The 17th Mounted Brigade previously known as the 2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade was a 2nd Line
yeomanry brigade of the
British Army during the
First World War. In July 1916 it was converted to a
cyclist formation as 10th Cyclist Brigade and in November 1916 was redesignated as 6th Cyclist Brigade. It was still in existence, in Ireland, at the end of the war.
Mounted Brigade
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, 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.
Similarly, by 1915 most 2nd Line yeomanry regiments were formed into 2nd Line mounted brigades with the same title and composition as the pre-war 1st Line formations. Two other 2nd Line brigades (
2/1st Southern Mounted Brigade and
2/1st Western Mounted Brigade
The W21 was an hydrogen bomb design for the US military. It would have used the physics package of the TX-21 bomb. The TX-21 was a weaponized version of the "Shrimp" device tested in the Bravo shot of Operation Castle. A TX-21C was tested as th ...
) without 1st Line antecedents were also formed.
2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade was a mirror formation of the 1st Line
Welsh Border Mounted Brigade.
[ It was formed in the Newcastle area of Northumberland in January 1915]Brigadier-General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
M.O. Little.[ It had under command the 2/1st Shropshire Yeomanry,]2/1st Cheshire Yeomanry
The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineage i ...
,[ and was placed under the command of the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division.][
On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became 17th Mounted Brigade, still in Northumberland under Northern Command.][
In April 1916, the brigade 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 three ...
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 ...
[ where it replaced its 1st Line which had departed (dismounted) for Egypt.]ASC ASC may refer to:
Educational institutions
* Anglican Schools Commission, Australia
* Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines
* Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia
Organizations Australia
* Australian Singing ...
.Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, North East England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington, Northumberland, Ashington and Bedlington, Northumberland, Bedlington. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ...
area.[
]
Cyclist Brigade
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[ and as a consequence the brigade was converted to 10th Cyclist Brigade.][ Further reorganization in October and November 1916 saw the brigade redesignated as 6th Cyclist Brigade in November, still in the Morpeth area.][ At this time the 2/1st Denbighshire Yeomanry departed for the 1st Cyclist Brigade at Beccles in ]Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
where it was amalgamated with the 2/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry
The Montgomeryshire Yeomanry was a Welsh auxiliary unit of the British Army first formed in 1803. It served in home defence and for internal security, including deployments to deal with Chartist disturbances in the 1830s. It provided volunteers ...
as the 3rd (Montgomery and Denbigh Yeomanry) Cyclist Battalion.[ It was replaced by the 2/1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, which was stationed at Ashington.][ In July, 2/1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry][ and 2/1st Cheshire Yeomanry moved to Acklington.][
Early in 1918 the Brigade moved to Ireland and was stationed at the Curragh.][ It was joined there by the 2/1st Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry and the 2/1st Essex Yeomanry.][James, p. 78.] There were no further changes before the end of the war.
See also
* Welsh Border Mounted Brigade for the 1st Line formation
* British yeomanry during the First World War
The British yeomanry during the First World War were part of the British Army reserve Territorial Force. Initially, in 1914, there were fifty-seven regiments and fourteen mounted brigades. Soon after the declaration of war, second and third line ...
* Second line yeomanry regiments of the British Army
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* {{cite book
, last = Rinaldi , first = Richard A
, year = 2008
, title = Order of Battle of the British Army 1914
, publisher = Ravi Rikhye
, isbn = 978-0-97760728-0
Cyclist units and formations of the British Army
Mounted Brigades of the British Army
Military units and formations established in 1915
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918