Leicestershire Yeomanry
Encyclopedia
The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own) was a yeomanry
regiment
of the British Army
, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry
and mounted infantry
in the South African War and First World War and provided two field artillery
regiments of the Royal Artillery
in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into The Leicestershire and Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry in 1957. The regiment's lineage is currently perpetuated by B (LDY) Squadron of the Royal Yeomanry
.
. In Leicestershire
, a meeting was held at the Three Crowns Inn in Leicester on April 10, where the details were organised and a list of subscribers who were willing to provide funds made out. The colonelcy was given to Sir William Skeffington, a retired Major in the Grenadier Guards
, dated May 9, and he and Captain Curzon kissed the King's hand on June 11 to report that they had raised their full complement of men. The regiment paraded in six troops on July 4 to receive their standards.
With the Peace of Amiens, the regiment was disbanded in 1802.
of Bank Hall
(LYC 1803.11.01-1860)
.
From 1825, when the Rutland Legion was disbanded, the Leicestershire Yeomanry recruited from Rutland
as well as Leicestershire.
The regiment was mobilised to keep the peace on a number of occasions, such as its service at Derby
in October 1831; workers in the city had rioted after the Reform Bill
was rejected by the House of Lords, and the yeomanry was called in to help the regular army and the Derbyshire Yeomanry
maintain order.
The regiment was renamed for Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, in 1844. The regiment sponsored two companies of the Imperial Yeomanry
in 1900 (the 7th and 65th), for service in the South African War, and in 1901 was itself reorganized as mounted infantry
as the Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Imperial Yeomanry. In 1908 it was transferred into the Territorial Force
, returning to a cavalry role and equipping as hussars, under the new title of The Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry.
. It saw service at the First Battle of Ypres
in 1914 and the Second Battle of Ypres
in 1915. At Second Ypres, the regiment gained battle honours for the Battle of St Julien and - perhaps most notably - the Battle of Frezenberg, where a squadron of the regiment held the line for its entire brigade
.
At Frezenberg, they went into action in the trenches on May 12 as dismounted infantry, numbering 291 all ranks, alongside the 1st Life Guards (left in line) and 2nd Life Guards (middle in line). LY (right in line), B and C Squadrons took up forward positions in the advanced trenches, with A Squadron to the rear in support trenches (approx 350 yards behind and positioned to the left side of the forward squadrons' trenches).
The regiment suffered heavy shellfire through the morning, though with light casualties, until around 6am, the German infantry opposite launched an attack, which was quickly repulsed; shelling resumed until about 7:30, covering a German infiltration of advanced trenches which had been vacated by the 2nd Life Guards. The Germans began to press on B Squadron, forcing them south and west along their trenches, and driving them back into the C Squadron trenches. The squadrons were rallied by the commander of C Squadron, Major Martin, who, the regimental diary records, "by his undaunted courage and example got his men to make a great stand against large odds". Martin was killed holding the trench line, and at this point, the survivors remaining in the forward trenches fell back - numbering a lieutenant, the squadron sergeant-major, and fourteen men. They fell back towards a railway line in the rear, and reached trenches held by the 3rd Dragoon Guards
; they remained in the line here until 8pm, when the 3rd Dragoon Guards withdrew.
A Squadron, meanwhile, had held the support trench under strong shellfire until 5:30am, when they began to fall back towards the road behind the trenches. They were met part-way by the regimental commander, Lt. Colonel The Hon. Percy Cecil Evans-Freke, the second-in-command and the adjutant. The Colonel shouted "Hold hard Leicester Yeomanry!" and A squadron halted and returned to the support trench. The Colonel was killed directing the defence of the trench, and arranging a post to guard the flank of the 1st Life Guards, shortly before the attack at 7:30am. This attack was held off by A Squadron, and the line stabilised with the Germans digging in close to the trenches.
At 8pm, a messenger from 7th Cavalry Brigade HQ informed the acting commander that A Squadron was "the only squadron holding the section of trench originally occupied by 7th Brigade", and that they were to hold the line until a counterattack could be mounted. By the morning of the 13th, 7 officers - including the regimental commander and two of three squadron commanders - and 87 other ranks had been killed; the unwounded numbered only 92 other ranks. The counterattack, launched the next afternoon at 2:30pm by 8th Cavalry Brigade, was a success. The Yeomanry managed to muster around forty men, led by the Brigade Major, for the bayonet charge, and retook some of the trenches formerly held by B squadron and the Life Guards - those held by C squadron had collapsed under heavy fire.
The manuscript record of the state of the Regiment produced immediately after the battle has been framed and is kept on the wall of the Officers' Mess of B(LDY) Squadron in Glen Parva, Leicester.
and the Battle of the Scarpe
. In March 1918 it was withdrawn from the division and ordered to reform as a cyclist battalion, later countermanded in favour of amalgamation with the North Somerset Yeomanry
as a machine-gun battalion. However, the offensives of 1918 provided a need for cavalry units, and before the regiment could amalgamate it was remounted and sent to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade of 2nd Cavalry Division, where it was split up to provide reinforcements. One squadron of the regiment was sent to each of the Brigade's constituent regiments - C Sqn, LY to the 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars, A Sqn, LY to the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers and B Sqn, LY to the 16th (The Queen's) Lancers. These saw action in the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of the Hindenburg Line
, and the Pursuit to Mons, for each of which the regiment received a battle honour. The regiment raised a second-line battalion, the 2/1st Leicestershire Yeomanry, in September 1914; this remained in the United Kingdom, did not see service, and was converted into a cyclist unit in 1916. A third-line battalion was formed in 1915, and remained in the United Kingdom until absorbed into the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment in 1917.
After the war, the regiment reformed in the Territorial Army in 1920 as The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own).
to recruit up to its full wartime establishment, and with a heavy drive this was reached in May, with a headquarters squadron and three sabre squadrons. As part of the Cavalry Corps, which by now consisted almost entirely of Yeomanry units, it was assigned a wartime role as part of 6th Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division. However, in the summer of 1939, the divisional organisation was slightly reorganised, and the regiment switched roles with the Cheshire Yeomanry
to become the divisional cavalry regiment. In late 1939, it was decided to send the division overseas to Palestine, and convert the seven remaining yeomanry regiments not assigned to the division into artillery regiments. However, a dedicated cavalry regiment was apparently considered surplus to requirements in the Cavalry Division, and the Leicestershire Yeomanry was removed from its role and assigned for conversion along with the other regiments. It chose the field artillery
role, and in early 1940 was split into two halves in order to form two separate regiments. In February 1940, the first unit was formed in the Royal Artillery
as 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, with the second, 154th (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, forming on 15 April 1940.
When the Guards Armoured Division was formed in the early autumn of 1941, the 153rd became part of the Guards Support Group. That structure disappeared in the changes of mid-1942, and the 153rd were part of the Division as it fought its way across northern France until the German surrender. The 154th was moved to North Africa in 1942, then to Persia in January 1943 with 6th Indian Division. It moved back to North Africa in April, and was assigned to 10th Indian Division
, with which it would serve through the North African campaign
and the Italian Campaign
. In July 1945 it was with 78th Infantry Division, part of the occupying forces in Austria.
After the War, the regiment reconstituted in the Territorial Army as a yeomanry regiment, under its old title of The Leicestershire Yeomanry (The Prince Albert's Own), and transferred into the Royal Armoured Corps
whereupon the regiment became a Hussar Tank Regiment on Comet Tanks. In 1952 the LY were re-designated as an Anti-Tank Regiment, still in AFVs until amalgamation in late 1956. The Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry enjoyed a long and close affiliation with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars
from 1915 to 1956. In 1957 The Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry amalgamated with The Derbyshire Yeomanry, forming The Leicestershire and Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry and have been affiliated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers
since amalgamation.
Raised as "The Loyal Leicestershire Volunteer Cavalry"
1802
Disbanded
Sept 1803
Re-raised as "The Leicesertshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry"
17th Feb 1844
Given the title "The Prince Albert's Own"
London Gazette 17/2/1844 : Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve of the Leicestershire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry being designated by the title of "The Prince Albert's Own."
(referred to as "Prince Albert's Yeomanry Cavalry", Publication: Modern Leicester by R Read, 1881.)
April 1901-8
"Imperial" added to title, becoming "Prince Albert's Own" Leicestershire Imperial Yeomanry
April 1908
Transferred to Territorial Force, title "Imperial" dropped.
Feb 1920
Reconstituted in Territorial Army as Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry
Nov 1939
Divided into 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, and 154th (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA.
Jan 1947
Reconstituted as the Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps, TA.
Feb 1957
Amalgamated with the Derbyshire Yeomanry, RAC (TA), to form The Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry.
1967
Reduced to cadre strength.
April 1971
Re-established as Leicestershire & Derbyshire (P.A.O) Yeomanry Squadron, 7th Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment.
Successors (1985)
The Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Company, 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and B (Leicestershire & Derbyshire Yeomanry) Company, 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.
March 1992 B (Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry, RAC (TA).
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...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
in the South African War and First World War and provided two field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
regiments of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into The Leicestershire and Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry in 1957. The regiment's lineage is currently perpetuated by B (LDY) Squadron of the Royal Yeomanry
Royal Yeomanry
The Royal Yeomanry is an armoured regiment of the Territorial Army consisting of five squadrons and a military band:*A Squadron *B Squadron...
.
Original formation
During the crisis of 1794, when there were grave fears of a French invasion, the government pressed for the formation of volunteer corps across the country, and in April 1794, letters were circulated to the Lords Lieutenant of each county instructing them to raise regiments of yeomanryYeomanry
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:...
. In Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, a meeting was held at the Three Crowns Inn in Leicester on April 10, where the details were organised and a list of subscribers who were willing to provide funds made out. The colonelcy was given to Sir William Skeffington, a retired Major in the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
, dated May 9, and he and Captain Curzon kissed the King's hand on June 11 to report that they had raised their full complement of men. The regiment paraded in six troops on July 4 to receive their standards.
With the Peace of Amiens, the regiment was disbanded in 1802.
Nineteenth century
The regiment was re-raised in September 1803, as the Leicestershire Yeomanry Cavalry. Sir William was still considered the colonel, indicating that this was considered a reformation and not simply a newly raised regiment, and on November 1 he resigned the colonelcy, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel KeckGeorge Anthony Legh Keck
Lt.Col. George Anthony Legh Keck was born in 1784 at Stoughton, Leicestershire and was the son of Anthony James Keck and his wife Elizabeth . George Anthony Legh Keck was a member of the Legh family that lived at Lyme Hall at Lyme Park, Cheshire. His wife Elizabeth from Atherton Hall in Atherton...
of Bank Hall
Bank Hall
Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion south of the village of Bretherton in Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th...
(LYC 1803.11.01-1860)
.
From 1825, when the Rutland Legion was disbanded, the Leicestershire Yeomanry recruited from Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
as well as Leicestershire.
The regiment was mobilised to keep the peace on a number of occasions, such as its service at Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
in October 1831; workers in the city had rioted after the Reform Bill
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
was rejected by the House of Lords, and the yeomanry was called in to help the regular army and the Derbyshire Yeomanry
Derbyshire Yeomanry
The Derbyshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as a cavalry regiment and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and provided two reconnaissance regiments in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into The Leicestershire...
maintain order.
The regiment was renamed for Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, in 1844. The regiment sponsored two companies of the 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...
in 1900 (the 7th and 65th), for service in the South African War, and in 1901 was itself reorganized as mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
as the Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Imperial Yeomanry. In 1908 it was transferred into the Territorial Force
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...
, returning to a cavalry role and equipping as hussars, under the new title of The Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry.
First World War
With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the regiment mobilised and moved to France in November with 3rd Cavalry Division3rd Cavalry Division
The 3rd Cavalry Division was a division of the British Army in the First World War. It was formed in Ludgershall, Wiltshire England in September 1914 under the command of General Major General Julian Byng...
. It saw service at the First Battle of Ypres
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres, also called the First Battle of Flanders , was a First World War battle fought for the strategic town of Ypres in western Belgium...
in 1914 and the Second Battle of Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
in 1915. At Second Ypres, the regiment gained battle honours for the Battle of St Julien and - perhaps most notably - the Battle of Frezenberg, where a squadron of the regiment held the line for its entire brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
.
Battle of Frezenberg
The regiment suffered heavy shellfire through the morning, though with light casualties, until around 6am, the German infantry opposite launched an attack, which was quickly repulsed; shelling resumed until about 7:30, covering a German infiltration of advanced trenches which had been vacated by the 2nd Life Guards. The Germans began to press on B Squadron, forcing them south and west along their trenches, and driving them back into the C Squadron trenches. The squadrons were rallied by the commander of C Squadron, Major Martin, who, the regimental diary records, "by his undaunted courage and example got his men to make a great stand against large odds". Martin was killed holding the trench line, and at this point, the survivors remaining in the forward trenches fell back - numbering a lieutenant, the squadron sergeant-major, and fourteen men. They fell back towards a railway line in the rear, and reached trenches held by the 3rd Dragoon Guards
3rd Dragoon Guards
The 3rd Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 3rd/6th Dragoon Guards in 1922....
; they remained in the line here until 8pm, when the 3rd Dragoon Guards withdrew.
At 8pm, a messenger from 7th Cavalry Brigade HQ informed the acting commander that A Squadron was "the only squadron holding the section of trench originally occupied by 7th Brigade", and that they were to hold the line until a counterattack could be mounted. By the morning of the 13th, 7 officers - including the regimental commander and two of three squadron commanders - and 87 other ranks had been killed; the unwounded numbered only 92 other ranks. The counterattack, launched the next afternoon at 2:30pm by 8th Cavalry Brigade, was a success. The Yeomanry managed to muster around forty men, led by the Brigade Major, for the bayonet charge, and retook some of the trenches formerly held by B squadron and the Life Guards - those held by C squadron had collapsed under heavy fire.
The manuscript record of the state of the Regiment produced immediately after the battle has been framed and is kept on the wall of the Officers' Mess of B(LDY) Squadron in Glen Parva, Leicester.
1917 & 1918
After being heavily depleted in Second Ypres, the regiment did not see significant action throughout 1916; in 1917, it saw action at the Battle of ArrasBattle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
and the Battle of the Scarpe
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
. In March 1918 it was withdrawn from the division and ordered to reform as a cyclist battalion, later countermanded in favour of amalgamation with the North Somerset Yeomanry
North Somerset Yeomanry
The North Somerset Yeomanry was first raised in Frome in 1798. A condition of service was that it should not be required to march more than 10 miles from the town and it was soon disbanded in 1802...
as a machine-gun battalion. However, the offensives of 1918 provided a need for cavalry units, and before the regiment could amalgamate it was remounted and sent to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade of 2nd Cavalry Division, where it was split up to provide reinforcements. One squadron of the regiment was sent to each of the Brigade's constituent regiments - C Sqn, LY to the 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars, A Sqn, LY to the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers and B Sqn, LY to the 16th (The Queen's) Lancers. These saw action in the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of the Hindenburg Line
Battle of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces in the spearhead attack and as a single combined force against the German Siegfried Stellung of the Hindenburg Line...
, and the Pursuit to Mons, for each of which the regiment received a battle honour. The regiment raised a second-line battalion, the 2/1st Leicestershire Yeomanry, in September 1914; this remained in the United Kingdom, did not see service, and was converted into a cyclist unit in 1916. A third-line battalion was formed in 1915, and remained in the United Kingdom until absorbed into the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment in 1917.
After the war, the regiment reformed in the Territorial Army in 1920 as The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own).
Second World War
The regiment did not mechanise before the outbreak of the Second World War, and continued to train for service as horsed cavalry. In early 1939 it was authorised by the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
to recruit up to its full wartime establishment, and with a heavy drive this was reached in May, with a headquarters squadron and three sabre squadrons. As part of the Cavalry Corps, which by now consisted almost entirely of Yeomanry units, it was assigned a wartime role as part of 6th Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Cavalry Division. However, in the summer of 1939, the divisional organisation was slightly reorganised, and the regiment switched roles with the Cheshire Yeomanry
Cheshire Yeomanry
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....
to become the divisional cavalry regiment. In late 1939, it was decided to send the division overseas to Palestine, and convert the seven remaining yeomanry regiments not assigned to the division into artillery regiments. However, a dedicated cavalry regiment was apparently considered surplus to requirements in the Cavalry Division, and the Leicestershire Yeomanry was removed from its role and assigned for conversion along with the other regiments. It chose the field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
role, and in early 1940 was split into two halves in order to form two separate regiments. In February 1940, the first unit was formed in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
as 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, with the second, 154th (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, forming on 15 April 1940.
10th Indian Division
The 10th Indian Division was a formation of the British Indian Army during World War I. It was the basis of Indian Expeditionary Force F which served in Egypt and was disbanded in March 1915....
, with which it would serve through the North African campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and the Italian Campaign
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
. In July 1945 it was with 78th Infantry Division, part of the occupying forces in Austria.
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
whereupon the regiment became a Hussar Tank Regiment on Comet Tanks. In 1952 the LY were re-designated as an Anti-Tank Regiment, still in AFVs until amalgamation in late 1956. The Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry enjoyed a long and close affiliation with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars
7th Queen's Own Hussars
The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1690. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into The Queen's Own Hussars in 1958....
from 1915 to 1956. In 1957 The Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry amalgamated with The Derbyshire Yeomanry, forming The Leicestershire and Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry and have been affiliated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers
9th/12th Royal Lancers
The 9th/12th Royal Lancers is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. It is currently a formation reconnaissance regiment, equipped with the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance family of vehicles and...
since amalgamation.
Timeline
April–May 1794Raised as "The Loyal Leicestershire Volunteer Cavalry"
1802
Disbanded
Sept 1803
Re-raised as "The Leicesertshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry"
17th Feb 1844
Given the title "The Prince Albert's Own"
London Gazette 17/2/1844 : Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve of the Leicestershire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry being designated by the title of "The Prince Albert's Own."
(referred to as "Prince Albert's Yeomanry Cavalry", Publication: Modern Leicester by R Read, 1881.)
April 1901-8
"Imperial" added to title, becoming "Prince Albert's Own" Leicestershire Imperial Yeomanry
April 1908
Transferred to Territorial Force, title "Imperial" dropped.
Feb 1920
Reconstituted in Territorial Army as Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry
Nov 1939
Divided into 153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA, and 154th (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA.
Jan 1947
Reconstituted as the Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry, Royal Armoured Corps, TA.
Feb 1957
Amalgamated with the Derbyshire Yeomanry, RAC (TA), to form The Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry.
1967
Reduced to cadre strength.
April 1971
Re-established as Leicestershire & Derbyshire (P.A.O) Yeomanry Squadron, 7th Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment.
Successors (1985)
The Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Company, 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and B (Leicestershire & Derbyshire Yeomanry) Company, 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.
March 1992 B (Leicestershire & Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry, RAC (TA).
Uniform
Prior to 1914 officers of the Regiment wore in review order a hussar style uniform comprising a busby with white over scarlet plume, a short dark blue jacket with scarlet collar and cuffs laced and braided in silver, and dark blue overalls with double scarlet stripes. Other ranks substituted a dark blue peaked cap for the busby and white braiding for the silver of the officers' uniform. This elaborate dress continued to be worn between the wars by officers attending Court levees and is still worn by the Guidon Party of the modern B Squadron (LBY) on ceremonial occasions. Normal service dress for all ranks was khaki from 1903 onwards, initially worn with scarlet facings.Further resources
A general history of the Regiment was published after the First World War, and regimental histories of both field artillery regiments were published after the Second. A more recent general study of the volunteer movement has focused on Leicestershire and Rutland as its examples, and as such deals with the Leicestershire Yeomanry in some detail. The Loughborough War Memorial Museum contains a display of material relating to the Leicestershire Yeomanry.- Codrington, Col. G.R. - An outline of the history of the Leicestershire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry. Arden Press, London, 1928.
- Brassey, Bernard & Winslow, P.D. - 153rd Leicestershire Yeomanry Field Regiment R.A., T.A. 1939-1945. W.Pickering & Sons, Hinckley, 1947
- Bouskell-Wade, Lt. Col. G.E. - "There is an Honour Likewise..." The Story of 154 (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA. E. Backus, Leicester, 1948.
- Steppler, Glenn A. - Britons, to arms! - The Story of the British Volunteer Soldier and the Volunteer Tradition in Leicestershire and Rutland. Budding Books, Stroud, 1997
- www.paoyeomanry.co.uk - unofficial website for The Leicestershire (PAO) Yeomanry and The Leicestershire & Derbyshire (PAO) Yeomanry.