The Hampshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry cavalry regiment formed by amalgamating older units raised between 1794 and 1803 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It served in a mounted role in the Second Boer War and World War I, and in the air defence role during and after World War II. The lineage is continued by 295 (Hampshire Yeomanry) Battery and 457 (Hampshire Carabiniers Yeomanry) Battery, batteries of 106 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery, part of the Army Reserve.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars After Britain was drawn into the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger proposed on 14 March 1794 that the counties 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 country. By the end of the year 27 counties had raised Yeomanry, including Hampshire.Rogers, p. 145.Frederick, p. 30. Between 1794 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, the following independent troops of Yeomanry were raised in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight: North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry, troop raised at Basingstoke 31 May 1794, increased to three troops 1795, reduced to one troop 1799, disbanded 1802 South Hampshire Cavalry, troop raised at Christchurch 5 June 1794, increased to two troops 1798, disbanded 1802 New Forest Volunteer Cavalry, two troops raised 5 June 1794, redesignated New Forest Rangers 1797, disbanded 1802 South East Hampshire Cavalry, troop raised at Portsdown 28 April 1795, increased to two troops 1797, disbanded 1802 Alton and Petersfield Cavalry, raised 10 May 1796, disbanded 1802 Southampton Cavalry, raised 2 March 1797, disbanded 1802 Fawley Light Dragoons, raised March 1797, disbanded 1802 East Medina Cavalry, one troop raised 19 April 1798, disbanded 1802 Ringwood Cavalry, raised 12 May 1798, disbanded 1802 West Medina Cavalry, one troop raised 17 May 1798, disbanded 1802 Fordingbridge Cavalry, raised 31 May 1798, disbanded 1802 Bramdean Association Cavalry, raised 25 July 1798, disbanded later Wickham Cavalry, raised 28 July 1798, disbanded later Bere Forest Cavalry, raised 17 October 1798, disbanded 1802 Isle of Wight Cavalry, troop raised 27 March 1800, disbanded 1802
The Peace of Amiens was short-lived and Britain declared war on France again in May 1803, beginning the Napoleonic Wars. The county Yeomanry was quickly reformed, including the following units in Hampshire: North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry, two troops reformed 6 September 1802, increased to four troops 1803, reduced to two troops 1806 South Hampshire Cavalry, eight troops reformed 6 September 1802 South East Hampshire Cavalry, four troops reformed 9 May 1803 North East Hampshire, or Alton Cavalry, reformed as two troops from Alton and Petersfield Cavalry 6 September 1802, increased to three troops 1803 Fawley Light Dragoons, troop reformed 6 September 1802 Isle of Wight Cavalry, formed 25 March 1805 from East and West Medina Cavalry (both reformed 13 August 1802) Ringwood Cavalry, two troops reformed 1 September 1803 Fordingbridge Cavalry, troop reformed 1 September 1803 Bere Forest Cavalry, troop reformed 26 July 1803 Dogmersfield Cavalry, troop raised 8 August 1803 Whitchurch Cavalry, troop raised 8 August 1803
19th century The Yeomanry declined in importance and strength after the end of the French wars.Spiers, p. 79. All the troops of Hampshire Yeomanry were disbanded in 1828, but civil unrest in 1830 led to the revival of the Yeomanry. The following new independent troops were raised in Hampshire in 1830–1: North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 30 November 1830 Valley of Avon and North Avon Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 7 December 1830 South Avon Yeomanry Cavalry Lymington Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 9 December 1830 Fordingbridge Yeomanry Cavalry, raised December 1830 Romsey Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 27 January 1831 New Forest East Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 22 January 1831 New Forest West Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 8 February 1831 Andover Yeomanry Cavalry, raised 27 December 1831
Charles Shaw-Lefevre of Heckfield Place, MP for North Hampshire, son of the first commanding officer of the North Hampshire Yeomanry, was appointed Commandant of that unit on 19 February 1831, and became the Yeomanry's Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel on 16 June 1868 (by which time he had been ennobled as Viscount Eversley).Army List.
In 1834 the troops in north Hampshire were regimented to form the North Hampshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1838 the regiment and the troops at Andover and Lymington continued without pay, while all the other troops were disbanded. In 1841 the regiment was converted to Hussars and dropped the 'North' part of its title in 1848, when regimental headquarters (RHQ) was at Winchester. In the 1850s it absorbed the Andover and Lymington troops. In 1887 it received the title of Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) (carabiniers being a form of mounted riflemen), and adopted crossed carbines as its badge. On 1 April 1893 its troops were organised into squadrons and RHQ moved to Southampton (though it returned to Sussex Street in Winchester by 1899).
Following the Cardwell Reforms a mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned Regular and 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 Hampshire Yeomanry were assigned to the Cavalry Brigade of II Corps based at Lewes, alongside three Regular cavalry regiments and a Royal Horse Artillery battery stationed at Aldershot. 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 but they did have a Regular Army brigade-major. The Hampshire Carabiniers together with the Dorset Yeomanry formed the Portsmouth Brigade. The Yeomanry brigades disappeared from the Army List after the Second Boer War.
Viscount Eversley was succeeded as CO in 1868 by his son-in-law, Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 5th Baronet of Dogmersfield Park, a former Major in the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays).Burke's. Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon Sir Henry Crichton, son of the 3rd Earl Erne, and a retired officer in the 21st Hussars, was commanding officer (CO) from 1884 to 1895. He later served as the regiment's Honorary Colonel and as chairman of the Hampshire Territorial Association.Crichton at Yachtsmen's Biographies.
Second Boer War Due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army to fight the Second Boer War. On 13 December, the decision to allow volunteer forces serve in the field was made, and a Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December. This officially created the Imperial Yeomanry (IY). The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each. In addition to this, many British citizens (usually mid-upper class) volunteered to join the new force.Rogers, p. 228.Spiers, p. 239.Dunlop, pp. 104–18.
The first contingent of recruits contained 550 officers, 10,371 men with 20 battalions and 4 companies. The first company left Southampton on 31 January 1900, bound for Cape Town, and the whole first contingent arrived in South Africa between February and April. Upon arrival, the IY battalions were sent throughout the zone of operations.
The Hampshire Yeomanry raised two service companies for the IY: 41st (Hampshire) Company, which arrived in South Africa on 23 February 1900 and served in 12th Battalion, IY, until 1902 when it transferred to 4th Battalion; and 50th (Hampshire) Company, which landed at Beira, Mozambique, on 4 May 1900 and served with 17th Battalion. In May and June 1900, 12th Battalion, IY, was in Lord Roberts's army, while the 17th was in Lt-Gen Carrington's Rhodesian Field Force.Amery (1909), Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14. The Hampshire IY companies served until 1901, earning the regiment its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–01.Leslie.
The Imperial Yeomanry were trained and equipped as mounted infantry. After the Boer War all Yeomanry regiments were termed Imperial Yeomanry until 1907.
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 Hampshire Yeomanry were trained and equipped as dragoons, and organised as follows:Hampshire Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail.Hampshire Yeomanry at Regimental Warpath.Conrad, British Army 1914. RHQ at Hyde Close drill hall, Winchester A Squadron at Portsmouth, with detachments at Freshwater, Newport, Ryde, Petersfield and Titchfield B Squadron at Winchester, with detachments at Alton, Aldershot, Basingstoke and Bishop's Waltham C Squadron at Southampton, with detachments at Eastleigh, Andover and Romsey D Squadron at Bournemouth, with detachments at Stuckton, Highcliffe, Burley and Beaulieu
The Hampshire Yeomanry formed part of the TF's 1st South Western Mounted Brigade.
World War I Mobilisation The Hampshire Yeomanry were mobilised at Winchester on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914. The Commanding Officer since 20 June 1907 was Lt-Col J.E.B. 'Jack' Seely, MP, who had recently resigned as Secretary of State for War. On the outbreak of war he joined Sir John French's staff, and later commanded the Canadian Cavalry Brigade in action.
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 battalions, 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 Hampshire Yeomanry After mobilisation the 1st Line regiment went to its war station in the Portsmouth defences with the 1st South Western Mounted Brigade and in October it moved with the brigade to the Forest Row area, and finally in October 1915 to Eastbourne. In March 1916, the regiment was split up to provide divisional cavalry squadrons to 2nd Line TF formations embarking to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting on the Western Front: Regimental HQ and B Squadron joined 60th (2/2nd London) Division at Warminster on 26 April 1916 and landed at Le Havre on 25 June. Three days later, the RHQ joined IX Corps Cavalry Regiment along with C Squadron and A and B Squadrons, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry at Bailleul. B Squadron was attached to the 1/1st Yorkshire Hussars as XVII Corps Cavalry Regiment from 8 July and Cavalry Corps Troops from 5 September. It rejoined the regiment on 19 January 1917.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 27. A Squadron joined 58th (2/1st London) Division at Ipswich on 21 March 1916. It moved to the Sutton Veny area in July 1916 and landed at Le Havre on 20 January 1917. Five days later it rejoined the regiment in IX Corps Cavalry Regiment at Bailleul.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 12–3.