- Surrey Yeomanry
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment)
abbreviation=
caption=
dates= 1794
country=Great Britain
allegiance=
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
command_structure=
equipment=
Past Commanders=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders=Lt-Colonel Eric Richard Thesiger DSO TD
(17 February 1874 – 2 October 1961)
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=The Surrey Yeomanry were formed in 1794, whenKing George III , was on the throne,William Pitt the Younger was thePrime Minister ofGreat Britain , and across theEnglish Channel , Britain was faced by a French nation that had recentlyguillotined its King and possessed a revolutionary army numbering half a million men. The Prime Minister proposed that theEnglish Counties form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry which could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by theLord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the country. [cite web|title=worcestershire|url=http://www.ph012b2086.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/harry/wyc.htm] 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. [cite web|title=queensroyalsurreys|url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/militia_vol_territorial/mvt09_1.html]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.cite web|title=1914-1918|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/CAVALRY/surreyeo.htm]
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 the1st Mounted Division .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.C Squadrin would see service in theDardenelles campaign atGallipoli in 1916 moved toFrance as theXV 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.In December 1916 the regiments A and B Squadrons reformed to become theXVI Corps Cavalry Regiment inSalonika .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.3/1st 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.
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 aRoyal Artillery regiment and to provide two batteries of field artillery which together with two batteries of theSussex 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. [cite web|title=queensroyalsurreys|url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/militia_vol_territorial/mvt09_1.html]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 toFrance , initially attached to the 1st Infantry Division in theLille 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 toDunkirk for evacuation.cite web|title=ra39-45|url= http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/field/page98.html] Back in the United Kingdom the regiment was attached to the 1st Infantry Brigade while it reformed it remaind in the United Kingdon until September 1942 when it was sent out to the Middle East and attached to the 10th Armoured Division inEgypt where it participated in theSecond Battle of El Alamein , when 10th Armoured was disbanded the regiment was part of the 8th Army Artillery and served inSicily andItaly being involved in theBattle of Monte Cassino amongst others before leaving Italy in March 1945 and joining the 2nd Army inFrance andBelgium ending the war inHolland . In April 45 the Regimentt moved to theLubeck area of Germany as occupation forces and demobilisation was started in October 1945 with the Regiment being placed in suspended animation in June 1946.144 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 theBritish 4th Infantry Division .In November 1940 they were sent toEgypt and then attached to the5th Indian Division seeing service in theSudan , Abyssinia andEritrea it was atKeru Gorge that 390 Battery were charged by about 60 Eritrean cavalry, almost certainly the last cavalry charge on the British Army..The Regiment returned to Egypt with the division before being attached to the 70th Infantry Division during theSiege of Tobruk in September 1941.After being withdrawn from Tobruk they were briefly attached to the4th Indian Division in early 1942 and theBritish 1st Armoured Division in February to April 1942.In May 1942 the were sent toIraq with the 10th Army attached to the17th Indian Infantry Brigade ,31st Indian Armoured Division they remained with this formation until the end of the war serving inSyria ,Persia ,Egypt ,Palestine andLebanon .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). [cite web|title=queensroyalsurrys|url=http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/militia_vol_territorial/mvt09_1.html] 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 TheQueen's Regiment [cite web|title=win.tue|url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~drenth/BritArmy/Lineage/RA/index.html] in April 1975 this Battalion was disbanded and amalgamated with the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion to form 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion. [cite web|title=win.tue|url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~drenth/BritArmy/Lineage/QUEENS/index.html]Furthern Reading
DAVIS, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL T. B. The Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry in the Second World WarDitchling, Ditchling Press. 1980, First Edition. (ISBN 0950058432
References
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