Berkshire Yeomanry
Berkshire Yeomanry | |
---|---|
39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment | |
Garrison/HQ | Windsor |
Engagements | Second Boer War
First World War
Second World War |
Commanders | |
Honorary Colonel | Brigadier Hugh J. Robertson, QVRM, TD, VR[1] |
Notable commanders | Br.-Gen. John Tyson Wigan |
The Berkshire Yeomanry was a part time regiment of the
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Under threat of invasion by the
- Abingdon Yeomanry, raised 10 April 1794
- Reading 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 Association Cavalry, raised 24 May 1798
- Hungerford Association Cavalry, raised 1 June 1798
- Maidenhead United Cavalry Association, raised June 1798
- Loyal Windsor Cavalry, raised 30 September 1800
When the
The brief
- 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 March 1803
- Aldermaston Cavalry, raised 13 August 1803
- Vale of White Horse 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.[9]
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
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.[9] 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.[6][7][8]
19th Century
After the
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:[6][7][8]
- Hungerford
- Newbury with Welford Park
- 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.[6][7][8]
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, 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 formed the 1st Yeomanry Brigade. In the 1890s the regimental headquarters (RHQ) moved from Hungerford to Reading.[11]
Imperial Yeomanry
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Boer_War_Q71976.jpg/200px-Boer_War_Q71976.jpg)
Following a string of defeats during
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
Chesham's 10th Battalion IY was attached to
By May 1900 both the 10th and 15th Battalions IY were serving in Methuen's Column, which quickly became known as the 'Mobile Marvels'. On 14 May Methuen marched on Hoopstad and then continued into Orange Free State protecting the flank of Lord Roberts' main army. Methuen's column reached Bothaville on 24 May, but Roberts became concerned about his communications, so Methuen was switched to protecting the rear, and marched to Kroonstad, where the column arrived on 28 May, having completed a march of 168 miles (270 km) 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 44 miles (71 km) 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 the 5th and 10th Battalions IY under Lt-Col George Younghusband were able to free a number of the prisoners. Methuen then pushed on to relieve 9th Division, which was besieged at Heilbron, completing a march of 267 miles (430 km) in under a month.[18][23]
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 the 5th and 10th Battalions 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.[24]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/The_Second_Anglo_-_Boer_War%2C_South_Africa_1899_-_1902_Q72318.jpg/220px-The_Second_Anglo_-_Boer_War%2C_South_Africa_1899_-_1902_Q72318.jpg)
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 150 miles (240 km) 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 6 miles (9.7 km) 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.[25]
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: South Africa 1900–01.[6][11][7][26]
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.[6][11][7][8]
Territorial Force
On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed for the final time as the Berkshire (Hungerford) Yeomanry and transferred to the
Berkshire (Hungerford) Yeomanry | |
---|---|
HQ | Yeomanry House, Reading[27] |
A Squadron | Windsor (detachments at Maidenhead, Wokingham) |
B Squadron | Reading (detachment at Wallingford)[b] |
C Squadron | Newbury (detachments at Hungerford, Lambourn) |
D Squadron | Wantage (detachments at Abingdon, Faringdon, Didcot)[b] |
It was ranked as 26th (of 55) in the order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914.[28]
First World War
2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade
|
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Organisation on 4 August 1914 |
|
In accordance with the
1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry
The regiment was mobilized with its brigade on 4 August 1914 upon the outbreak of the
In April 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division moved to
They landed at "A" Beach,
The brigade left the 2nd Mounted Division on 17 January 1916 and was sent to the Western Frontier of Egypt as an independent formation.
The complete brigade was transferred to the newly formed
In March 1918, the
C Battalion, MGC was posted to France, arriving on 28 June 1918. In August 1918 it was renumbered
2/1st Berkshire Yeomanry
The 2nd Line regiment was formed at Reading in September 1914. By March 1915 it was with
In July 1916, the regiment was converted to a
3/1st Berkshire Yeomanry
The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915; in the summer it was affiliated to the
Interwar
On 7 February 1920, the Regiment was reconstituted in the
The two yeomanry regiments retained their own identities and badges within the amalgamated unit,[53] with each providing two batteries. The Berkshire Yeomanry formed 395 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery at Reading and 396 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery at Newbury.[6]
The brigade / regiment underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of the
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.
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.[56] Field regiments were organised in 1938 into two 12-gun batteries. The experience of the BEF in France 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.[57] The third battery (509) was formed in the regiment at Antrim on 14 January 1941.[58] It gained its subtitle, initially as 145th Field Regiment, RA (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Yeomanry) (TA) from 17 February 1942,[58] amended on 12 May 1942 to 145th Field Regiment, RA (Berkshire Yeomanry) (TA).[6]
The regiment remained in the UK for most of the war, only moving to
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.[60] 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.[6]
On 1 May 1961, the battery was amalgamated with the Westminster Dragoons to form C (Berkshire Yeomanry) Squadron, Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons, RAC [61][62] and converted to armoured cars.[63] 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.[62]
In 1996 the Squadron left 71 Signal Regiment and became an independent Signal Squadron tasked with providing Combat Net Radio for the Combat Service Support Group (CSSG).[6][64]
The Squadron joined
A second squadron was formed from C Company, 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment, in October 1995 as D (Berkshire Yeomanry) Squadron, Royal Yeomanry, at Slough. This was disbanded on 1 June 2000.[6]
Victoria Cross
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/VCFrederickWilliamOwenPottsMedals.jpg/220px-VCFrederickWilliamOwenPottsMedals.jpg)
Trooper Frederick William Owen Potts, VC, 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry, won the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.[65][66]
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.[67][68]
Present role of the squadron
Today the squadron is an
Battle honours
The Berkshire Yeomanry has been awarded the following
- Second Boer War
- First World War
- 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,
Badge
The regiment's badge features the Uffington White Horse in the Vale of White Horse, historically in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes when it was transferred to Oxfordshire.[71]
See also
- Imperial Yeomanry
- List of Yeomanry Regiments 1908
- Yeomanry
- Yeomanry order of precedence
- British yeomanry during the First World War
- Second line yeomanry regiments of the British Army
- List of British Army Yeomanry Regiments converted to Royal Artillery
- Royal Corps of Signals
Notes
- ^ Corps in this context meaning either an independent troop or a number of troops under a single command.
- ^ a b c Wallingford, Wantage, Abingdon, Faringdon, and Didcot were all historically in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred them to Oxfordshire.
- ^ British divisions were converted to the British Indian Army standard whereby brigades only retained one British regiment or battalion and most support units were Indian (artillery excepted).
- ^ See 1st Mounted Division and 3rd Mounted Division.
References
- ^ "No. 63516". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 November 2021. p. 19472.
- ^ French, Andrew (6 November 2009). "History of Berkshire Yeomanry". BBC Radio Berkshire. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ Mileham, p. 72.
- ^ Rogers, p. 145.
- ^ Mileham 1994, pp. 8–10
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "The Berkshire Yeomanry (Hungerford) at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Tylden, Yeomanry.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lord & Watson, pp. 187–9.
- ^ a b c Cormack.
- ^ a b Mileham 1994, p. 14
- ^ a b c Army List, various dates.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 104–18.
- ^ Rogers, p. 228.
- ^ Spiers, p. 239.
- ^ a b IY at Anglo Boer War.
- ^ a b "Imperial Yeomanry at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ "Boer War - Imperial Yeomanry Battalions". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b Amery (1909), Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14.
- ^ Boer War Notes at Roll of Honour.
- ^ IY Companies at Roll of Honour.
- ^ a b White, p. 7.
- ^ Miller, pp. 184–6.
- ^ Miller, pp. 187–89, fns 94 & 118.
- ^ Miller, pp. 190, 201–5.
- ^ Miller, pp. 205–7, fn. 37.
- ^ Leslie.
- ^ "Reading". The Drill Hall Project. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 73
- ^ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914".
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 35
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 59
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 36
- ^ a b Westlake 1996, pp. 250, 251, 255, 256
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 16
- ^ James 1978, p. 35
- ^ James 1978, p. 34
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 17
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 13
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 14
- ^ a b James 1978, p. 36
- ^ Perry 1992, p. 55
- ^ Perry 1992, p. 56
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 33
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 34
- ^ Perry 1993, p. 16
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 24
- ^ Baker, Chris. "The Berkshire Yeomanry". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 104
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 13
- ^ a b c d James 1978, p. 16
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 48
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 50
- ^ Kipling & King 2006, p. 142
- ^ a b "Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire Yeomanry, Royal Artillery at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "History of the Army Reserve". MOD. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ a b Barton, Derek. "145 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA(TA)". The Royal Artillery 1939-45.
- ^ Forty 1998, p. 73
- ^ a b c Frederick 1984, p. 533
- ^ Mileham 1994, p. 76
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 1006
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 1003
- ^ a b "The Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Mileham 1994, p. 97
- ^ "The Berkshire Yeomanry since WW1". Trooper Potts Memorial Site. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Trooper Fred Potts VC". The Western Front Association. 7 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Grave location for holders of the Victoria Cross in the County of Berkshire". Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ Buzzell 1997
- ^ Snelling 1995, pp. 217–220
- ^ "39th (Skinners) Signal Regiment". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ "Royal Regiment of Artillery at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
- ^ Doyle & Foster 2012, p. 56
Bibliography
- L.S. Amery (ed), The Times History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902, London: Sampson Low, Marston, 6 Vols 1900–09.
- Becke, Major A.F. (1936). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-12-4.
- Buzzell, Nora (1997). ISBN 0-906324-03-3.
- 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.
- Doyle, Peter; Foster, Chris (2012). British Army Cap Badges of the Second World War. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7478-1110-7.
- Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.
- Forty, George (1998). British Army Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.
- Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
- James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
- Kipling, Arthur L; King, Hugh L (2006). Head-Dress Badges of the British Army. Vol. 2: From the End of the Great war to the Present Day. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 1-84342-513-0.
- N.B. Leslie, Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914, London: Leo Cooper, 1970, ISBN 0-85052-004-5.
- Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents, Solihull: Helion, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-92-2.
- Mileham, Patrick (1994). The Yeomanry Regiments; 200 Years of Tradition. Edinburgh: Canongate Academic. ISBN 1-898410-36-4.
- Stephen M. Miller, Lord Methuen and the British Army: Failure and Redemption in South Africa, London: Cass, 1999, ISBN 0-7146-4904-X.
- Perry, F.W. (1992). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5A. The Divisions of Australia, Canada and New Zealand and those in East Africa. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-25-6.
- Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
- Col H.C.B. Rogers, The Mounted Troops of the British Army 1066–1945, London: Seeley Service, 1959.
- Rinaldi, Richard A (2008). Order of Battle of the British Army 1914. Ravi Rikhye. ISBN 978-0-97760728-0.
- Snelling, Stephen (1995). VCs of the First World War: Gallipoli 1915. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-0566-2.
- Edward M. Spiers, The Army and Society 1815–1914, London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.
- Maj G.Tylden, 'The Yeomanry in Berkshire', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 28, No 115 (Autumn 1950), p. 132.
- Westlake, Ray (1992). British Territorial Units 1914–18. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-168-7.
- Westlake, Ray (1996). British Regiments at Gallipoli. Barnsley: Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-511-X.
- Steve White, Strike Home: The Royal Bucks Yeomanry 1794–1967, Leicester?: Steve White, 1992, ISBN 0-95193810-X.
- Order of Battle of the British Armies in France, November 11th, 1918. France: General Staff, GHQ. 1918.
External links
- Anglo Boer War
- The Drill Hall Project
- The Long, Long Trail
- Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth – Regiments.org (archive site)
- Roll of Honour
- "94 Signal Squadron". MOD.
- "94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron". Archived from the original on 7 March 2009.
- "94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron". Facebook.
- Berkshire Yeomanry Museum