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 the County of London Yeomanry, the WDs fought in the Battle of Gallipoli and led British forces onto the beaches during the Normandy Invasion in 1944. The squadron most recently saw action on Operation Telic for which it was mobilised for the 2003 war in Iraq.

Precursors

The regiment was first recruited from wealthy merchants and bankers as the London and Westminster Light Horse in 1779. It was disbanded in 1783 but in 1793 the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, proposed that the English Counties form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the country. So the regiment was reformed again the following year. The regiment was renamed the Westminster Volunteer Cavalry in 1797. and barracks were built to accommodate the regiment in Gray's Inn Road in 1812. The regiment was disbanded again in 1829 and the barracks were decommissioned in 1830.

Imperial Yeomanry

Following a string of defeats during Black Week 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. 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 (IY). The force was organised as county service companies of approximately 115 men signed up for one year, and volunteers from the Yeomanry Cavalry and civilians (usually middle and upper class) quickly filled the new force, which was equipped to operate as Mounted infantry (see dragoon). Second and third contingents were sent out in the following years.Dunlop, pp. 104–18.

One such unit was the 24th (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) Battalion, consisting of 94th, 95th, 96th and 97th (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) Companies raised in London for the second contingent on 30 March 1901. Later in 1901 the 28th (Westminster Dragoons) Battalion, was raised, with 127th–130th (Westminster Dragoons) Companies.

In 1901, 16 new IY regiments raised from veterans of the first IY contingent returning from South Africa were added to the existing Yeomanry Cavalry. The 2nd County of London Imperial Yeomanry was formed on 24 August 1901 with four squadrons and a machine gun section, perpetuating the 24th (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) Battalion. Over 800 members of the regiment served in South Africa, and the regiment was awarded the Battle Honour South Africa 1902. On 2 August 1902 Westminster Council granted permission for the regiment to adopt the subtitle '(Westminster Dragoons)' (to perpetuate the 1779-1829 units) and to use the city's coat-of-arms as its cap badge.

From the start it was smart regiment filled with wealthy gentlemen from the City and the West End. Their attitude and attire was such that, as they strutted across West London, members became known as the 'Piccadilly Peacocks'. Several of the unit's first officers were former officers of the 1st The Royal Dragoons, forerunners of the Blues and Royals; one of the first troop leaders was Raj Rajendra Narayan, Maharaj Kumar (Prince) of Cooch Behar. They brought with them the Royals' pre-Waterloo cap badge, which was later adopted by Colonels and Brigadiers of the staff, which is why, until a common Royal Yeomanry capbadge was adopted in 2006, young WD officers often found themselves amused at being saluted by officers of higher rank. The WD stable belt (worn in barracks) bears the Royal racing colours – the imperial hues of purple, gold and scarlet as a result of the personal friendship of its first commanding officer, Colonel Charles Rosedew Burn, with King Edward VII, whose Aide-de-camp Burn had been when he was Prince of Wales.Chartrand.

As an urban regiment, the yeomen were unable to supply their own horses, so the senior Westminster officers made use of their links to the highest ranks of Society to borrow mounts from the Household Cavalry for summer training camps. Later horses were hired. Even at this time, the WDs were at the forefront of using new equipment, being the second unit in the British army after the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry to be equipped with mobile wireless. In 1910, Lord Howard de Walden presented two Marconi pack sets to the regiment.

In 1907 the regimental headquarters (RHQ) was at 102 Victoria Street, but by 1914 it had moved to 1 Elverton Street, Westminster.''Monthly Army List'', various dates.

Territorial Force

When the IY were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the regiment simply dropped 'Imperial' from its title. It was attached to the London Mounted Brigade for training, but was otherwise under the command of London District.

World War I

Mobilisation

The Westminster Dragoons' summer camp in 1914 was at Goring-on-Thames. It began on 25 July, but the regiment was recalled to Westminster when mobilisation orders arrived on 5 August. The regiment reorganised on the three-squadron basis used by the Regular cavalry and purchased horses.

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.

1/2nd County of London Yeomanry

Egypt

The regiment sailed on 10 September for Egypt, thereby being one of the first Yeomanry regiments to go overseas on active service. It arrived at Alexandria on 25 September and went to relieve the 3rd Dragoon Guards as the Cairo Garrison cavalry regiment. On 19 January 1915, it joined the 1/1st Hertfordshire Yeomanry to form the Yeomanry Mounted Brigade. The regiment carried out security and escort duties in Cairo and patrols on the fringe of the Sinai Desert to protect the Suez Canal.

The brigade joined the 2nd Mounted Division on 13 August and was redesignated as the 5th (Yeomanry) Mounted Brigade. It was dismounted to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign, leaving a squadron HQ and two troops (about 100 officers and men) in Egypt to look after the horses.

Gallipoli

The regiment sailed from Alexandria on 14 August, arriving at Mudros on 17 August. It landed at "A" Beach, Suvla Bay the following day and moved into reserve positions at Lala Baba on the night of 20 August. On 21 August, it advanced to Chocolate Hill and was in reserve for the attacks on Scimitar Hill and Hill 112. Due to losses during the Battle of Scimitar Hill and wastage