry reconnaissance regiment of the British Army. The regiment is part of the 19th Brigade, which was reactivated in 2022. The regimental headquarters is at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle, with sq ...

. The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry was awarded the following battle honours (honours in bold are emblazoned on the

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, 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 5,000 year ...

Guidons

The regiment's guidon is laid up in Cupar Old and St Michael of Tarvit Parish Church.

Honorary Colonels and Commanding Officers

Uniform

The

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as ...

of the FFY is a mounted knight (The Thane of Fife). It was also worn on the collars of the officers and men of the Squadron and on the arms above the chevrons of all Senior Non-Commissioned Officers. The black beret of the Royal Tank Regiment was worn as regimental headdress. The regiment wore a stable belt in the regimental colours of crimson and yellow with a dark blue stripe.

Regimental music

The Quick March of the Regiment was "Wee Cooper of Fife".

Affiliated regiments and formations

Affiliated regiments and formations were as follows: * –

1st The Royal Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalg ...

The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Locomotive

British Rail Class 55 The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, or English Electric List of British Rail power classifications#Type 5, Type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. Twenty-two locomot ...

'Deltic' diesel locomotive D9006 (later 55006), built between 1961 and 1962 by English Electric, was named after the Regiment. It was designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* *
FFY Collection Details With Ogilby Trust

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife And Forfar Yeomanry Yeomanry regiments of the British Army Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Scottish regiments Highland regiments Military units and formations in Dundee Military units and formations in Fife Military units and formations in Forfarshire Military units and formations established in 1793 1794 establishments in Scotland Military units and formations disestablished in 1956