The 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry was an active service cavalry unit formed by the Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) during World War I. It was sent to the Mediterranean in 1915 and after several changes of plan it arrived in Egypt, where it served with the Western Frontier Force. Later, it participated in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, including the battles of Gaza, Mughar Ridge and Nebi Samwil, the decisive Battle of Megiddo and the Capture of Damascus. It remained in Palestine on security duties for some months before being demobilised.
Mobilisation
When war was declared on 4 August 1914, the Staffordshire Yeomanry, a mounted regiment of Britain's Territorial Force (TF), mobilised at Stafford under Lieutenant-Colonel William Bromley-Davenport, its commander since 1910. The regiment assembled with the North Midland Mounted Brigade (NMMB) and went with it to its war station at Diss in Norfolk, where the brigade came under 1st Mounted Division in September.Frederick, pp. 51–2.James, p. 28.Staffordshire Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail (including summary war diary for 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry 1915–18), retrieved 30 March 2023.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 1–7.James, pp. 5–6.1st Mtd Division at Long, Long Trail.
The part-time TF was intended to be a home defence force in wartime, and its members could not be compelled to serve overseas. However, on 10 August 1914, the TF was invited to volunteer for overseas service and the majority did so. On 15 August, 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 the 1st Line TF formations being sent overseas. Later, the 2nd Line was prepared for overseas service, and a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.Becke, Pt 2a, p. 40.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
Service While in East Anglia the 1st Mtd Division was part of the defence forces for the East Coast, but at the same time its units and formations were training for active service. One by one its 1st Line mounted brigades embarked for overseas service and were replaced by the 2nd Line. The turn of the 1/1st NMMB came on 30 September 1915 when it was ordered to re-equip and reorganise to full war establishment (it was replaced in the division by 2/1st NMMB). By now 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry was commanded by Lt-Col Henry Clowes, who had been second-in-command of the regiment on the outbreak of war.
On 26 October Lt-Col Clowes, Major Viscount Lewisham and nine other officers went to Devonport to embark on HM Transport Northland as an advance party sent to Mudros, the base for the Gallipoli campaign. Eleven men and 11 mules of the regiment also embarked with the 1/1st East Riding Yeomanry (1/1st ERY) on HMT Victorian. The rest of the regiment entrained at Norwich for Southampton and sailed next day aboard HMT Nessian with 16 officers and 501 other ranks (ORs). The convoy was heading for Malta, but when it passed Gibraltar on 2 November it was ordered to proceed to the Salonika front and steamed past Malta. Then on 6 November it received orders by wireless to re-route to Alexandria in Egypt. It disembarked there on 9 November, the advance party who had travelled via Mudros rejoining on 22 November.
Western Frontier On 23 November the regiment moved by train to Cairo and then on 28 November, also by train, it went to Faiyum, south west of Cairo, where 1/1st NMMB became part of the Western Frontier Force (WFF). The Senussi had just invaded Egypt from Libya and 1/1st NMMB's role was to keep order in the Faiyum Oasis area and also to block the desert route to the Nile. 1/1st Staffordshire Yeomanry was stationed at Deir al Azab Camp with one Troop on outpost duty every night. From here it carried out patrols and route marches throughout the area. 1/1st North Midland Mounted Brigade was numbered as 22nd Mounted Brigade in March 1916.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 108, 134, 136.
When Lt-Col Clowes died in hospital on 8 March,Clowes at CWGC records. Lt-Col Bromley-Davenport took over, but five days later he was promoted to Temporary Brigadier-General to command 22nd Mounted Bde. Major Sir Percival Heywood, 4th Baronet, was promoted to command 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry.MacMunn & Falls, Appendix 2.London Gazette, 18 April 1916. A number of men from 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry volunteered to serve with the Imperial Camel Corps at this time, and on 12 June the regiment received a draft of reinforcements from 3/1st Staffs Yeomanry at Aldershot. The regiment continued its patrol work, squadrons being moved around the area as required. On 11 October it was moved to the WFF's outpost line, the on 1 November it returned to Deir al Azab.
Gaza By the end of 1916 the Senussi threat had receded, and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) called in the yeomanry brigades as it was preparing for the Sinai and Palestine campaign. 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry entrained at Faiyum on 2 December and moved to Qantara, the EEF's base on the Suez Canal. From there it marched to Romani, near the Sinai coast, where standing patrols were established. By early 1917 the EEF's advance into Sinai had begun, 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry moved up to Bir al-Abd on 19 January, and then spent a month marching in stages along the coast to arrive at Sheikh Zuweid on 23 February. 22nd Mounted Bde (now commanded by T/Brig-Gen F. A. B. Fryer) now formed part of the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division in the Desert Column.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 273–4, Appendix 3.
At Sheikh Zuweid 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry was assigned to the outposts, and on 1 March its men entrenched an observation post on 'Fryer's Hill'. On 4 March it took part with the 1/1st Lincolnshire Yeomanry, the brigade machine gun squadron and 7th Australian Light Horse in a reconnaissance in force towards Khan Yunis and Bei Sela, where it came under fire for the first time, from Turkish artillery. On 10 March the regiment moved up to Bir Eshsha, near Rafah from where two days later it carried out another reconnaissance up to Weli Sheikh Nuran and the Wadi Ghuzzee. The rest of the EEF now followed, and by midnight on 25 March had closed up to the Wadi Ghuzzee with the Anzac Mtd Division at Deir al-Balah, ready to attack Gaza City.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 286–7.
The First Battle of Gaza was launched at 02.30 on 26 March when the Anzac Mdt Division left its bivouacs at Deir al-Balah and moved east across the rear of the EEF to a previously-prepared crossing of the Wadi Ghuzzee. Here it was ready to envelop the city while the infantry attacked frontally. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade crossed at 04.50 and then advanced at a smart pace to Beit Durdis, which it reached soon after 09.00, followed by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and 22nd Mtd Bde. The 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry was shelled as it crossed the wadi. As the 2nd LH Bde continued to the north west, the NZMRB concentrated at Beit Durdis and pushed out patrols to Huj while 22nd Mtd Bde formed up to its south. However, the infantry attack had been delayed by thick fog: by noon it looked like they could not complete the capture of Gaza by nightfall. The Anzac Mtd Division was therefore ordered to attack from the east. All three brigades had reached the outskirts by dusk, the 22nd Mtd Bde advancing at a gallop along the track from Beit Durdis. However, there was a shortage of water for the horses and Turkish reinforcements were arriving. The Desert Column was ordered to break off the action and withdraw to the Wadi Ghuzzee. This was a confused affair, but the Anzac Mtd Division passed Beit Durdis at 02.00 on 27 March. Once back across the wadi 22nd Mtd Bde was sent across to the coast to relieve the troops in the sand dunes. 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry manned the outpost line to the sea until it was relieved and rejoined the rest of the division on 29 March.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 287–99, 305–14.
The EEF immediately began preparing a new attack (the Second Battle of Gaza). The first phase began on 17 April with a demonstration by the Anzac Mtd Division, followed next day by a bombardment. The EEF's infantry attacked on 19 April, with the Desert Column's mounted troops pinning the Turks in the east. 22nd Mounted Bde's role was to hold the right on the Wadi Ghuzzee and cover the Royal Engineers working to develop water supplies in the wadi. During the day Anzac Mtd Division had to fight off Turkish counter-attacks, and 22nd Mtd Bde was engaged by cavalry and infantry from the direction of Beersheba. Once again the main infantry attack on Gaza failed, and the fighting died down that night, the EEF digging in where it stood.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 332–6, 343–8, 351.
The summer months saw little action. On 22 May the Anzac Mtd Division raided the Beersheba–Auja railway, after which 1/1st Staffs Yeomanry moved to Tel el Marrakeb on the beach for a rest. In July 1917 the Desert Column was broken up into three mounted divisions under the Desert Mounted Corps (DMC), with the yeomanry brigades constituting a new Yeomanry Mounted Division (YMD) at Khan Yunis. General Sir Edmund Allenby had now taken command of the EEF, and intensive preparations were made for a renewal of the offensive in the autumn.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 31–4.MacMunn & Falls, pp. 353, 357, 362–4, 368.Falls, Pt II, Appendix 2.
Beersheba Allenby planned to attack again at Gaza, this time using the DMC on a wider sweep to capture Beersheba, with its water supplies, before moving against the Turkish flank. The DMC began moving into position on 21 October, with the YMD marching from the coast to the inland flank, moving mostly by night. Although the corps encountered some opposition, it was in position for the opening of the attack on 31 October. The Third Battle of Gaza began with the Capture of Beersheba, for which the YMD was in GHQ Reserve and was not engaged. It then returned to the DMC for the Capture of the Sheria Position on 6 November, supporting the dismounted yeomanry of 74th (Yeomanry) Division. The YMD then held the positions captured in the hills north of Beersheba while the rest of the DMC was launched through the broken Turkish positions. On the morning of 8 November it was ordered to rejoin the DMC as quickly as possible to help complete the destruction of the Turkish garrison of Gaza. It reached newly-captured Huj on 9 November, where it watered its horses, and carried on next day, relieving the Anzac units exhausted in the pursuit. It continued towards the coast, where the EEF was concentrating for its next advance.Falls, Pt I, pp. 28–30, 36–41, 91–7, 107, 111, 124–7, 144–9.
Mughar Ridge