The Bedfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. Serving intermittently between 1797 and 1827, it was re-raised in 1901 for the Second Boer War. It participated in the First World War before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in the Second World War (as a heavy and a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

regiment). Its lineage was maintained by 201 (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Battery,

100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery was part of the Territorial Army and had sub-units throughout the South of England. It had three gun batteries all equipped with the L118 Light Gun. The regiment's original role was British Army of the Rhi ...

until that unit was placed in suspended animation in 2014.

History

Formation and early history

Under threat of invasion by the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

government from 1793, and with insufficient military forces to repulse such an attack, the British government under William Pitt the Younger decided in 1794 to increase the Militia and to form corps of volunteers for the defence of the country. The mounted arm of the volunteers became known as the "Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry". The Bedfordshire Yeomanry was first raised in 1797 as independent troops. These were regimented in 1803 as the Bedfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry but were disbanded in 1810. A new Bedfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry was raised in 1817, disbanded in 1827.

Second Boer War

On 13 December 1899, the decision was made to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War. Due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realized it was going to need more troops than just the regular army, thus issuing a

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

on 24 December 1899. This warrant officially created the Imperial Yeomanry. 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 first contingent of recruits contained 550 officers, 10,371 men with 20 battalions and 4 companies, which arrived in South Africa between February and April 1900. The 28th (Bedfordshire) Company of the 4th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry (also known as Compton's Horse) was raised in January 1900 by Lord Alwyne Compton, the local Bedfordshire MP. This company was perpetuated from 19 September 1901 by the Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry. On 1 September 1901, the regiment was re-raised as the Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry with

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

at Bedford. It was organised in four squadrons and a machine gun section formed from South African war veterans to perpetuate 28th (Bedfordshire) Company, 4th Bn, Imperial Yeomanry. On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed as the Bedfordshire Yeomanry and transferred to the Territorial Force, trained and equipped as

lancers A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

. The regiment was based at Ashburnham Road in Bedford at this time (since demolished). The regiment's organisation was: It was ranked as 48th (of 55) in the order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914.

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 Territori ...

(''

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 Territorial Force 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 Bedfordshire Yeomanry

At the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment was attached to the

Eastern Mounted Brigade The Eastern Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After serving dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign, it was absorbed into the 3rd Dismounted Brigade in Egypt in February 1916. Format ...

. It mobilised on 4 August 1914 and was stationed at

Hatfield Peverel Hatfield Peverel is a village and civil parish at the centre of Essex, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) north-east from Chelmsford, the nearest large city, which it is connected by road and rail. The parish includes the hamlets of ...

and Stansted until June 1915. On 12 June 1915, it joined the 9th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in France, eventually dismounting to serve in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, Battle of Cambrai and the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

in 1918. As such, it was one of only six yeomanry regiments to be posted to a regular cavalry division in the war. On 10 March 1918, it left the 1st Cavalry Division with the intention of converting it to a cyclist unit, then to form a machine gun battalion with the

Essex Yeomanry The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as ar ...

. The German spring offensive changed these plans and the regiment was re-mounted and returned to the 1st Cavalry Division. There, it was split up, sending a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

to each of the regiments in 9th Cavalry Brigade (

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

and

19th Hussars The 19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, created in 1858. After serving in the First World War, it was amalgamated with the 15th The King's Hussars to form the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars ...

). The record of the unit's service was set out by L. R. C. Southern (Lieutenant), an officer of the regiment, in ''The Bedfordshire Yeomanry in the Great War'' (Rush & Warwick, Bedford, 1935).

2/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry

The 2nd Line regiment was formed in September 1914. From October 1915 to February 1916, it was assigned to the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division in the Chelmsford area. In June 1916, it joined the

16th Mounted Brigade The 4th Mounted Division was a short-lived Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 20 March 1916, converted to 2nd Cyclist Division in July 1916 and broken up on 16 November 1916. It remained in England ...

of the

4th Mounted Division The 4th Mounted Division was a short-lived Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 20 March 1916, converted to 2nd Cyclist Division in July 1916 and broken up on 16 November 1916. It remained in England ...

in Essex. Later in 1916, the regiment was split up as divisional cavalry: * A

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

joined

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division The 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The ...

at Aldershot * B Squadron joined

66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, which saw service in the trenches of the Western Front, during the later years of the Great War and was disbanded after the w ...

at Colchester * C Squadron joined

68th (2nd Welsh) Division The 2nd Welsh Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in January 1915. As the name suggests, the division recruited in Wal ...

at Turvey By March 1917 the regiment was concentrated at

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

and attached to the new 1st Mounted Division. C Squadron was attached to the 71st Division. By July 1917, it had been absorbed into the

1st 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 ...

at The Curragh.

3/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry

The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in June was attached to the

13th 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 ...

at Colchester. It remained in the United Kingdom until July 1917 when it was absorbed into the

at The Curragh.

Between the wars

On 7 February 1920, the Regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ still at Bedford. 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 5 August 1920, the Regiment was transferred to 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 t ...

(RFA) to form 10th (Bedford) Army Brigade, RFA.Litchfield, pp. 18–20. It served as 'Army Troops' in 54th (East Anglian) Divisional Area with four batteries: 417–420 (Bedfordshire) Batteries. The brigade underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1921, it was renumbered and regained its yeomanry title as 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA. Another title change came in 1924 as the Royal Field Artillery was amalgamated back into the Royal Artillery as 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) (Army) Field Brigade, RA. Then, on 1 November 1938, as artillery

brigades A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

became regiments, it became the 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Army Field Regiment, RA. In 1939, the Territorial Army was "duplicated" - existing units formed a second unit. While the 417th and 418th batteries remained with the 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, the 419th and 420th batteries were transferred to the newly formed 148th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA.

Second World War

52nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, RA

105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA was converted to 52nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, RA on 1 November 1939. It fought with the BEF but was disbanded after evacuation from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Fleetwood, Lancashire, on 11 March 1943 using the Regimental HQ of the disbanded 174th Field Regiment and batteries reformed from coast artillery gunners. It went on to take part in the North West Europe Campaign from June 1944 as part of 5th AGRA. It was disbanded in the British Army of the Rhine on 1 April 1946.

148th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H10915

In 1938, Field regiments were organised into two 12-gun batteries. The experience of the BEF in 1940 showed the problem with this organisation: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions, which could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries. At the outbreak of the war, 148th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA was assigned to the 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. Initially commanding two batteries (419 and 420), the third battery (512) was formed in the regiment at Rochdale on 1 June 1941. The regiment was transferred to Singapore with its division, arriving just before the Fall of Singapore in February 1942. The regiment was authorised to use the "Bedfordshire Yeomanry" designation from 17 February 1942 but, as it was captured on 15 February, this change was ineffective.

Post-war

On 1 January 1947, the regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army as 305 (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA. On 31 October 1956, it was re-roled and renamed as 305 (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Light Regiment, RA. Finally, on 1 May 1961, it was amalgamated with 286 (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment to form 286 (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment.289–322 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
/ref> The unit was reduced to battery strength as 201 (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Battery,

in 1967. Under Army 2020, this unit was placed in suspended animation in 2014.Summary of Reserve Structure and Basing Changes

Battle honours

The Bedfordshire Yeomanry has been awarded the following battle honours: ;First World War

Somme 1916 __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

'18, Flers-Courcelette, Cambrai 1917 '18, Amiens,

Albert 1918 Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

, Hindenburg Line, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Pursuit to Mons,

France and Flanders 1915–18 The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of import ...

;Second World War The Royal Artillery was present in nearly all battles and would have earned most of the honours awarded to cavalry and infantry regiments. In 1833, William IV awarded the motto ''Ubique'' (meaning "everywhere") in place of all battle honours.

Uniform

Prior to 1914, the Bedfordshire Yeomanry wore a dark blue review order with white

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the thro ...

collar, piping and trouser stripes. The headdress was a blue peaked cap with white

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

style quartering. Silver chain-mail epaulettes were attached to the tunics.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * * * * ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927 (RA sections also summarised in Litchfield, Appendix IV).

External links

* *
British Army units from 1945 on

Roll of 28th Company, 4th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Yeomanry regiments of the British Army Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations established in 1797 Military units and formations in Bedfordshire Organisations based in Bedfordshire Military units and formations disestablished in 1961 Regiments of the British Army in World War II