The Pembroke Yeomanry was a regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

formed in 1794. It saw action 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 South ...

, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 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 ...

. Its lineage is maintained by 224 (Pembroke Yeomanry) Transport Squadron, part of 157 (Welsh) Regiment RLC.

History

Formation and early history

The regiment was originally formed by Lord Milford as part of the response to the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

in 1794. The Prime Minister,

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

, proposed that the

English Counties The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the country. One troop was formed at Castlemartin on 22 April 1794, and then four more formed the Pembroke Yeomanry Cavalry. Eighty members of the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry were present at the

Massacre of Tranent The Massacre of Tranent took place on 29 August 1797 in the town of Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland. Proclamation On 28 August a proclamation was drawn up by local people to object to the conscription of Scots into the British Militia, to be ...

in Scotland in 1797. In 1797 the French Republican ''

Légion Noire La Légion noire (The Black Legion) was a military unit of the French Revolutionary Army. It took part in what was the unsuccessful last invasion of Britain in February 1797, at the time of writing. The Legion was created on the orders of Genera ...

'' landed off Carregwastad Point, in what would be the

last invasion of Britain The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22–24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign force ...

, only to surrender to a much smaller force including the Pembroke Yeomanry hastily assembled under Lord Cawdor. Two of the French frigates involved were captured and one was re-commissioned in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

as HMS ''Fisgard''. In 1853 Queen Victoria awarded 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 operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

''Fishguard'' upon the Regiment. The unit became the first volunteer unit to receive a battle honour and remains the only unit still serving in the British Army to bear the name of an engagement on British soil. The Yeomanry was reduced to one troop at

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

by 1810. In 1827 the Castlemartin and Haverfordwest troops were officially disbanded, but continued without pay as the Pembroke Yeomanry Cavalry (Castlemartin).

Second Boer War

During the Boer War the Yeomanry provided the 30th (Pembrokeshire) Company of the 9th (Welsh) Battalion of 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 ...

, landing in South Africa in 1900 to fight 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 specially m ...

. After their year's tour of duty a second 30th Company replaced them in 1901; both companies saw considerable action. The mounted infantry experiment was considered a success, and all the existing yeomanry regiments were converted in 1901, the Pembrokeshire unit becoming the Pembroke Imperial Yeomanry (Castlemartin).

Creation of The Territorial Force

The regiment transferred to 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 ...

(TF) in April 1908, dropping the 'Imperial' part of ts ititle. It was placed under orders of the

South Wales Mounted Brigade The South Wales Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After home defence service, it was posted to Egypt, where it was absorbed into the 4th Dismounted Brigade in March 1916. History F ...

. The regiment was based at the Norton in

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

at this time.

First World War

In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ('' 7 Edw. 7, 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 Pembroke Yeomanry

The 1/1st Pembroke Yeomanry was mobilised on 4 August 1914 as part of the

on the outbreak of the

. The brigade was assembled at Hereford and moved to East Anglia by the end of August 1914. It 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 August 1914, replacing 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade which moved to

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, ...

. In November 1915, the brigade was dismounted. It was replaced in 1st Mounted Division by

2/1st Eastern Mounted Brigade E21 may refer to: * BMW E21, an automobile platform * HMS E21 * European route E21 * DRG series E 21, different locomotives of the German National Railroad * E21 - Code that it designates the Astronomical observatory of Norm Roses, Leyburn * E21 - ...

when it departed for Egypt. With the brigade, the regiment was posted to Egypt in March 1916. On arrival a detachment from the regiment formed part of the

Imperial Camel Corps The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...

. On 20 March, South Wales Mounted Brigade was absorbed into the

4th Dismounted Brigade D4, D.IV, d4 or variants may refer to: Science and medicine * 22-Dihydroergocalciferol, vitamin D4 * D4-isoprostane, a type of isoprostane * ATC code D04, ''Antipruritics, including antihistamines, anesthetics, etc.'', a subgroup of the Anatomi ...

(along with the

Welsh Border Mounted Brigade The Welsh Border Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After home defence service, it was posted to Egypt, where it was absorbed into the 4th Dismounted Brigade in March 1916. Formatio ...

). In March 1917 they were re-roled as infantry and together with the

Glamorgan Yeomanry The Glamorgan Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army originally raised in the late 18th century as a result of concern over the threat of invasion by the French. It was re-raised in the Second Boer War and saw service in both the Fi ...

were converted into the 24th (Pembroke & Glamorgan) Battalion,

The Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

. They joined 231st Brigade in 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 Corps. ...

. In May 1918, the Division moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and the battalion saw action on the Western Front. As part of the 74th Yeomanry Division they were involved in the following battles

Second Battle of Gaza The Second Battle of Gaza was fought on 17-19 April 1917, following the defeat of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) at the First Battle of Gaza in March, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Gaza was defended by ...

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

, Battle of Beersheba and the

Battle of Epehy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The 24th Welch entered

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...

on 11 November 1918, only two and a half hours before hostilities ceased.

2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry

The 2nd Line regiment was formed in 1914. Early in 1915 it joined the 2/1st South Wales Mounted Brigade at

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

and later moved to

Llandilo Llandilo is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 54 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney ...

and Dorchester. In September 1915, it moved with the brigade to the

Yoxford Yoxford is a village in East Suffolk, England, close to the Heritage Coast, Minsmere Reserve (RSPB), Aldeburgh and Southwold. It is known for its antique shops and (as "Loxford") for providing the setting for a Britten opera. The name 'Yoxfor ...

area and joined the

. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became 4th Mounted Brigade. The regiment was based at

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

during the raid by Admiral Boedicker's battle cruisers on Lowestoft in 1916. 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 Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

and as a consequence the regiment was dismounted and the brigade converted to 2nd Cyclist Brigade (and the division to 1st Cyclist Division). Further reorganization in November 1916 saw the regiment departing for the 1st Cyclist Brigade where it was amalgamated with the 2/1st Glamorgan Yeomanry as the 2nd (Pembroke and Glamorgan) Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment. The regiment resumed its separate identity as 2/1st Pembroke Yeomanry in March 1917 at

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...

. It moved to Benacre in July and to Lowestoft at the end of the year. It was still at Lowestoft in 1st Cyclist Brigade at the end of the war.

3/1st Pembroke Yeomanry

The 3rd Line regiment was formed at

in 1915 and moved to

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

. In the summer of 1915 it was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment in Ireland. In the summer of 1916 it was attached to the 3rd Line Groups of the Welsh Division at Oswestry as its 1st Line was serving as infantry. The regiment was disbanded in early 1917 with personnel transferring to the 2nd Line or to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion of the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

at Milford Haven.

Between the Wars

The Pembroke Yeomanry was reformed on 7 February 1920. However, when the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) the following year, only the 14 senior Yeomanry Regiments remained as horsed cavalry regiments (6 forming the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th Cavalry Brigades); the remainder were re-roled in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The Pembroke Yeomanry became the 102nd (Pembroke and Cardigan) Brigade, RFA with the following organisation:Litchfield, p. 203. * HQ at The Barracks,

* 405 (Pembroke) Battery at Bush Camp, Pembroke Dock * 406 (Pembroke) Battery (Howitzer) at

* 407 (Cardigan) Battery at Cardigan * 408 (Cardigan) Battery at Aberystwyth In 1924 the RFA was subsumed into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA), and the unit was redesignated as an 'Army Field Brigade, RA', serving as 'Army Troops' in 53rd (Welsh) Divisional Area. There were further minor changes in title: in 1937 'Cardigan' became 'Cardiganshire' and in 1938 RA 'brigades' became 'regiments'. After the

Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

the TA was doubled in size, and the 102nd Field Regiment was split in 1939, the Pembroke batteries remaining with the parent regiment, and the Cardiganshire batteries forming a new 146th Field Regiment. In 1942 the latter was officially designated 146th (Pembroke and Cardiganshire) Field Regiment, which did not reflect the actual split.

Second World War

102nd Regiment, Royal Artillery

The 102nd Field Regiment landed at Algiers in February 1943 as part of the

British First Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. F ...

. After the fall of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and the end of the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

they converted into 102nd (Pembroke Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA, and landed in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

with the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

, in December 1943. They fought in the Italian Campaign and by the end of the war they were on the banks of the

River Po The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...

The_British_Army_in_the_United_Kingdom_1939-45_H15593

146th Regiment, Royal Artillery

Having reformed as field artillery between the wars, the Pembroke Yeomanry's Cardiganshire Battery became a separate regiment at the start of the Second World War. The 146th Field Regiment landed at

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

in September 1942, joining the Eighth Army and participated in the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

, as part of the 7th Armoured Division's Artillery Group. When 7th Armoured returned to England from Italy in 1944 to prepare for the

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

, the regiment was also converted to medium artillery as 146th (Pembroke and Cardiganshire) Medium Regiment, RA. The Regiment returned to

with

8th Army Group Royal Artillery 8th Army Group Royal Artillery (8 AGRA) was a brigade-sized formation organised by Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II to command medium and heavy guns. It served in the campaign in North West Europe, participating in the battles ...

in July 1944 for the first time since the end of World War I. It participated in

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 ...

and fought throughout the campaign in North West Europe crossed the Rhine into Germany in March the following year having acquired, from its badges, the nickname of the 'Fishguard Express'.

Post war

In 1946 the Pembroke Yeomanry received the Freedom of the Town and County of

. The unit was re-formed as the 302nd (Pembroke Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, in 1947 and absorbed the Pembroke batteries of the 408th (Glamorgan and Pembroke) Coast Regiment, RA, in 1956. 289–322 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 onwards.
/ref> In 1961 the regiment re-roled again as an independent reconnaissance squadron in 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 ...

as The Pembroke Yeomanry, affiliated to the

Shropshire Yeomanry The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It ...

. It was re-constituted as A Troop (Pembroke Yeomanry), 224 (South Wales) Squadron, 157 (Wales and Midlands) Transport Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport in 1967 and expanded to squadron size as 224 (West Wales) Transport Squadron, 157th (Wales and Midlands) Regiment, RCT in 1969. It was re-designated as 224 (Pembroke Yeomanry) Transport Squadron in 1993. It remains part of 157 (Welsh) Regiment RLC, an

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

unit.

Uniforms and insignia

The parade and walking out uniform of the Pembroke Yeomanry worn prior to World War I, consisted of a dark blue peaked cap, tunic and overalls (tight cavalry trousers). The Prince of Wales's feather crest was worn as insignia on both cap and collar. Cap band, shoulder straps and trouser stripe were white. Officers were distinguished by silver shoulder cords and white pouch belts. The plain khaki service dress of the regular cavalry was worn from 1908 onwards, replacing the blue uniform for all occasions after 1914. The service dress was in turn replaced by battle dress, or other standard British Army uniforms during and after World War II.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Anon, ''British Army of the Rhine Battlefield Tour: Operation Bluecoat'', Germany: BAOR, 1947/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-78331-812-4. * * * * * 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

*
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth – Regiments.org (archive site)

British Army units from 1945 on
{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I Military units and formations established in 1794 Pembroke Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations in Wales Military units and formations in Pembrokeshire Regiments of the British Army in World War II