The Berkshire Yeomanry was a part time 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 to counter the threat of invasion during 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 ...
. It was the
Royal County of Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
's senior volunteer unit with over 200 years of voluntary military service. After taking part 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 ...
, it saw action as mounted troops 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 ...
and as artillery (145th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery) 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 opposi ...
. Its lineage is maintained by 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron, part of
39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment. The Headquarters of the Squadron is based in
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
,
Berkshire. The Berkshire Yeomanry had a number of
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 ...
won from Europe to the Far East and Private
Frederick Potts was awarded a
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for service during the
Gallipoli Campaign.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
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 first
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 Tr ...
raised in Berkshire was the
Abingdon Yeomanry on 10 April 1794. Other corps followed so that eight were in existence by the end of 1800:
[Tylden, ''Yeomanry''.]
/ref>[Lord & Watson, pp. 187–9.]
* Abingdon Yeomanry, raised 10 April 1794
* Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
Cavalry, raised 3 July 1794 – ''probably absorbed by Woodley corps 1798''
* Newbury Association Cavalry ( Donnington), raised 23 April 1798
* Woodley Cavalry, raised 11 May 1798 – ''two troops, probably absorbing Reading corps; reduced to one troop 1799''
* Thatcham
Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London.
Geography
Thatcham straddles t ...
Association Cavalry, raised 24 May 1798
* Hungerford
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
Association Cavalry, raised 1 June 1798
* Maidenhead United Cavalry Association, raised June 1798
* Loyal Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
Cavalry, raised 30 September 1800
When the Fencible and Provisional cavalry regiments (full-time home defence troops) were disbanded in 1800, Sir Morris Ximenes
Sir Morris Ximenes (1762–1837), also known as Moses Ximenes, was a captain in the British Army and Berkshire landowner who had converted to Anglicanism from Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ...
of Bear Place, at Hare Hatch
Hare Hatch is a village in Berkshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Ruscombe. According to the Post Office the majority of the population at the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Wargrave. The settlement lies near to th ...
near Wargrave
Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...
, and some of his fellow officers of the Windsor Foresters (5th Fencible Cavalry) offered to raise another part-time 'Troop of Gentlemen Cavalry' in Berkshire, which became the Wargrave Rangers on 21 March 1800.[Cormack.]
The brief Peace of Amiens in 1802 saw a number of corps disbanding, to be re-raised in 1803 with the resumption of hostilities.[
* Abingdon Yeomanry, service renewed 31 August 1802
* Donnington and Newbury Cavalry, reformed 22 August 1803
* Woodley Cavalry, service renewed 8 October 1802
* Thatcham Volunteer Cavalry, reformed 24 February 1803
* Hungerford Yeomanry, reformed 30 September 1803
* Maidenhead Cavalry, reformed 13 October 1803
* Loyal Windsor Cavalry, service renewed 30 September 1802
* Wargrave Cavalry, reformed 22 March1803
* ]Aldermaston
Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingsto ...
Cavalry, raised 13 August 1803
* Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway N ...
Cavalry, two troops raised 3 September 1803
Sir Morris Ximenes offered to raise and pay for an additional corps of volunteer infantry to be attached to the Wargrave troop, with wagons to travel in; it is not known if this proposal was taken up.[
In 1804, five troops in the north and west of the county – Abingdon, Donnington with Newbury, Hungerford, and the Vale of White Horse (two troops) – were regimented as the Western or 1st Berkshire Cavalry under the command of ]Lieutenant-Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...
the Hon Charles Dundas, MP, former commanding officer of the Berkshire Provisional Cavalry. An attempt the following year to regiment the Maidenhead, Windsor, Woodley (including Reading) and Wargrave troops was unsuccessful. The Aldermaston, Thatcham and Windsor Troops were disbanded in 1807, followed by the Maidenhead in 1809.[
In late 1813, with the war drawing to a close, the remaining independent troops were invited to amalgamate with the 1st Berkshire Cavalry; the Woodley Troop joined while the Wargrave Rangers disbanded early in 1814, the officers having retired.][ However, the 1st Berkshire Cavalry maintained a troop at Wargrave from 1817 to 1820, after which the Woodley and Wargrave troops joined the Eastern Berkshire Yeomanry Cavalry raised on 14 January 1820 by Major Payn of the new Maidenhead Troop.][
]
19th Century
After the Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
the Yeomanry were kept in being in 'for Military Service in aid of the Civil Power' in the absence of organised police forces
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
,
case of civil disorder. Government support for the Yeomanry was withdrawn in 1828 and many corps were disbanded;[ the 1st Berkshire Regiment was disbanded in January 1828 and the Eastern Regiment in April.][
However, just two years later a wave of unrest swept the country and the government restored Yeomanry pay for drills and periods of service in aid of the civil power. Four independent troops of yeomanry were re-formed in Berkshire in 1831:][
* Hungerford
* Newbury with ]Welford Park Welford may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* Welford National Park
;England
*Welford, Berkshire
**RAF Welford
** Welford Park
*Welford, Northamptonshire
**Welford Reservoir
**Welford Road Stadium
Welford Road (currently known as Mattioli Woods ...
* Vale of White Horse
* Woolley
These had dwindled to just the Hungerford Troop by 1838. This was increased to two troops by 1852, three in 1853 and four by 1874. About 1847 the unit adopted the title of Royal Berkshire Yeomanry Cavalry; although there is no evidence of official permission for the 'Royal' title, it remained in use until 1902. The official title was Berkshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry (Hungerford). On 1 April 1893, the troops were reorganised into two squadrons.[
Following the Cardwell Reforms a mobilisation scheme began to appear in the ''Army List'' from December 1875. This assigned Regular and Yeomanry units places in an order of battle of corps, divisions and brigades for the 'Active Army', even though these formations were entirely theoretical, with no staff appointed. The Berkshire Yeomanry were assigned as 'divisional troops' to 1st Division of II Corps based 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 Alder ...
, alongside Regular units of infantry, artillery and engineers. This was never more than a paper organisation, but by 1899 the Berkshire Yeomanry together with the Middlesex Yeomanry
The Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in World War I at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its offic ...
formed the 1st Yeomanry Brigade. In the 1890s the regimental headquarters (RHQ) moved from Hungerford to Reading.[''Army List'', various dates.]
Imperial Yeomanry
Following a 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 early December 1899, the British government realised that it would need more troops than just the regular army to fight 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 ...
. On 13 December, the decision to allow volunteer forces to serve in South Africa was made, and a Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December. This 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 s ...
(IY). The force was organised as county service companies of approximately 115 men signed up for one year, and volunteers from the Yeomanry and civilians (usually middle and upper class) quickly filled the new force, which was equipped to operate 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 ...
. Although there were strict requirements, many volunteers were accepted with substandard horsemanship or marksmanship and had little time to train before arriving in South Africa.[Dunlop, pp. 104–18.][IY at Anglo Boer War.]
/ref> The first contingent of recruits contained 550 officers
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 ...
, 10,371 men in 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 a ...
s of 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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
between February and April, 1900.
The Berkshire Yeomanry raised the 39th and 58th (Berkshire) Companies, which landed in South Africa on 28 February and 4 April 1900 and served in 10th and 15th Battalions, IY, respectively, alongside Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire companies (10th Bn was commanded by Lord Chesham of the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry). Upon arrival, the battalions were sent throughout the zone of operations.[Amery (1909), Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14.][Boer War Notes at Roll of Honour.]
/ref>[White, p. 7.]
Chesham's 10th Bn IY was attached to 1st Division under the command of Lord Methuen and Chesham became Brigadier-General of the division's mounted troops. On 5 April Methuen learned of the presence of a small Boer Commando
The Boer Commandos or "Kommandos" were volunteer military units of guerilla militia organized by the Boer people of South Africa. From this came the term "commando" into the English language during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 as per Costica ...
led by the French Comte de Villebois-Mareuil and ordered Chesham's IY and other mounted troops to saddle up at once. The force caught the commando, pinned it with a few rounds of artillery fire, and then advanced by small rushes on both flanks, the IY taking the left flank. De Villebois-Mareuil was killed and his men surrendered. The Battle of Boshof
The Battle of Boshof was a battle fought during the Second Boer War on 5 April 1900 between British forces and mostly French volunteers of the Boer army.Jaques p. 155
Events Background
Following the Battle of Paardeberg (18–27 February), the ...
was the first action for the new IY, but with little field training, only a brief musketry course, and few officers, they 'acted like veteran troops'. Methuen was 'much struck by the intelligent manner in which they carried out the attack and made use of cover'.[
By May 1900 both the 10th and 15th Bns IY were serving in Methuen's Column, which quickly became known as the 'Mobile Marvels'. On 14 May Methuen marched on ]Hoopstad
The key town of Hoopstad is situated at the intersection of the R34, R59 & R700 in the Free State Province. This area is considered to be the richest maize-producing district in South Africa. The town is located near the Bloemhof Dam which i ...
and then continued into Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
protecting the flank of Lord Roberts' main army. Methuen's column reached Bothaville
Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State (South African province), Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, ...
on 24 May, but Roberts became concerned about his communications, so Methuen was switched to protecting the rear, and marched to Kroonstad
Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...
, where the column arrived on 28 May, having completed a march of in 15 days over poor roads. On 30 May, Metheun was informed that the 13th (Irish) Bn IY was cut off at Lindley, and he rode with his own IY battalions to relieve them, covering in 24 hours. The mounted column had a five-hour fight to force its way past 3000 Boers led by Christiaan de Wet. Most of the force in Lindley had already surrendered, but 5th and 10th Bns IY under Lt-Col George Younghusband
Major General Sir George John Younghusband, (9 July 1859 – 30 September 1944) was a cavalry officer and major-general in the British Indian Army.
Younghusband was commissioned into the 17th Foot in 1878. He later transferred to the British ...
were able to free a number of the prisoners. Methuen then pushed on to relieve 9th Division, which was besieged at Heilbron
Heilbron is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa which services the cattle, dairy, sorghum, sunflower and maize industries. Raw stock beneficiation occurs in leisure foods, dairy products and stock feeds. It also se ...
, completing a march of in under a month.[
Methuen's Column now took part in the pursuit of de Wet's force south down the railway towards Kroonstad, beginning with a sharp action at Rhenoster River on 24 June. The 'Great de Wet Hunt' began in earnest in August. On 6 August Methuen set out with 5th and !0th Bns IY, some infantry and artillery to catch the Boer commander at Scandinavia Drift, switching to Schoeman's Drift when better intelligence arrived. De Wet and half his force had got across the drift before Methuen arrived, but the rearguard was cleared and the column pressed forward. Methuen sent Chesham and the IY towards Frederikstad to cut off de Wet, but after their long march the day before the yeomanry could not keep up with the Boers.
The Great de Wet Hunt by numerous British columns continued through August and September, with Methuen personally leading a column including the 1st Yeomanry Brigade under Chesham. Methuen drove his force on with little rest, to Welverdiend Pass and Taaibosch Spruit, then to Frederikstad. On 12 August the column engaged the Boers at Mooi River Bridge for four hours, capturing guns and wagons and freeing British prisoners. Methuen's column had covered in six days, driving de Wet towards the Olifant's Nek pass, which Methuen believed was blocked by other columns. On the night of 13/14 August his troops set out to catch the Boers, engaging them at Buffelshoek about from the pass. However, the Boers escaped through the pass, which had not been blocked. With his troops exhausted, Methuen had to call off the pursuit.
Drives to catch the remaining commandos went on for almost another two years. The First Contingent of the Imperial Yeomanry completed their year's term of service in 1901 and were replaced by a Second Contingent. The two Berkshire companies, in which 600 men of all ranks of the Berkshire Yeomanry had served by the end of the war, earned the regiment its first ]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 ...
: South Africa 1900–01.[
The Imperial Yeomanry were trained and equipped as mounted infantry. The concept was considered a success and before the war ended the existing Yeomanry regiments at home were converted into Imperial Yeomanry, with an establishment of HQ and four squadrons with a machine gun section. This included the Berkshire (Hungerford) Imperial Yeomanry (Dragoons), renamed on 17 April 1901.][
]
Territorial Force
On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed for the final time as the Berkshire (Hungerford) 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 ...
, trained and equipped as dragoons. Its organisation was:[
It was ranked as 26th (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 ('' 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 ...
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 Berkshire Yeomanry
The regiment was mobilized with its brigade on 4 August 1914 upon the outbreak of 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 ...
. Initially, it concentrated in Berkshire and on 5 August 1914 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 ...
. On 2 September it was transferred to the 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, ...
and in mid November 1914 it moved with its division to Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
on coastal defence duties.
In April 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division moved to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
arriving at Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
between 19 and 21 April and was posted to Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
by the middle of May. The regiment was dismounted in August 1915 and took part in the Gallipoli Campaign. It left 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, ...
headquarters and two 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 Tr ...
s (about 100 officers and men) in Egypt to look after the horses.
They landed at "A" Beach, Suvla Bay on 18 August and moved into bivouacs at Lala Baba on 20 August. On 21 August it advanced to Chocolate Hill via Salt Lake and Hetman Chair and took part in the attack on Scimitar Hill.[ Due to losses during the ]Battle of Scimitar Hill
The Battle of Scimitar Hill ( Turkish: Yusufçuk Tepe Muharebesi, literally: ''Battle of the Dragonfly Hill'') was the last offensive mounted by the British at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. It was also the largest single-d ...
and wastage during August 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division had to be reorganised. On 4 September 1915, the 1st Composite Mounted Brigade
The 1st Composite Mounted BrigadeDespite the name, the brigade was dismouted throughout its existence. was a formation of the British Army in World War I. It was formed by the 2nd Mounted Division during the Gallipoli Campaign on 4 September 191 ...
was formed from the 1st (1st South Midland), 2nd (2nd South Midland) and 5th (Yeomanry) Mounted Brigades. Each brigade formed a battalion sized unit, for example, ''2nd South Midland Regiment'' and each regiment a sub-unit. The brigade embarked for Mudros
Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...
on 31 October and returned to Egypt in December 1915 where its component units were reformed and remounted.[
The brigade left the 2nd Mounted Division on 17 January 1916 and was sent to the Western Frontier of Egypt as an independent formation.] On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were numbered in a single sequence. As a consequence, the 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade was redesignated as 6th Mounted Brigade
The 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 6th Mounted Brigade) was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.
It served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign before being remounte ...
. The brigade served with the Western Frontier Force
The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on ...
from January to October 1916. It joined the newly formed Imperial Mounted Division
The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, Australian Light Horse, light horse and yeomanry division (military), division. The division was formed in Egypt, and alon ...
in January 1917 and took part in the First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second Battles of Gaza.
The complete brigade was transferred to the newly formed Yeomanry Mounted Division on 27 June 1917, joining it at el Maraqeb. From 31 October it took part in the 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 ...
, including the Battle of Beersheba and the Capture of the Sheria Position. It took part in the Battle of Mughar Ridge
The Battle of Mughar Ridge, officially known by the British as the action of El Mughar, took place on 13 November 1917 during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Figh ...
on 13 and 14 November and the Battle of Nebi Samwil
The Battle of Nebi Samwil, (17–24 November 1917), was fought during the decisive British Empire victory at the Battle of Jerusalem between the forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Empire's Yildirim Army Group during the S ...
from 17 to 24 November. From 27 to 29 November, it withstood the Turkish counter-attacks during the Capture of Jerusalem.
In March 1918, the 1st Indian Cavalry Division
The 1st Indian Cavalry Division was a division of the British Indian Army which was formed at the outbreak of the First World War. It served on the Western Front, and was renamed the 4th Cavalry Division on 26 November 1916. In March 1918, the ...
was broken up in France. The British units (notably 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...
, 17th Lancers
The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lance ...
, 1/1st Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons
The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role ...
and A, Q and U Batteries RHA) remained in France and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt. By an Egyptian Expeditionary Force
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...
GHQ Order of 12 April 1918, the mounted troops of the EEF were reorganised when the Indian Army units arrived in theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. On 24 April 1918, the Yeomanry Mounted Division was ''indianized'' and its title was changed to 1st Mounted Division, the third distinct division to bear this title. On 24 April 1918, the 6th Mounted Brigade was merged with elements of the 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade: the Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars and the Berkshire Yeomanry left the brigade on 4 April and were merged to form C Battalion, Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...
. They were replaced by 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
The 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) is one of the oldest and a highly decorated armoured regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of two of the oldest regiments of the Bengal Army – the 2nd Royal Lancers (Gardner' ...
and 38th King George's Own Central India Horse from 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade.[
C Battalion, MGC was posted to France, arriving on 28 June 1918. In August 1918 it was renumbered] as 101st (Bucks. & Berks. Yeo.) Battalion, Machine Gun Corps. They remained on the Western Front for the rest of the war. At the Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
, it was serving as Army Troops with the Second Army.
2/1st Berkshire Yeomanry
The 2nd Line regiment was formed at Reading in September 1914. By March 1915 it was with 2/2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade
The slash is the oblique slanting line punctuation mark . Also known as a stroke, a solidus or several other historical or technical names including oblique and virgule. Once used to mark periods and commas, the slash is now used to represe ...
in 2/2nd Mounted Division
The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad o ...
and was at King's Lynn in Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence;[ the brigade was numbered as ]11th Mounted Brigade
The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad o ...
and the division as 3rd Mounted Division
The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad o ...
.[
In July 1916, the regiment was converted 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 in 8th Cyclist Brigade, 2nd Cyclist 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 ...
, and was stationed in the Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
area of 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 September 1916 it moved to the Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
area of Suffolk. In November 1916, the division was broken up and regiment was merged with the 2/1st Hampshire Yeomanry to form 11th (Hampshire and Berkshire) Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment in 4th Cyclist Brigade. In March 1917 it resumed its identity as 2/1st Berkshire Yeomanry and by July 1917 it was at Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two ...
. About January 1918 it went to Ireland with the 4th Cyclist Brigade and was stationed at Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
and Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
until the end of the war.[
]
3/1st Berkshire Yeomanry
The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915; in the summer it was affiliated to the 7th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at 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 ...
. Early in 1917 it 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 ...
at Tidworth.[
]
Interwar
On 7 February 1920, the Regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ still at Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
. 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 22 June 1921, the Regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry
The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry is an Operational Hygiene Squadron of the Royal Logistic Corps, originally formed as cavalry in 1794, and has also served in artillery and signals roles. The lineage is continued by 710 (Royal Buckinghamshire Hu ...
and simultaneously transferred to 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 ...
to form 99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire) Brigade, RFA with HQ at Aylesbury.[
The two yeomanry regiments retained their own identities and badges within the amalgamated unit,] with each providing two batteries. The Berkshire Yeomanry formed 395 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery at Reading and 396 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery at Newbury.[
The brigade / regiment underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of 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 ...
. In February 1922 it regained its yeomanry title as ''99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA''. Another title change came in June 1924 as the Royal Field Artillery was reamalgamated 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 ...
and it became ''99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) (Army) Field Brigade, RA''. The final change came in November 1938 as artillery brigades became regiments, hence ''99th (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA''.[
]
Second World War
By 1939, it became 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. The Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Yeomanry were separated on 25 August 1939, with each being reconstituted as field regiments of the Royal Artillery. The Buckinghamshire contingent became 99th (Buckinghamshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery and the Berkshire contingent became 145th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.
145th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
With the outbreak of war in September 1939, 145th Field Regiment, RA was mobilised at Newbury and assigned to 61st Infantry Division. Field regiments were organised in 1938 into two 12-gun batteries. The experience of the BEF in 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 ...
1940 showed the problem with this organisation: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions. This could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries. The third battery (509) was formed in the regiment at Antrim on 14 January 1941. It gained its subtitle, initially as ''145th Field Regiment, RA (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) (TA)'' from 17 February 1942,[ amended on 12 May 1942 to ''145th Field Regiment, RA (Berkshire Yeomanry) (TA)''.][
The regiment remained in the UK for most of the war, only moving to ]India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in February 1945. There, it was successively assigned to 39th Indian Division at Dehra Dun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...
, 36th British Infantry Division
The 36th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during the Second World War. The division was subsequently redesignated as a British Army formation, the 36th Infantry Division in September 1944. It served in India an ...
at Poona, 26th Indian Infantry Division
The 26th Indian Infantry Division, was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign.
History
When the Japanese invaded Burma in 1942, the various units in training or stationed around Barrackpur ...
at Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
, and 25th Indian Infantry Division at Cocanada
Kakinada ( formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the sixth largest city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the district headquarters of the Kakinada District. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. J. ...
.[ Post war, it moved to Malaya and ]Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
. The regiment was placed in suspended animation in ALFSEA on 1 June 1946.[
]
Postwar
The regiment was reformed on 1 January 1947 as 345th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA, with HQ at Newbury and a battery at Windsor. The Windsor battery was detached to form 662nd Medium Regiment, RA, which was shortly afterwards redesignated as ''346th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA''. They were amalgamated on 16 August 1950 as 345th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA. On 31 October 1956, the regiment was reduced to a single battery as ''R (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery'' in 299th (Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry, Berkshire Yeomanry, and Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Field Regiment, RA.[
On 1 May 1961, the battery was amalgamated with the ]Westminster Dragoons
The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of th ...
to form ''C (Berkshire Yeomanry) Squadron, Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons, RAC'' and converted to armoured cars
Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to:
Wheeled armored vehicles
* Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor
** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle
* Armored car (valuables), an arm ...
. This was a short lived arrangement: on 1 April 1967 the Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons was reconstituted as two units with the Berkshire elements forming ''A Company (Berkshire Yeomanry), The Royal Berkshire Territorials'' at Windsor. At the start of 1969 it once more changed role as 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Squadron in 71st Signal Regiment, Royal Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
.[ The squadron became independent in 1996, joined 31st Signal Regiment in 2003 and transferred to 39th Signal Regiment in 2006.][
A second squadron was formed from C Company, 2nd Battalion, ]Wessex Regiment
The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1995. Initially consisting of a singular battalion, the regiment was later expanded to also have a second.
Formation
The regiment was fo ...
, in October 1995 as D (Berkshire Yeomanry) Squadron, Royal Yeomanry
The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve light cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in ...
, at Slough. This was disbanded on 1 June 2000.[
]
Victoria Cross
Trooper Frederick William Owen Potts
Frederick William Owen Potts, VC, (18 December 1892 – 2 November 1943), more commonly known as Trooper Fred Potts, was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy ...
, , 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry, won the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and Commonwealth forces.
On 21 August 1915 in the attack on Hill 70, Private Potts (although wounded in the thigh) remained for over 48 hours under the Turkish trenches with another private from his regiment who was severely wounded, and unable to move. He finally fixed a shovel to the equipment of his wounded comrade and using this as a sledge, dragged the man back over 600 yards to safety, being under fire all the way.
Present role of the squadron
Today the squadron is a 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 ...
squadron of the Royal Corps of Signals, serving within both of the Royal Signals UK Brigades. The squadron supports NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), providing essential Combat Net Radio communications for the ARRC or international coalition force.
Battle honours
The Berkshire 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 ...
:[
;Second Boer War
South Africa 1900–01
;First World War
Arras 1918, ]Scarpe 1918 Scarpe may refer to:
*Scarpe river, in France
*Battle of the Scarpe (disambiguation), four Battles of the Scarpe were fought during World War I
*USS Scarpe (SP-713), a United States Navy ship
*Scarpe Mountain Scarpe may refer to:
* Scarpe river, i ...
, Ypres 1918
The Fifth Battle of Ypres, also called the Advance in Flanders and the Battle of the Peaks of Flanders (french: Bataille des Crêtes de Flandres) is an informal name used to identify a series of World War I battles in northern French Third Repu ...
, Courtrai
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.
It is the capital and larges ...
, France and Flanders 1918
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 e ...
, Suvla
View of Suvla from Battleship Hill
Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.
On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as pa ...
, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
, Egypt 1915–17, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil
An-Nabi Samwil, also called al-Nabi Samuil ( ar, النبي صموئيل ''an-Nabi Samu'il'', translit: "the prophet Samuel"), is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine, located in the ...
, Palestine 1917–18
;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.
Badge
The regiment's badge features the Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington (in the cer ...
in the Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway N ...
, historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes when it was transferred to Oxfordshire.
See also
* 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 ...
* List of Yeomanry Regiments 1908
* Yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles.
History
Origins
In the 1790s, f ...
* Yeomanry order of precedence Precedence is the order in which the various corps of the British Army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest.
Precedence
The British Army has frequently been the subject of amalgamation and re-organisation th ...
* British yeomanry during the First World War
* Second line yeomanry regiments of the British Army
Yeomanry are part of the reserve for the British Army. At the start of First World War there were fifty-four yeomanry regiments in the British Army. Soon after the declaration of war, it was decided to increase the number of these volunteer mounte ...
* List of British Army Yeomanry Regiments converted to Royal Artillery
* Royal Corps of Signals
Notes
References
Bibliography
* L.S. Amery (ed), ''The Times History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902'', London: Sampson Low, Marston, 6 Vols 1900–09.
*
*
* Andrew Cormack, 'Captain Moses Ximenes and the Berkshire Fencible Cavalry', ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'', Vol 97, No 389 (Summer 2019), pp. 109–19.
*
* Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938.
*
*
*
*
* N.B. Leslie, ''Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914'', London: Leo Cooper, 1970, .
* Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, ''Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents'', Solihull: Helion, 2003, .
*
* Stephen M. Miller, ''Lord Methuen and the British Army: Failure and Redemption in South Africa'', London: Cass, 1999, .
*
*
* Col H.C.B. Rogers, ''The Mounted Troops of the British Army 1066–1945'', London: Seeley Service, 1959.
*
*
* Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, .
Maj G.Tylden, 'The Yeomanry in Berkshire', ''Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research'', Vol 28, No 115 (Autumn 1950), p. 132.
*
*
* Steve White, ''Strike Home: The Royal Bucks Yeomanry 1794–1967'', Leicester?: Steve White, 1992, .
*
External links
Anglo Boer War
The Long, Long Trail
* ttp://www.roll-of-honour.com/index.html Roll of Honour*
*
*
Berkshire Yeomanry Museum
{{British Cavalry Regiments World War I
Military units and formations in Berkshire
Berkshire
Yeomanry regiments of the British Army in World War I
Regiments of the British Army in World War II
Organisations based in Berkshire
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
R
Military units and formations established in 1794