- Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry
caption=Badge of The Ayrshire Yeomanry
dates=1794 - Present
country=United Kingdom
branch=Territorial Army
type=Yeomanry
command_structure=Royal Armoured Corps
role=Formation Reconnaissance
size= One squadron
garrison=Ayr & Motherwell
colonel_of_the_regiment=Colonel GA Hay TD DL
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=Honorary Colonel
march="Garb of Old Gaul"
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=Stable Belt Colours [The Queen's Own Yeomanry Stable Belt is now worn by the Squadron]
identification_symbol_3=
identification_symbol_3_label=The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry was a Regiment of the British
Yeomanry and is now an armoured Squadron of theQueen's Own Yeomanry (QOY), part of the BritishTerritorial Army . It is the Lowlands of Scotland's onlyRoyal Armoured Corps Unit and has an unbroken history stretching back to the 1790s.The Squadron is part of 15 (North East) Brigade within the Army's 2nd Division,however, because of the geographic spread of the QOY the Squadron is administered by 51st (Scottish) Brigade.
The
Queen's Own Yeomanry is the onlyyeomanry regiment that serves in the formation reconnaissance role, equipped with the CVR(T) family of armoured reconnaissance vehicles, including Scimitar and Spartan. On mobilisation, it provides squadrons to reinforce the regular formation reconnaissance regiments. It has provided personnel to bothOperation HERRICK inAfghanistan andOperation TELIC inIraq , who have served with their regular counterparts in theRoyal Armoured Corps and other arms and services.The Ayrshire Yeomanry has won numerous
battle honours and oneVictoria Cross .Organisation
A Squadron QOY is based at Yeomanry House on Chalmers Road in Ayr and consists of a Squadron Headquarters Element (SHQ), 3 Sabre Troops, a Squadron Quarter Master Segeant (SQMS) Department and a REME Light Aid Detachment (LAD).
The Sqauadron is supported by
Adjutant General's Corps Clerks,Royal Logistics Corps Chefs andRoyal Army Medical Corps Medics.The TA Officers and Soldiers hold all of the command appointments but on a day-to-day basis the unit is managed by a team of Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Permanent Staff Instructors (PSIs) (SNCO instructors posted from the Regular Army) and civil servants.
Regimental History
Early History
The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry was formed as an independent troop of
Fencible Cavalry by The Earl of Cassillis in around 1794. It was formally adopted into the Army List in 1798 as The Ayrshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry making it the 7th most senior Yeomanry Regiment in the Army and the most senior in Scotland. The Yeomanry were established and recruited at this time to provide Britain with a defence against any invasion byNapoleon and French forces.The Regiment spent its formative years in aid to the civil powers reacting to and controlling riots across Ayrshire and beyond, most notably in
Paisley . In 1897 the Regiment was granted permission to use the title Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Earl of Carrick's Own) in honour of the futureKing Edward VII , asEarl of Carrick is a subsidiary title of the Princes of Wales deriving from theAyrshire district of Carrick. During these early years the Regiment adopted the uniorm and role ofHussar s.Boer War
In 1900 the Regiment, with The
Lanarkshire Yeomanry , sponsored the formation and deployment of the 17th Company of the 6th (Scottish) Battalion of theImperial Yeomanry for service in theSecond Boer War . This was the first overseas deployment of the Yeomanry. Upon their return in 1901 the Regiment was reorganized asmounted infantry and titled the Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry. [http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/volmil-scotland/vcav/ayrshire.htm The Ayrshire Yeomanry (Earl of Carrick's Own)] , regiments.org] In 1908 it was transferred into the newTerritorial Force , returning to the cavalry role.First World War
Upon the outbreak of World War One the Regiment was one of the fastest to react to the mobilisation order and received congratulations from Scottish Command, even though there was an initial delay in that the orders came in a code that had not been issued to the Regiment! Following mobilisation the Regiment remained in the UK until 1915 on home defence duties. They finally deployed overseas in September ofthat year to take part in the Gallipoli landings, serving as dismounted
infantry , they were attached to52nd (Lowland) Division in October and were withdrawn in January 1916 to moved to Egypt. In early 1917 the Regiment was amalgamated withThe Lanarkshire Yeomanry to form the 12th (Ayr and Lanark Yeomanry) Battalion of theRoyal Scots Fusiliers in 74th (Yeomanry) Division (The Broken Spurs),seeing service in thePalestine campaign before moving to theWestern Front in May 1918. [http://www.1914-1918.net/CAVALRY/ayrshire.htm Ayrshire Yeomanry] , The British Army in the Great War] A member of this Regiment,Thomas Caldwell , won theVictoria Cross on 31st of October 1918 atOudenaarde inBelgium .The Regiment raised a second-line battalion, the 2/1st Ayrshire Yeomanry, in September 1914; this remained in the United Kingdom and was converted into a cyclist unit in 1916. It moved to
Ireland in May 1918, but did not see overseas service. A third-line battalion was formed in 1915, and remained in the United Kingdom until disbanded in 1917, with personnel transferred to the 4thRoyal Scots Fusiliers .Following
demobilisation after the War, the Regiment was reconstituted in 1920 in theTerritorial Army .econd World War
Between the First and
Second World War s the Regiment returned to its horsed Cavalry training in Scotland. However when the call to duty came again at the beginning of Second World War the Ayrshire Yeomanry were faced with a difficult choice, they were not required as a cavalry or an armoured Regiment and were instead asked to fill a gap in the Army'sArtillery organisation. In 1940 the Regiment transferred into theRoyal Artillery and duly formed two Regiments ofField Artillery ; 151st (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA, formed in February, and 152nd (Ayrshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, formed in April as a second-line duplicate.The 151st remained in the United Kingdom until 1942, when it was assigned to
46th Infantry Division and fought in theTunisia Campaign . It was assigned to the 11th Armoured Division in 1944, and remained with it through the campaign inNorth-Western Europe . [ [http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/field/page151.html 151 Field Regt] , The Royal Artillery 1939-45]The 152nd was attached to the 6th Armoured Division in mid-1942, and moved with the division to North Africa that November. It remained with the division through the remainder of the war, fighting in the
Tunisia Campaign , and theItalian Campaign , ending the war in Austria. [ [http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/field/page152.html 152 Field Regt] , The Royal Artillery 1939-45] When peace was declared the 152nd Regiment found itself inAustria and immediately organised agymkhana using horses from a local Cavalry depot.Both Regiments fought with great courage and between them they won four
Distinguished Service Order s, twenty oneMilitary Cross es and twenty fourMilitary Medal s. ["The Proud Trooper" W.S. Brownlie 1964]Post War
After the War, the regiment reconstituted in the
Territorial Army as a Yeomanry Regiment, under its old title of The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry, and transferred into theRoyal Armoured Corps . The regiment was made part of 30 (Lowland) Independent Armoured Brigade. [http://www.orbat.com/site/history/library-new/1946-1990/britishempire/ta47.html] During this time the Regiment were issued with a wide variety of equipments, including at one stage flamethrower tanks! The Regiment consisted of Sabre Squadrons atAyr ,Dalry &Kilmarnock with RHQ & Carrick Troop (HQ Sqn) in Ayr.In 1961 the Ayrshire Yeomanry paraded at Culzean Castle, where they had been raised so many years before. They were presented with their First
Guidon bearing the Honours which had been hard won since the first overseas deployment to South Africa and through two World Wars.The Ayrshire Yeomanry continued as an independent Regiment until 1969 when, in common with most of the Yeomanry Regiments, it was reduced to a
Cadre of just a few men.On the 1st April 1971 this cadre gave rise to two new units; B Squadron of the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment, later renamed
The Queen's Own Yeomanry , at the former RHQ in Ayr and 251 Squadron of154th (Lowland) Transport Regiment in Irvine with no affiliation to the Ayrshire Yeomanry lineage.The Queen's Own Yeomanry were aBAOR Regiment with an Armoured Reconnaissance role in Germany and the Ayrshire Squadron became Scotland’s only Yeomanry serving in the Royal Armoured Corps. The regiment was equipped with Ferret, Saladin and later CVR(W) Fox Armoured Vehicles.In 1992 the Squadron was transferred to the newly formed
Scottish Yeomanry . They joined a number of historic Scottish Yeomanry Squadrons that had been operating in other roles since 1969. The Scottish Yeomanry retained the Royal Armoured Corps reconnaissance role but this time it was equipped with reconnaissanceLand Rover s.On 27th June 1998 The Scottish Yeomanry paraded in Ayr to celebrate the
Bicentenary of The Ayrshire Yeomanry.On 17th November 1998 under the Government's "
Strategic Defence Review " it was announced that The Scottish Yeomanry was to beamalgamated with The Queen's Own Yeomanry. Two of the Scottish Yeomanry's four Squadrons; The Ayrshire Yeomanry in Ayr, and TheFife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse inCupar were to continue under command of The Queen's Own Yeomanry and would be equipped with CVR(T) Armoured Vehicles.Victoria Cross
Thomas Caldwell is the only member of the unit to have been awarded the
Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Caldwell was 24 years old, and a
Sergeant in the 12th (Ayr & Lanark Yeomanry) Battalion, theRoyal Scots Fusiliers during theFirst World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The full citation was published in a supplement to the "London Gazette " of3 January 1919 (dated6 January 1919 ) and read: [LondonGazette|issue=31108|supp=yes|startpage=307|date=3 January 1919 |accessdate=2008-03-19]"For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack near Audenarde on the 31st October 1918 near Audenarde,
Belgium , when in command of a Lewis gun section engaged in clearing a farmhouse. When his section came under intense fire at close range from another farm, Sjt. Caldwell rushed towards the farm, and, in spite of very heavy fire, reached the enemy position, which he captured single-handed, together with 18 prisoners.""This gallant and determined exploit removed a serious obstacle from the line of advance, saved many casualties, and led to the capture by his section of about 70 prisoners, eight machine guns and one trench mortar."
The Guidon
The Guidon of The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick’s Own) Yeomanry was presented by General Sir Horatius Murray KBE CB DSO at
Culzean Castle ,Ayrshire on 24th June 1961.The Badge of the Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick’s Own) Yeomanry is borne on both sides within a circlet bearing the title of the Regiment. The badge appears as a Silver Lion’s Head with Gold Wings. The whole is within the Union wreath of flowering Rose, Thistle & Shamrock surmounted by the Royal Crown.
The Battle Honours of the Regiment emblazoned on both sides of the Guidon are as follows:
Honorary Distinction: Placed under the central tie of the Union Wreath the badge of the
Royal Regiment of Artillery within a laurel wreath bearing four scrolls inscribed as follows:Regimental Music
of the Ayrshire Yeomanry is "The Garb of Old Gaul".
The Regiment had its own well respected volunteer
military band until the Regiment was reduced to cadre status in 1969. Although never formally established, the Regiment, and latterly the Squadron, has enjoyed the services of pipers and drummers from amongst the serving soldiers.The Ayrshire Yeomanry song, The Proud Trooper, was written as a poem following the Regiment's actions in South Africa and the first verse is now often sung, to the tune of
Amazing Grace , when several Ayrshire Yeomen are together.Lyrics of the first verse of The Proud Trooper;
"I’ve Listed in The County Horse,
A Yeoman don’t you know,
With spurs of steel upon my heel,
full swagger now I go,
I’ve sworn an oath to serve the Queen,
And to defend Her Throne,
I’m proud to be a Trooper in,
The Earl of Carrick’s Own."The Ayrshire Yeomanry Locomotive
Only four of 842
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 Locomotives, commonly known as "Black Fives", were named. All were named in honour of Scottish Regiments; Ayrshire Yeomanry,Lanarkshire Yeomanry ,Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and Glasgow Highlander.The Ayrshire Yeomanry Locomotive was built in 1935 by
Armstrong Whitworth and carried the number 5156 in LMS Service and 45156 when continuing into service withBritish Rail .The Locomotive is a popular model in many scales and is regularly available from Hornby and other model makers.
A replica of the Locomotive's name plate is on display in Yeomanry House, Ayr.
Alliances
*UK - The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys)
External links
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/qoy/ Queens Own Yeomanry - Official Website]
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/qoy/a_squadron/index.htm/ Ayrshire Yeomanry Squadron QOY - Official Website]
* [http://www.tanearyou.org.uk/unitdetails.php?id=46/ TA Near you Website - Entry for Ayrshire (ECO) Yeomanry Squadron, QOY]References
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