The Bedfordshire 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 ...

. Serving intermittently between 1797 and 1827, it was re-raised in 1901 for 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 ...

. It participated in 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 ...

before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in 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 ...

(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 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 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 ...

decided in 1794 to increase the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

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

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

s. 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 Black Week refers to the week of 10–17 December 1899 during the Second Boer War, when the British Army suffered three devastating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso. In total, 2,776 British s ...

in December 1899, the British government realized it was going to need more troops than just the regular army, thus issuing a Royal Warrant on 24 December 1899. 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 su ...

. 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

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

s, 10,371 men with 20

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s and 4

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, which arrived in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

between February and April 1900. The 28th (Bedfordshire) Company of the 4th Battalion,

(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 ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. 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 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 ...

, trained and equipped as lancers. The regiment was based at Ashburnham Road in

at this time (since demolished). The regiment's organisation was: It was ranked as 48th (of 55) in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

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, 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 Bedfordshire Yeomanry

At the outbreak of the

, 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 London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

until June 1915. On 12 June 1915, it joined the 9th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in

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 ...

, 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 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 Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

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, ...

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 and 19th 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 The 61st (2nd South Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1915 during the Great War as a second-line reserve for the first-line battalions of the 48th (South Midland) Division. The division was sent to the W ...

in the

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

area. In June 1916, it joined the 16th Mounted Brigade of the 4th Mounted Division in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. 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, ...

joined 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

* 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 ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

* C Squadron joined 68th (2nd Welsh) Division 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 ...

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 ...

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

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 ...

. It remained in the United Kingdom until July 1917 when it was absorbed into 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 5 August 1920, the Regiment was transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (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

. 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 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 ...

as 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) (Army) Field Brigade, RA. Then, on 1 November 1938, as artillery brigades 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 Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, 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 The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front (WWII), Western Front has als ...

from June 1944 as part of 5th

AGRA Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

. It was disbanded in the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

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 Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 1 June 1941. The regiment was transferred to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

with its division, arriving just before the

Fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

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, 100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery in 1967. Under

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

, 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 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 ...

: ;First World War Somme 1916 '18, Flers-Courcelette,

Cambrai 1917 Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Esc ...

'18,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, Albert 1918,

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

St Quentin Canal The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much long ...

Beaurevoir Beaurevoir is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also * Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The commu ...

Pursuit to Mons Pursuit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Pursuit'' (1935 film), a 1935 American action film * ''Pursuit'' (1972 American film), a made-for-TV film directed by Michael Crichton * ''Pursuit'' (1972 Hong Kong film), a Shaw Brot ...

, France and Flanders 1915–18 ;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 William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

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 th ...

collar,

piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accompan ...

and trouser stripes. The headdress was a blue peaked cap with white lancer 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