The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army that could trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing mounted service in the Second Boer War and World War I, it subsequently converted to artillery. Three regiments saw service in World War II, one of which was captured at the fall of Singapore. It continued through various postwar amalgamations and its lineage was maintained by 201 (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Battery, 100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery until that unit was placed in suspended animation in 2014.
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 (Yeomanry) 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 Hertfordshire.Rogers, p. 145.Sainsbury (1969), Appendix I.Sainsbury (1994), p. 1.
On 7 May 1794 the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, the Marquess of Salisbury, called a meeting at Hertford that opened a subscription list to provide arms and uniforms, and resolved to raise a force of yeomanry that could be embodied in defence of the county. The first were recruited on 21 June and by the end of the year five independent troops of 50 sabres had been raised:Busby.Frederick, pp. 30–1.Mileham, pp 88–9.Sainsbury (1969), pp. 16–9.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 23–5. Northern Troop, commanded by Captain W. Hale of King's Walden Western Troop, commanded by Capt the Hon George Villiers of The Grove, Watford Southern Troop, commanded by Capt Sir George Prescott, 1st Baronet, of Theobalds Park, Cheshunt Eastern Troop, commanded by Capt John Calvert of Albury Centre Troop, commanded by Capt the Hon Penistone Lamb of Brocket Hall
In the spring of 1798 the threat of invasion seemed more acute, and the government encouraged the formation of local armed associations of cavalry and infantry for purely local defence. The following Volunteer Cavalry units were formed in Hertfordshire:Sainsbury (1994), pp. 27–8. Beechwood Troop, commanded by Capt Sir John Sebright, 7th Baronet, of Beechwood Park Sawbridgeworth Troop. commanded by Capt Michael Hankin A Troop was raised in the parishes of Layston, Wyddial and Throcking under Capt J.G. Franklin with the Rev John Hull as Lieutenant, but this was short-lived. In addition a Troop of horse or 'flying' artillery was formed to support the Yeomanry, commanded by Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet, of Wormleybury
There was little difference between the Yeomanry and the Volunteer Cavalry, and they were treated similarly. All seven Troops were on parade at Hatfield Park (the Marquess of Salisbury's country house) when the Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers of the county were reviewed by King George III on 13 June 1800. The Yeomanry of Hertfordshire seem to have rarely been called out on service. The 'Hitchin Cavalry' (presumably the Northern Troop from nearby King's Walden) once went to Ware to deal with riotous behaviour by strikers, but little is known of the events.Sainsbury (1994), p. 25.
All the Volunteer Cavalry were disbanded after the Treaty of Amiens, but the peace was short-lived, and on the resumption of war the Hertfordshire units were reformed in August 1803 with an additional Troop, giving the county the following Yeomanry and Volunteer Cavalry by 1805:Sainsbury (1994), pp. 32–5.WO List, 1805. Southern Troop, Major Sir Abraham Hume, 135 men Horse Artillery, Capt John Cook Northern Troop, Capt Adolphus Meetkerke of Rushden, 70 men Eastern Troop, Capt John Calvert, 70 men Beechwood Troop, Capt Sir John Sebright, 70 men Sawbridgeworth Troop, Capt Michael Hankin Ashridge Troop, Lt-Gen the Earl of Bridgewater, 50 men Midland Troop, Capt the Hon Penistone Lamb, 120 men Western Troop, Capt the Hon G. Villiers, 80 men
On 20 August 1803 Sir Abraham Hume assumed command of the South Hertfordshire Legion, an all-arms 'battle group' consisting of the Southern Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, the Horse Artillery Troop, and the Cheshunt and Wormley Volunteer Infantry, one of the infantry units that had been raised in the county.Sainsbury (1969). pp. 19, 47. After the death of Capt Penistone Lamb in January 1805 he was succeeded in command by his brother the Hon William Lamb. Similarly, after the resignation of Capt George Villiers, his elder brother the Earl of Clarendon was promoted from Cornet to command in his place. As the threat of French invasion declined after the Battle of Trafalgar, funding for the Volunteer Cavalry was reduced from 1806, and interest and numbers declined. During the Great Fire of Stevenage, troopers from the Herts Yeomanry assisted the local volunteer firefighters.Herts local military forces The Beechwood Troop was disbanded by July 1807, and the Ashridge and Sawbridgeworth Troops by early March 1809. The Yeomanry Troops continued in existence, but resisted being organised into a single regiment.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 36–8.
19th century The Yeomanry declined in importance and strength after the end of the French wars,Spiers, p. 79. and by 1824 all the Hertfordshire Troops had been disbanded. However, a wave of civil unrest across Britain from 1830 led to a revival of the Yeomanry and new Troops were formed in Hertfordshire from December that year. First came two troops of Light Dragoons designated the South Herts Yeomanry Cavalry, shortly joined by a third troop at Hertford. Then came a number of independent troops across the county so that by March 1831 they totalled seven:Sainsbury (1969), pp. 20–1.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 39–65.Sleigh.
South Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Light Dragoons) Commanding Officer: Major James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury 1st South Hertfordshire Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, formed 6 December 1830 at Hoddesdon 2nd South Hertfordshire Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, formed 6 December 1830 at Hatfield 3rd South Hertfordshire Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, formed 18 December 1830 at Hertford, under Capt Baron Dimsdale, from 1833 Capt Viscount Fordwich Cashio Troop of Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Heavy Dragoons), formed 23 December 1830 at Gorhambury House, near St Albans, under Capt Viscount Grimston (son and heir of the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Verulam) Northern Troop of Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry formed 16 February 1831 at Baldock under Capt-Commandant Samuel H. Unwin Heathcote of Shephall Dacorum Troop of Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Heavy Dragoons), formed 16 February 1831 at Beechwood under Capt Thomas Gage Saunders Sebright, disbanded March 1836 Gilston Troop of Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry, formed 9 March 1831 under Capt Henry George Ward, disbanded 12 November 1842
The Cashio Troop joined the South Herts as its fourth troop on 14 February 1832, when the Marquess of Salisbury was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and Viscount Grimston to major. In 1835 the Cashio Trp was called out to guard the courthouse at Ampthill in neighbouring Bedfordshire, and later in the year to guard Hatfield House against looters after a fire. Grimston (by then 2nd Earl of Verulam) took over the command in 1847, while the Marquess of Salisbury dropped back to major. By 1850 the troops were designated A, B, C and D (Cashio). The North Herts Troop remained independent as the North Hertfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry, and may have reached the strength of four troops required for an independent regiment, but had been reduced to one by 1850. Both regiments (except the Cashio Trp) were designated as Hussars. Arthur De Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, formerly of the Royal Horse Guards, who had been second-in-command, was promoted lt-col to command the South Herts regiment on 9 September 1864.Burke's: 'Essex'.
Cardwell Reforms Under the Cardwell Reforms the two regiments were amalgamated as the Hertfordshire Yeomanry in August 1870, with regimental headquarters (RHQ) at Hertford (later at St Albans), and the North Herts as E Trp. The regiment was designated as Dragoons in 1874.Ryan.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 56, 66–8. Viscount Malden died in March 1879, and his second-in-command, Edward Villiers, 5th Earl of Clarendon, was promoted lt-col in command on 19 July 1879. A Troop relocated from the Hoddesdon–Cheshunt area to Aldenham in 1880, which spread the troops more evenly across the county. In 1886 the troop established a drill station (later troop headquarters) at Hendon, allowing the regiment to recruit in neighbouring Middlesex. E Troop, the old North Herts Yeomanry, was disbanded in 1887, reflecting the drift towards the south of the county and the North London suburbs.Army List, various dates.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 73–8.
Following the Cardwell Reforms a mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned 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 or services assigned. The Hertfordshire Yeomanry were assigned as 'divisional troops' to 2nd Division of I Corps based at Chelmsford, alongside Regular Army units of infantry, artillery and engineers stationed in Eastern England. This was never more than a paper organisation, but from April 1893 the Army List showed the Yeomanry regiments grouped into brigades for collective training. They were commanded by the senior regimental commanding officer (CO) but they did have a Regular Army Brigade major. The Hertfordshire Yeomanry together with the Suffolk Yeomanry formed the 7th Yeomanry Brigade. The Yeomanry brigades disappeared from the Army List after the Second Boer War. The troops were grouped into pairs as squadrons on 1 April 1893.Sainsbury (1994), p. 80.
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 and civilians (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 Hertfordshire Yeomanry raised the 42nd (Hertfordshire) Company and a machine gun (MG) section, which landed in South Africa on 28 March.Frederick, p. 370.IY Companies at Roll of Honour.Sainsbury (1969), p. 22.Sainsbury (1994), pp. 88–92.