The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a

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

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

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

, formed in 1920. It participated 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 ...

and now forms a squadron of the

Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

History

Formation

Following the experience 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 ...

, 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 7 June 1920, the

Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry The Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal North Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...

was amalgamated with the

Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...

to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry 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 11th (Devon) Army Brigade, RFA.Litchfield, pp. 46–8; Appendix VII.

Pre war

The brigade / regiment underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of

. In 1921 it was renumbered and regained its yeomanry title as ''96th (Devon Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA'' and in 1922 became ''96th (Devonshire Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA''. In 1923 it regained its royal title as ''96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA''. Another title change came in 1924 as the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

was reamalgamated back into the

and the regiment became ''96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Brigade, RA''. The final change came in 1938 as artillery brigades became regiments, hence 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA. In 1939, the Territorial Army was duplicatedexisting units formed a second unit. 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA formed 142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA.

Second World War

Field regiments were organised in 1938 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. This could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries.

96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

96th Field Regiment served in the Home Forces for most of the war, 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 January 1945. At the outbreak of the war, 96th Field Regiment was part of 45th Division. Initially commanding two batteries381 from Torverton and 382 from Totnesthe third battery (469) was formed in the regiment at

Knottingley Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Ridi ...

in December 1940. It transferred to 61st Division in June 1944 before being posted to India. In the Far East, it supported

81st (West Africa) Division The 81st (West African) Division was formed under British control during the Second World War. It took part in the Burma Campaign. History The inspiration for the division's formation came from General George Giffard, commander of the British ...

and 25th Indian Division in preparation for Operation Zipper.

142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

142nd Field Regiment also initially served in the Home Forces, before moving to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

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

from July 1943. At the outbreak of the war, 142nd Field Regiment was also part of 45th Division. Initially commanding two batteries383 from Torrington and 384 from South Moltonthe third battery (506) was formed in the regiment at

Bircotes Bircotes is an area in the civil parish of Harworth Bircotes (with Harworth) in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the border with South Yorkshire. The population of the civil parish was 7,948. The local school in the area is ...

on 5 November 1940. It was authorised to use the "Royal Devon Yeomanry" designation from 17 February 1942. 142nd Field Regiment fought in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

from July 1943 and in

thereafter under command of 8th Army, taking part in most of the major actions of that campaign including the landings in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...

and the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

. The regiment was armed with

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

self-propelled guns during the Sicilian campaign and part of the Italian campaign but in early 1944 was re equipped with the American M7 Priest self-propelled gun. For its support to the Canadian Division it was awarded the right to wear the

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

of Canada.

Post war

Both regiments were reformed in 1947 as 296th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA (at Exeter in

43rd (Wessex) Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete formatio ...

) and 342nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA (at Taunton in 91st

Army Group Royal Artillery An Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) was a British Commonwealth military formation during the Second World War and shortly thereafter. Generally assigned to Army corps, an AGRA provided the medium and heavy artillery to higher formations within the ...

.289–322 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
/ref> In 1950, 342nd Medium Regiment was amalgamated into 296th Field Regiment and in 1956 the regiment also absorbed 256th (Wessex) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA. 296th Field Regiment survived until 1967. On 1 April 1967 the regiment was amalgamated with the 4th Battalion,

The Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

to form ''The Devonshire Territorials (Royal Devon Yeomanry/The 1st Rifle Volunteers)''. In the process it was reduced to

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, ...

strength as "A" Squadron. This had a brief, two year, existence and throughout that time was kept very short of equipment and training time. It was reduced to

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

in 1969. With a change of government policy, in 1971 the Territorials were again reformed, and on 1 April a new regiment was born incorporating three old and distinguished cavalry regiments. "A" and "C" Squadrons were formed from the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, "B" Squadron from the

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when t ...

, and "D" Squadron from the old Royal Devon Yeomanry. The regiment is called the

. The Royal Devon Yeomanry now serves as D (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Squadron,

based in North Devon (

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

) and South Devon (

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

). It provides trained replacement crewmen for the Regular Army's

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known ...

Main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

Regimental museum

The Royal Devon Yeomanry Museum is incorporated in the

Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is a local museum covering the history and culture of the North Devon area and which is located in The Square in Barnstaple in Devon. The displays range from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. The bui ...

in The Square,

Battle honours

The Royal Devon Yeomanry inherited the combined

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 ...

s of the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry and of the Royal North Devon Yeomanry (honours in bold are emblazoned on the

regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

Honorary Colonels

*1967–1968:

Peter Acland Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

*1968–1984: Lewis Hugh Clifford, 13th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *1984–1992: Sir John Acland

References

Bibliography

* * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * * * 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

* ttps://ra39-45.co.uk Royal Artillery 1939–1945
Graham Watson, ''The Territorial Army 1947''
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Yeomanry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations in Devon Military units and formations established in 1920

History

Formation

Pre war

Second World War

96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

Post war

Regimental museum

Battle honours

Honorary Colonels

See also

References

Bibliography

External links