The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1902. Units of Yeomanry Cavalry were raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries at times of national emergency: the Jacobite Rising of 1745, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. These were stood down once each emergency was over. The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry, was established in 1902, and this saw action during the First World War both in the mounted role and as machine gunners.
It was converted to an armoured regiment in 1920, and fought in the Battle of France and the campaign in North West Europe during the Second World War, while some of its personnel served as paratroopers in the Normandy landings and the Rhine Crossing. In 1956, it merged with two other Yorkshire yeomanry regiments to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by the Queen's Own Yeomanry.
Precursor unit A number of companies of Volunteer infantry and artillery were formed in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire for coast defence during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. At the same time John Hall-Stevenson and 'a number of fox-hunting gentlemen and yeomen of the county', formed themselves into a cavalry unit named the Yorkshire Light Horse. They invited Major-General James Oglethorpe to be their colonel, and he obtained the King's permission to change its title to the Royal Regiment of Hunters. It is claimed that this was the first unit of Yeomanry cavalry formed in Britain. The unit of foxhunters did some useful patrol work, and participated in Oglethorpe's winter pursuit of the rebel retreat to Shap and the Clifton Moor Skirmish, when its strength was reported to be up to 1500 well-mounted men.Norfolk, pp. 7–8, Appendix I.Wright, pp. 357–60.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars After Britain was drawn into the French Revolutionary Wars, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger proposed on 14 March 1794 that the counties should 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 county. By the end of the year, 27 counties had raised Yeomanry, including East Yorkshire.Rogers, p. 145. Thomas Grimston of Grimston offered to raise a cavalry force in Holderness. He issued 'Articles of Enlistment' based on those of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, and then travelled round the Holderness villages explaining his plans to the yeomen farmers. Their response was poor, even when Grimston got the local clergy to explain the plan to their parishioners. The main complaint was the low level of pay for attending drills, and unwillingness to turn out during harvest time. They were also unwilling to serve outside the East Riding, and Grimston changed the proposed name of his unit from 'East York' to 'East Riding' (formally the East Riding Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry). Once these concerns were addressed, Grimston was able to recruit his troop up to a strength of 58 men (against an establishment of 60) by September. He set about recruiting an ex-cavalryman to serve as troop sergeant to train the men, and obtaining uniforms and weapons. A similar Troop was raised by Captain William Hall as the Hull Gentleman and Yeomanry Cavalry.Norfolk, pp. 15-7.Norfolk, Appendix III. In February 1798 Captain Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet, raised another Troop of 45 volunteers drawn from 16 parishes around Sledmere as the Yorkshire Wold Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry.Norfolk, p. 20
Meanwhile, the attempted French landing in South Wales in 1796 (the Battle of Fishguard) led the government to double the strength of the militia with a new supplementary militia including units of Provisional Cavalry. Unlike the Yeomanry, service in these units was not voluntary, but decided by ballot, one horse-owner in every ten being selected to serve or provide a fully equipped trooper. The East York Provisional Cavalry consisted of troops based at Hull, Beverley, Driffield, Bridlington and Hunmanby under the command of the Lord Lieutenant (the Duke of Leeds). The force was extremely unpopular, and was never embodied, though called out occasionally for training. It was disbanded in March 1799.
The preliminaries to the 1801 Treaty of Amiens saw most of the Yeomanry disbanded, but the peace was short-lived, and Britain declared war on France again in May 1803, beginning the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Thomas Grimston quickly reformed his unit, now titled the Grimston Yeomanry Cavalry and consisting of two Troops. Similarly, Sir Mark Masterman-Sykes, 3rd Baronet, reformed his father's Yorkshire Wolds Yeomanry Cavalry, now with 300 members and himself ranked as lieutenant-colonel. Captain Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell of Everingham formed a new troop of 45 men as the Everingham Yeomanry Cavalry. Captain William Hall offered to reform the Hull Yeomanry Cavalry, but the offer was not acknowledged by the Lord Lieutenant and he withdrew the offer; no new cavalry unit was raised in Hull for the rest of the war.Norfolk, p. 24.Norfolk, Appendix IV. In 1808 a new Local Militia was formed, which replaced many of the Volunteer units. The Yorkshire Wolds Yeomanry Cavalry transferred to the new force, but the Grimston and Everingham Troops remained independent voluntary units until they were disbanded at the end of the war in 1814.Norfolk, p. 33.
For the rest of the 19th century, there was no Yeomanry regiment in the East Riding: men who wished to serve could join the North Riding-based Yorkshire Hussars, which maintained detachments in Beverley and other East Yorkshire towns in the second half of the century.Norfolk, p. 39; Appendix V.
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 the field 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, and volunteers (usually middle and upper class) quickly filled the new force, which was equipped to operate as mounted infantry.Rogers, p. 228.Spiers, p. 239.Dunlop, pp. 104–18.IY at Anglo-Boer War. The Yorkshire Hussars raised the 9th (Yorkshire (Doncaster)) Company and (with the Yorkshire Dragoons) the 66th (Yorkshire) Company for the first contingent. The 9th was replaced by the 109th (Yorkshire Hussars) Company in 1901.IY Companies at Roll of Honour.
The concept was considered a success and before the war ended the existing Yeomanry regiments at home were converted into Imperial Yeomanry, and new regiments raised, including the East Riding of Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry, which was approved on 15 April 1902.
The unit was raised by Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock, honorary colonel of the 2nd East Riding Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) and a former captain in the Yorkshire Hussars, who was appointed lieutenant-colonel on 15 May.London Gazette, 27 May 1902. His second-in-command was retired Major John Stracey-Clitherow, who had served in the Anglo-Egyptian War.Maj Roy Wilson, 'The Yeomanry cavalry', Military Modelling Vol 16, No 2, February 1986. By 1903 the new regiment had 400 men, in four squadrons at Hull, Beverley, York and Bridlington, and a Machine Gun Section.Army List, various dates.
A Squadron was based at the riding school in Walton Street, Hull. In 1911, this site was included in a new drill hall on Anlaby Road, Hull, which was shared with the 2nd Northumbrian Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (former 2nd East Yorks RGA) and named Wenlock Barracks after Lord Wenlock, who was Hon Colonel of both units. The Yeomanry regiment was popularly known as 'Wenlock's Horse'. It became a lancer regiment, with the appropriate uniform, in 1906.Hull at Great War Centenary Drill Halls.Hull at Drill Hall Project.
Territorial Force The Imperial Yeomanry were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908.London Gazette, 20 March 1908.Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. The East Riding Yeomanry (TF) formed part of the TF's Yorkshire Mounted Brigade. At this time the regiment was organised as follows:Frederick, pp. 57–9.Conrad, British Army 1914.East Riding Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail.East Riding Yeomanry at Regimental Warpath. Regimental headquarters (RHQ) at Railway Street, Beverley A Squadron at Hull B Squadron at Beverley, with detachments at North Cave, Hornsea and Patrington C Squadron at Fulford with a detachment at Dunnington D Squadron at Driffield with detachments at Hunmanby, Pocklington, Settrington and Bridlington
First World War
Mobilisation The East Riding Yeomanry were mobilised on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914 under the command of Lt-Col Philip Langdale of Houghton Hall, Yorkshire, who had taken command on 6 June 1912. Under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7, c.9), which brought the TF into being, it was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, after the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for 'Imperial Service'. On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way, duplicate regiments, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
1/1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry The 1/1st moved north in November 1914 as Divisional Cavalry for the 2nd Northumbrian Division.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 51.63rd (2nd N) Division at Long, Long Trail.Yorkshire Mtd Bde at Regimental Warpath. On 20 May, the regiment formed part of a parade of some 40,000 men before H.M. The King and Lord Kitchener. The regiment was then ordered south to Filey and then to East Anglia, to form part of the 1/1st North Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 22nd Mounted Brigade). In October 1915, it set sail for Alexandria.
In 1916, the regiment was part of the Western Frontier Force, a dreary job, causing a number of NCOs and men to join the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps and 120 officers and men to be detached for service under T. E. Lawrence. In December 1916, the 22nd Mounted Brigade moved to the Suez Canal Zone to form part of the ANZAC Mounted Division. The regiment first saw action during the First Battle of Gaza, a hard engagement for both the men and the horses, and in the Second Battle of Gaza it was posted to the far right flank. In General Allenby's reorganisation 22nd Mounted Brigade transferred to the Yeomanry Mounted Division.Becke, Pt2a, pp. 31–4.