The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

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 conscripted ...

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 as

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

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 ...

. It served 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 Sout ...

, 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 opposin ...

before being reduced to squadron level in 1956. It ceased to have a separate existence in 1971.

History

Formation and early history

In 1793, 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 A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

to subdue any civil disorder within the country. The regiment was originally formed as the Northamptonshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1794 but it was disbanded in 1828. It was raised again as independent troops in 1830 but disbanded again in 1873.

Second Boer War

A Northamptonshire Imperial Yeomanry regiment was formed during the Second Boer War. The regiment was based at

Clare Street Clare Street may refer to: * Clare Street, Dublin * Clare Street, Bristol, an extension of Corn Street Corn Street, together with Broad Street, Wine Street and High Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the Bristol High Cro ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

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 Territori ...

('' 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 i ...

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 Northamptonshire Yeomanry

On mobilisation in August 1914, the 1st Line 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 ...

, which was part of 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 November 1914, the regiment moved 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 ...

with the

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Rep ...

. It remained with the 8th Division until April 1915, when it was split up: :Regimental HQ and B

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, ...

joined the 6th Division :A Squadron joined the 4th Division :C Squadron joined the 5th Division. This lasted until May 1916, when the Regiment re-formed, becoming the 6th Corps' Cavalry Regiment. In November 1917, it moved to

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 re ...

, becoming 14th Corps' Cavalry.

2/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry

The 2nd Line regiment was formed in September 1914. In November 1915, the regiment joined the

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North ...

. In April 1916, the regiment began to split up, with the RHQ and A Squadron joining the 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. One Squadron was attached to the

67th (2nd Home Counties) Division The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recruit ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in October 1916. During the following winter, the remaining squadron went to

, where it was absorbed into the Tank Corps around August 1917. Of the two squadrons remaining in the United Kingdom, one was absorbed into the

6th 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 r ...

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

in March 1917, the other was disbanded.

3/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry

The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in the summer it was affiliated to the

3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment Seventeen Cavalry Reserve Regiments were formed by the British Army on the outbreak of the World War I, Great War in August, 1914. These were affiliated with one or more active Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiments, their purpos ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. Early in 1917, it was absorbed in the 6th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Tidworth.

Between the wars

On 7 February 1920, the regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ at the Old Militia Barracks in Clare St,

. It was initially established with three Squadrons. 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 1 March 1922, the regiment was one of eight converted and reduced to 7th (Northamptonshire) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps. In 1922, it was renumbered as 25th (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps, in October 1923 as 25th (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) 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 the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

, and in April 1939 it was transferred to 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 A ...

. In November 1938, the formation of a Mechanised Cavalry Brigade (TA) was announced, to comprise three Cavalry Light Tank Regiments. The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was selected to form part of this Brigade and ordered to expand to full Regimental status. By early 1939, Regimental Headquarters and "A" Squadron were based at Northampton, with "B" Squadron at Daventry and "C" Squadron at Brackley. This expansion coincided with the decision to increase the Territorial Army by forming duplicates of existing TA units. 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. As a result of this move, the Northamptonshire Yeomanry was divided in May 1939 to form two Cavalry Light Tank Regiments: :1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (TA) - Regimental Headquarters and "A" Sqn at Northampton, "B" Sqn at Daventry and "C" Sqn at Brackley. :2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry (TA) - Regimental Headquarters and "A" Sqn at Northampton, "B" and "C" Sqns at Kettering. Both Regiments formed part of 20th Light Armoured Brigade (TA) and were mobilised on 1 September 1939. A nominal 4th NY was formed later.

Second World War

1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry

In 1944, as a part of the 33rd Armoured Brigade, the unit participated in the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, landing on

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

on 6 June. The brigade also included the 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry and the 144 Regiment RAC. The Brigade's role was infantry support, therefore it rarely fought as an entity. One of the occasions when the Brigade did undertake an operation on its own was at Le Mesnil-Patry, Rots on 11 June 1944. Further battles they were involved in were around

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Operation Charnwood Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy) in the Second World War. The operation was int ...

on 7 July, the battle to capture Caen. On 16 July 1944, it was involved in Operation Pomegranate, where it come under the command of the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division. On 8 August 1944, it was involved in

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

, a breakout from the Caen Salient. It was during Operation Totalize that Joe Ekins, a

Sherman Tank } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It w ...

gunner of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, gained recognition for being the man who possibly killed the renowned German tank commander,

Michael Wittmann Michael Wittmann (22 April 19148 August 1944) was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. He is known for his ambush of elements of the British 7th Armored Division during the Battle of Villers-Bocage on 13 June 1944. Whil ...

, the 4th top scoring tank ace in history, near

Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Le Castelet. Population Personalities This village is known as ...

.After the battle, Issue 48, Pg 50Tout, Fine Night For TanksTout, Fine By Tank D to VE DayReid, Pg 424
Lord Boardman letter to Radley-Walters, 13 June 1999Hart, Pg 52-69 The regiment was briefly attached to 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 ...

for the actions around the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. The regiment was re-formed and re-equipped with LVT 4 Buffalo amphibious armoured fighting vehicles for the

Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...

the Rhine crossing and was placed under the command of 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 Hob ...

2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry

After leaving the 20th Armoured Brigade in 1943, the 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry was converted to an Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment and assigned to the 11th Armoured Division. The regiment landed in

in June 1944. In August, it was disbanded and its members were drafted to other regiments.

4th Northamptonshire Yeomanry

The 4th "regiment" was formed as a deception unit. It constructed and moved

dummy tank Dummy tanks superficially resemble real tanks and are often deployed as a means of military deception in the absence of real tanks. Early designs included wooden shells and inflatable props that could fool enemy intelligence; they were fragile and ...

s in order to deceive the enemy as to the disposition and strength of British armour.

Post-War

The 1st and 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry (TA) were both demobilised by 1946 and for a short period remained in a state of suspended animation. Then, on 1 January 1947, the TA was reconstituted, the 1st and 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry were amalgamated and re-formed as The Northamptonshire Yeomanry, RAC (TA). Reorganisations of the TA in 1956 resulted in the Regiment being reduced to a single squadron as "D" (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Squadron, part of the

Inns of Court Regiment The Inns of Court Regiment (ICR) was a British Army regiment that existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on today within 68 (Inns of Cour ...

, RAC (TA). This state of affairs lasted until April 1961, when "D" Squadron was transferred to the Corps of Royal Engineers and reorganised to form 250th (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Independent Field Squadron, RE (TA). When the TA was reorganised into the Territorial & Army Volunteer Reserve (T&AVR) in April 1967, the Northamptonshire Yeomanry formed a successor unit as "A" (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Company, The Northamptonshire Regiment Territorials. It continued the traditions of the old Regiment until 1969, when the Northamptonshire Yeomanry was reduced to a cadre. In 1971, the cadre was reconstituted as part of the

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

and the Northamptonshire Yeomanry lineage discontinued.

Uniform and insignia

Upon establishment in February 1902 the regiment was issued with the new khaki uniform then being introduced as service dress for the British Army as a whole. The regimental distinctions for the Northamptonshire Yeomanry included pale blue ("cornflower")

facings A facing colour is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.René Chartrand, William Younghusba ...

and piping, plus a cap and collar badge comprising a galloping white horse. This insignia had been part of that worn by the earlier Northamptonshire Yeomanry in the 1830-45 period. By 1905 a more elaborate dark blue

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

style uniform with plumed white-metal helmet had been adopted for officers as review order. Braiding on the tunic was silver, as were the shoulder and waist belts. The rank and file wore simpler blue patrols for parade and walking-out dress. All ranks retained the cornflower blue for facings.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* * {{British Cavalry Regiments World War I

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations in Northamptonshire Military units and formations established in 1794 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946