Cheshire Yeomanry
Encyclopedia
The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry
regiment
that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Fleming Leicester of Tabley
raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France.
In 1803 the Prince of Wales
(later King George IV), gave his permission for the regiment to wear his triple feather crest
, a badge that Cheshire Yeoman still wear today.
of 16 August 1819 was the result of a cavalry charge into the crowd at a public meeting at Saint Peters Field, in Manchester
, England. Eleven people were killed and more than 400, including many women and children, injured.
Local magistrates arranged for a substantial number of regular soldiers to be on hand. The troops included 600 men of the 15th Hussars, several hundred infantrymen; a Royal Horse Artillery
unit with two six-pounder (2.7 kg) guns; 400 men of the Cheshire Yeomanry, 400 special constables
and 120 cavalry of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry
, relatively inexperienced militia recruited from among shopkeepers and tradesmen.
was bestowed in 1900–02, when the unit provided two companies of Imperial Yeomanry
for service in South Africa
.
, (a veteran of South Africa, who had been posted away from the regiment) with his Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
, the prototype of which he had produced at his own expense in 1914.
In February 1916, after the battle of Mersa Matruh, the Duke mounted a raid against the Senussi
using the cars. He was instructed to pursue the guerrillas with ‘reasonable boldness’. Driving across the desert at high speed, the Duke and his 12 cars caught the fleeing enemy, killing many of the Senussi and all of their Turkish companions, returning with three captured artillery pieces, nine machine guns and 30 prisoners.
In March 1916 the Duke and the Rolls Royce-mounted Cheshire Yeomanry rescued the survivors of two British merchant ships, HMT Moorina and HMS Tara, which had been torpedoed off the coast of what is now Libya
, earning the Duke worldwide praise and the DSO
.
The regiment moved to Palestine
in 1917, this time as a half battalion of the 10th King's Shropshire Light Infantry and saw fierce fighting against the Turks in battles for Jerusalem, Jericho
and Tel Azur, before embarking for France
in April 1918. The KSLI saw action at the Somme
, Bapaume
and Epehy
, suffering heavy casualties.
The battalion was disbanded in June 1919, the Cheshire Yeomanry was reconstituted as a cavalry regiment in March 1920.
and remained mounted until 1942, seeing action in Palestine
, Syria
and the Lebanon
. As one of the last regiments of the British Army to fight on horseback, the Cheshire Yeomanry found it particularly painful to lose its mounts and to re-role as a Signals Regiment, when its title changed in 1942 to the 5th Line of Communications Signals Regiment. After leaving the Middle East the Regiment was redesignated the 17th Line of Communication Signals Regiment (Cheshire Yeomanry) for service in North-West Europe.
, 1947, the Cheshire Yeomanry reformed as an armoured regiment, equipped with Cromwell
and Comet
tanks. It continued as such until 1958, when it re-equipped with Daimler Armoured Car
s.
The defence re-organisation of 1967 led to the disbanding of the regiment except for a small cadre, but in 1971 The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) was formed from four old yeomanry regiments, including the Cheshire Yeomanry. This lasted until 1999 when the regiment, as part of the Strategic Defence Review
, was amalgamated into The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.
, continues the traditions of the Cheshire Yeomanry.
Yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Territorial Army, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units may serve in a variety of different military roles.-History:...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Fleming Leicester of Tabley
Tabley
Tabley is a name that is a component of several place names around where the M6 motorway and A556 cross in Cheshire, England. Its name comes from Anglo-Saxon Tabban-lēah = "Tabba's clearing or meadow".See:...
raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France.
In 1803 the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later King George IV), gave his permission for the regiment to wear his triple feather crest
Prince of Wales's feathers
The Prince of Wales's feathers is the heraldic badge of the Heir Apparent to the British and Commonwealth Realms thrones. It consists of three white feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the motto Ich dien...
, a badge that Cheshire Yeoman still wear today.
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo MassacrePeterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
of 16 August 1819 was the result of a cavalry charge into the crowd at a public meeting at Saint Peters Field, in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. Eleven people were killed and more than 400, including many women and children, injured.
Local magistrates arranged for a substantial number of regular soldiers to be on hand. The troops included 600 men of the 15th Hussars, several hundred infantrymen; a Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
unit with two six-pounder (2.7 kg) guns; 400 men of the Cheshire Yeomanry, 400 special constables
Special Constabulary
The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of a statutory police force in the United Kingdom or some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as Special Constables or informally as Specials.Every United Kingdom territorial police force has a special constabulary except the...
and 120 cavalry of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry
Manchester and Salford Yeomanry
The Manchester and Salford Yeomanry cavalry was a short-lived yeomanry regiment formed in response to social unrest in northern England in 1817. The volunteer regiment became notorious for its involvement in the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, in which as many as 15 people were killed and 400–700 were...
, relatively inexperienced militia recruited from among shopkeepers and tradesmen.
First battle honour
The first regimental battle honourBattle 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 , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
was bestowed in 1900–02, when the unit provided two companies of Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
for service in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
World War One
In the First World War the regiment spent 1914–15 training in Norfolk before being sent to fight dismounted in Egypt in 1916–17. There they met up with the Duke of WestminsterHugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
, (a veteran of South Africa, who had been posted away from the regiment) with his Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
Rolls-Royce Armoured Car
The Rolls-Royce armoured car was a British armoured car developed in 1914 and used in World War I and in the early part of World War II.-Production history:...
, the prototype of which he had produced at his own expense in 1914.
In February 1916, after the battle of Mersa Matruh, the Duke mounted a raid against the Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
using the cars. He was instructed to pursue the guerrillas with ‘reasonable boldness’. Driving across the desert at high speed, the Duke and his 12 cars caught the fleeing enemy, killing many of the Senussi and all of their Turkish companions, returning with three captured artillery pieces, nine machine guns and 30 prisoners.
In March 1916 the Duke and the Rolls Royce-mounted Cheshire Yeomanry rescued the survivors of two British merchant ships, HMT Moorina and HMS Tara, which had been torpedoed off the coast of what is now Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, earning the Duke worldwide praise and the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
The regiment moved to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1917, this time as a half battalion of the 10th King's Shropshire Light Infantry and saw fierce fighting against the Turks in battles for Jerusalem, Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
and Tel Azur, before embarking for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in April 1918. The KSLI saw action at the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
, Bapaume
Bapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
and Epehy
Épehy
Épehy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Épehy is situated in the northeast of the department, on the D24 and D58 roads some north-northwest of Saint Quentin.-Population:-External links:* * * *...
, suffering heavy casualties.
The battalion was disbanded in June 1919, the Cheshire Yeomanry was reconstituted as a cavalry regiment in March 1920.
World War II
During World War II the regiment was part of the 6th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry DivisionBritish 1st Cavalry Division
The 1st Cavalry Division was a regular Division of the British Army during the First World War where it fought on the Western Front. During the Second World War it was a second line formation, formed from Yeomanry Regiments...
and remained mounted until 1942, seeing action in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and the Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. As one of the last regiments of the British Army to fight on horseback, the Cheshire Yeomanry found it particularly painful to lose its mounts and to re-role as a Signals Regiment, when its title changed in 1942 to the 5th Line of Communications Signals Regiment. After leaving the Middle East the Regiment was redesignated the 17th Line of Communication Signals Regiment (Cheshire Yeomanry) for service in North-West Europe.
Post war
On May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
, 1947, the Cheshire Yeomanry reformed as an armoured regiment, equipped with Cromwell
Cromwell tank
Tank, Cruiser, Mk VIII, Cromwell ,The designation as the eighth Cruiser tank design, its name given for ease of reference and its General Staff specification number respectively and the related Centaur tank, were one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second...
and Comet
Comet tank
The Tank, Cruiser, Comet I was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of World War II. It was designed to provide greater anti-tank capability to Cromwell tank squadrons. It was armed with a 77mm HV, a derivative of the 17 pounder, with the result it was one of the few British...
tanks. It continued as such until 1958, when it re-equipped with Daimler Armoured Car
Daimler Armoured Car
The Daimler Armoured Car was a British armoured car of the Second World War.-History:The Daimler Armoured Car was a parallel development to the Daimler Dingo "Scout car", a small armoured vehicle for scouting and liaison roles. It was another Birmingham Small Arms design...
s.
The defence re-organisation of 1967 led to the disbanding of the regiment except for a small cadre, but in 1971 The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) was formed from four old yeomanry regiments, including the Cheshire Yeomanry. This lasted until 1999 when the regiment, as part of the Strategic Defence Review
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...
, was amalgamated into The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.
The Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry
The RMLY’s current mission is to provide Challenger 2 (CR2) War Establishment Reserves (WER) to the Regular Army. To fulfil this commitment the RMLY soldiers train as CR2 loaders and gunners. C (Cheshire Yeomanry) Squadron based in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, continues the traditions of the Cheshire Yeomanry.
33 (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment
A second squadron continues in service as 80th (Cheshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron (V), part of 33 Signal Regiment, Royal Signals. The squadron is based in Runcorn, Cheshire.External links
- http://www2.army.mod.uk/rac/ta_yeomanry/rmly/squadrons/c_sqn/index.htm
- http://www.1914-1918.net/CAVALRY/cheshire.htm
- http://www.thecheshireyeomanry.20m.com/
- http://www.win.tue.nl/~drenth/BritArmy/Lineage/YEOMANRY/
- http://www2.army.mod.uk/royalsignals/80sigsqn/index.htm