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| Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1794 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Yeomanry |
| Role | World War I Yeomanry Infantry World War II Artillery |
| Size | World War I Three Regiments World War II Two Regiments |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Lt-Colonel Eric Richard Thesiger DSO TD (17 February 1874 – 2 October 1961) |
The Surrey Yeomanry were formed in 1794, when King George III, was on the throne, William Pitt the Younger was the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and across the English Channel, Britain was faced by a French nation that had recently guillotined its King and possessed a revolutionary army numbering half a million men. The Prime Minister proposed that the English Counties form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry which 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 country.1 In 1901 the Regiment was granted the title "Princess of Wales's which was changed to Queen Mary's when George V became the King.2
Contents |
World War I
During World War One the Surrey Yeomanry formed second and third line regiments known as the 2/1st and the 3/1st Surrey Yeomanry.3
1/1st Surrey Yeomanry
On mobilisation the Surry Yeomanry now known as the 1/1st Surrey Yeomanry was attached to the 1st South Eastern Mounted Brigade of the 1st Mounted Division.3 In late 1914 they regiment was split up with the Regimental Head Quarters and A Squadron being attached to the 27th Division ; B Squadron joined the 28th Division while C Squardron joined the 29th Division.3 C Squadrin would see service in the Dardenelles campaign at Gallipoli in 1916 moved to France as the XV Corps Cavalry squadron which lasted until July 1917 when they were dismounted and sent to be retrained as infantry, before being drafted into the 10th Battalion Royal West Surrey Regiment in September 1917.3 In December 1916 the regiments A and B Squadrons reformed to become the XVI Corps Cavalry Regiment in Salonika.3
2/1st Surrey Yeomanry
The second line regiment the 2/1st Surrey Yeomanry was formed in September 1914,they converted into a cyclist unit in July 1916 and remained in the United Kingdom until being moved to Ireland in May 1918. They did not see any active service before the end of the war. 3
3/1st Surrey Yeomanry
The third regiment was formed in 1915 they also remained in the United Kingdom until being drafted into the 1st Reserve Cavalry regiment in Ireland, in January 1917. 3
Between the Wars
It had become clear during the war that cavalry was obsolete and in 1922 it was announced that the Surry Yeomanry was to become a Royal Artillery regiment and to provide two batteries of field artillery which together with two batteries of the Sussex Yeomanry it was re-formed as 98th (Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA and in 1939 the Surrey Yeomanry Batteries formed the nucleus of the 98th Field Regiment.4
World War II
98 Field Regiment (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary’s)
On mobilisation in 1939 the Regiment was part of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) that was sent to France, initially attached to the 1st Infantry Division in the Lille area. In May 1940 it would be attached in turn to the 46th Infantry Division and the 44th infantry Division during the German advance the regiments Guns and vehicles were caught in a traffic jam and had to be destroyed, with the troops proceeding on foot to Dunkirk for evacuation. 5 Back in the United Kingdom the regiment was attached to the 1st Infantry Brigade while it reformed it remained in the United Kingdom until September 1942 when it was sent out to the Middle East and attached to the 10th Armoured Division in Egypt where it participated in the Second Battle of El Alamein, when 10th Armoured was disbanded the regiment was part of the 8th Army Artillery and served in Sicily and Italy being involved in the Battle of Monte Cassino amongst others before leaving Italy in March 1945 and joining the 2nd Army in France and Belgium ending the war in Holland. In April 45 the Regimentt moved to the Lubeck area of Germany as occupation forces and demobilisation was started in October 1945 with the Regiment being placed in suspended animation in June 1946.5
144 Field Regiment (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary’s)
The 144 Field Regiment remained in the United Kingdon in the early war years as part of the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division and later the British 4th Infantry Division.5 In November 1940 they were sent to Egypt and then attached to the 5th Indian Division seeing service in the Sudan, Abyssinia and Eritrea it was at Keru Gorge that 390 Battery were charged by about 60 Eritrean cavalry, almost certainly the last cavalry charge on the British Army..5 The Regiment returned to Egypt with the division before being attached to the 70th Infantry Division during the Siege of Tobruk in September 1941.5 After being withdrawn from Tobruk they were briefly attached to the 4th Indian Division in early 1942 and the British 1st Armoured Division in February to April 1942.5 In May 1942 the were sent to Iraq with the 10th Army attached to the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade , 31st Indian Armoured Division they remained with this formation until the end of the war serving in Syria , Persia , Egypt , Palestine and Lebanon.5
Post War
In 1947 The Regiment was re-formed as the 298th (Surrey Yeomanry, Queen Mary’s) Field Regiment R.A and Successor units eventually became 200 (Sussex Yeomanry) Field Battery RA (V) and D Company 6/7th Bn The Queen’s Regiment (V). 6 In April the Regiment was reduced to a cadre "The Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment) RA" at Sutton, of the 100 Medium Regiment RA (V), with some personnel beinmg transferred to 'C' Squadron, Royal Yeomanry Regiment (V). In April 1971 they were reformed as infantry becoming 'D' (Surrey Yeomanry, Queen Mary's) Battery 6th (V) Battalion The Queen's Regiment7 in April 1975 this Battalion was disbanded and amalgamated with the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion to form 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion.8
Further Reading
DAVIS, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL T. B. The Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry in the Second World War Ditchling, Ditchling Press. 1980, First Edition. (ISBN 0950058432
References
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