Lothians And Border Yeomanry

The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian (Haddingtonshire), Midlothian (Edinburghshire), and West Lothian (Linlithgowshire) – and along the border with England, particularly Berwickshire. It amalgamated with the Lanarkshire Yeomanry and the Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry to form the Queen's Own Lowland Yeomanry in 1956.

In 2014 following the 2013 Future Army Reserves announcement, the regiment was re-formed within the new Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry.

History

Formation and early history

Raised in 1797, the regiment comprised five troops among which were the "East Lothian Yeomanry Cavalry" and the "Berwickshire Yeomanry". After disbandment in 1838 and re-raising in 1846, the unit became the Lothians and Berwickshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry in 1888.

Second Boer War

In the Second Boer War, the regiment sponsored the 19th (Lothians and Berwickshire) Company of the Imperial Yeomanry (IY), which served in the 6th (Scottish) Battalion, IY,in South Africa from 1900 until 1902. The regiment became the Lothians and Berwickshire Imperial Yeomanry in 1901. It was based at Dundonald Street in Edinburgh at this time. In 1908, the regiment was transferred to the Territorial Force (TF) and named The Lothians and Border Horse (Dragoons).

First World War

In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (''7 Edw. 7, c.9'') which brought the Territorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.

In August 1914, the Lothians and Border Horse was based in Edinburgh and assigned to the Lowland Mounted Brigade.

1/1st Lothians and Border Horse

In the Summer of 1915, the 1/1st was split up as follows:
*Regimental Headquarters and B Squadron joined the 25th Division. In May 1916, it moved to become V Corps Cavalry Regiment but, in July 1917, due to manpower shortages, it was dismounted and transferred to the infantry. In September 1917, after infantry training, it was redesignated the 17th Battalion Royal Scots.
*A Squadron first went to the 26th Division, then, in November 1916, it joined the 8th Mounted Brigade.
*D Squadron initially joined the 22nd Division. In November 1916, it was reunited with A Squadron in the 8th Mounted Brigade.

On 11 May 1917, A and D Squadrons formed the XII Corps Cavalry Regiment at Salonika, where they remained until the end of the war.

2/1st Lothians and Border Horse

The 2nd line regiment was formed in 1914. In 1915, it was under the command of the 2/1st Lowland Mounted Brigade in Scotland (along with the 2/1st Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry and the 2/1st Lanarkshire Yeomanry) and by March 1916 was at Dunbar in East Lothian. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became 20th Mounted Brigade, still at Dunbar under Scottish Command.

In July 1916 there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments were converted to cyclists and, as a consequence, the regiment was dismounted and the brigade converted to 13th Cyclist Brigade. Further reorganization in October and November 1916 saw the brigade redesignated as 9th Cyclist Brigade in November, still at Dunbar. The regiment moved to Haddington in July 1917.

About May 1918 the Brigade moved to Ireland and the regiment was stationed at Derry and Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. There were no further changes before the end of the war.

3/1st Lothians and Border Horse

The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915. That summer, it was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Aldershot. In June 1916, it was affiliated to the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment, also at Aldershot. Early in 1917, it was absorbed in the 4th Reserve Cavalry Regiment, still at Aldershot.

Between the wars

On 7 February 1920, the regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ still at Edinburgh. 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 21 May 1920, the regiment was one of eight converted and reduced to an Armoured Car Company. The company was originally designated 1st (Lothians and Border) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps. It was later renumbered as 19th (Lothians and Border) Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps. On 30 April 1939, it was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps.

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. The Lothians were expanded to an armoured regiment on 24 August 1939 as 1st Lothians and Border Horse and formed a duplicate 2nd Lothians and Border Horse in the same month.

Second World War

1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry

The 1st Regiment of Lothians and Border Yeomanry was part of the 51st Highland Division, which had been sent to reinforce the French Maginot Line and was serving there when the Germans started their offensive. Together with the rest of the Division, the regiment attempted to rejoin the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Moving around the south of Paris, the regiment engaged the German Army south of the River Somme near Abbeville. Outnumbered, it fought a retreat of sixty miles in six days to the fishing port of St. Valery-en-Caux, where, having run out of food, ammunition and other supplies, they surrendered on 12 June.

Prior to this, some of the regiment's personnel were evacuated during Operation Aerial, and went on to re-form the 1st Lothians and Border Horse, which was attached to the 30th Armoured Brigade, 79th Armoured Division and returned to France on D Day, 6 June 1944. The regiment remained with 79th Armoured in North West Europe until the end of the war. Casualties, from D-Day up to the end of the war, consisted of 17 men killed, 90 officers and other ranks wounded, and 16 officers and other ranks missing in action. Equipment losses were four Sherman Gun Tanks and 36 Sherman Crab Tanks destroyed.

=Commanding officers

=
Commanding officers of the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry were as follows:
*2 September 1939: Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Younger, killed in action
*17 March 1940: Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Picton Ansell, became a prisoner of war

2nd Lothians and Border Horse

On 22 August 1939, while Germany was prepared to invade Poland, the 2nd Lothians and Border Horse was formed. On 17 May 1940, Major Desmond O'Brien Evelyn Ffrench-Blake of the 13/18 Hussars joined Regiment for duties as Second-in-Command. He remained with the regiment, and became the commanding officer in North Africa until his death two years later.

On 30 May 1940, the regiment was assigned to the newly formed 1st Motor Machine Gun Brigade, as an interim move due to the shortage of Tanks after the retreat from Dunkirk

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