The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Richard Haldane , the Secretary of State for War , which also created the Territorial Force . Haldane originally intended that the Militia would provide the reserve, but opposition from its representatives forced him to abolish it and create the Special Reserve instead. Only 60 per cent of the Militia transferred into the new reserve, and it was consistently under strength, particularly in officers. Reservists enlisted for a six-year term of service, and had to undergo six months of basic training on recruitment and three to four weeks training annually.
113-715: The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War . Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was one of the first non-regular units to be deployed to France and the Low Countries with the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 during World War I and fought with distinction both as mounted troops and later as
226-824: A Brevet Colonel (EA Maude), six majors, six subalterns and the quartermaster although these officers had no peacetime training commitments. The naming conventions changed as the commitment of the Territorial Force in Great Britain was rewarded by its renaming as the Territorial Army . The Special Reserve in Ireland was renamed "the Militia" on 1 October 1921. The Army List contained a section headed, "Cavalry Special Reserve – Irish Horse, North Irish, South Irish". In 1922, this changed to "Cavalry Militia" with precedence following
339-627: A Zeppelin raid on Cleethorpes in April 1916. The 3rd Battalion , Suffolk Regiment, suffered a number of fatalities in two air raids at Felixstowe during July 1917 – and most losses were due to sickness or training accidents. The outbreak of the war saw a transformation of the Special Reserve, as its men were quickly posted to make good the losses suffered by the British Expeditionary Force. The initiative of Army Order 295 had absorbed
452-470: A captain , two lieutenants (commissioned by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) and forty men, along with a permanent sergeant and trumpeter. Troops were grouped together under the command of a regular army brigade major . The force was known collectively as the "Irish Yeomanry". Each man provided his own horse. The falling need for this force eventually led to its disbandment in 1834. With the advent of
565-677: A cyclist regiment, achieving eighteen battle honours . The regiment was reduced to a single man in the inter war years and re-raised for World War II , when it achieved its greatest distinctions in the North African and Italian campaigns . Reduced again after the Cold War , the regiment's name still exists in B (North Irish Horse) Squadron, the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and 40 (North Irish Horse) Signal Squadron, part of 32 Signal Regiment . The raising of Militia units in Ireland commenced with
678-404: A larger total of 74,846 reenlisted men. From 1 October 1914 onwards a further 42,636 men re-enlisted, of which 27,188 were Line Infantry. These supplementary terms were rescinded on 7 November 1914 by Army Order 470, having served the purpose of facilitating the reenlistment of former soldiers, but it stressed that men could still enlist in the Special Reserve 'under conditions that existed before
791-471: A man could enlist in the Special Reserve. Ex-soldiers were eligible to 'enlist in the Special Reserve for a period of one year, or, if the war lasts longer, for the duration of the war.' Given the promptness with which AO 295 was published, it seems likely that the authorities had realised that they would be in deep trouble without the use of the Special Reserve as a pool to absorb ex–regulars. 64,223 infantrymen enlisted under AO 295 by 30 September 1914, out of
904-682: A period of expansion following on the Boer War. After the First World War, the Territorial Force was disbanded and later reformed and redesignated as the Territorial Army . Following the experience of the war, only the fourteen senior yeomanry regiments retained their horses, with the rest being re-designated as armoured car companies , artillery , engineers , or signals . Two regiments were disbanded. The converted units retained their yeomanry traditions, with some artillery regiments having individual batteries representing different yeomanry units. On
1017-1164: A practice that was to become customary with all Irish units of the RAC, each tank was named after an Irish town or place beginning with the letter of the squadron designation: Donegal , Downpatrick , Dromore , Drogheda , Dundalk , Dungannon Ardara , Aghadowey , Aghalee , Ahoghill , Aldergrove , Antrim , Ardara , Ardreagh , Ardstraw , Armoy , Ardress , Arklow , Artigavan , Augher , Aughnacloy , Annalong , Ardmore , Ards , Armagh , Ashbourne Ballina , Ballyclare , Ballykinlar , Ballyrashane , Belfast , Blackrock , Ballybay , Ballygawley , Ballymena , Banbridge , Benburb , Boyne , Ballycastle , Ballyjamesduff , Ballymoney , Bangor , Bessbrook , Bushmills Carnlough , Castlederg , Cavan , Clonmel , Cobh , Cookstown , Carrickfergus , Castlerobin , Claudy , Coagh , Coleraine , Cork , Carryduff , Castlerock , Clogher , Coalisland , Comber , Crossgar Edenderry , Enniscorthy . Enniskillen , Edgeworthstown , Enniscrone , Ennistymon , Ennis , Enniskerry , Eyrecourt The regiment continued to be moved around
1130-418: A shortfall in the Special Reserve of 13,000 in 1914, Haldane's successor, John Seely , identified the similar number of National Reservists who had agreed to be liable for service overseas as the means of bringing it up to establishment. The Special Reserve, unlike the militia, did have an overseas service commitment for its members and, in wartime, it was seen that the Special Reserve battalions would take on
1243-514: A six-division Expeditionary Force, and the auxiliary forces were re-organised into the better trained, equipped and integrated Territorial Force . His reforms did not, however, escape vested interests unscathed, and he was forced to make some fundamental compromises before he could be sure of successfully passing the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 in Parliament. His plan to assign 31,000 of
SECTION 10
#17328519196171356-654: A source of amusement in society and the North Irish Horse was given the sobriquet of the "One Man Regiment". This state of affairs continued until 1938, when the British Government decided to increase the number of available regiments to meet the possible threat of war from the emergent Nazi regime in Germany. On 31 August 1939, the War Office ordered the reconstitution of the regiment as a wheeled armoured car unit under
1469-518: A specific strength. Yeomanry officers and permanent drill instructors were required to undergo training at a newly established School of Instruction and the Secretary of State for War took over responsibility for the force, from individual Lords Lieutenant of counties. While these reforms improved the professionalism of the Yeomanry Force, numbers remained low (only 10,617 in 1881). In 1876, the role of
1582-638: The 17th/21st Lancers . By this time, however, the South Irish Horse had been disbanded on 31 July 1922, as a result of the partition of Ireland . Following the disbandment of King Edward's Horse in 1924, the North Irish Horse became the sole cavalry militia regiment on the army list and also the only militia regiment that had not been placed in suspended animation. On 28 February 1924, the regiment held its first reunion in Thompson's Restaurant in Belfast, where it
1695-572: The 78th Division . In January 1946, another move was effected into Germany, where the Horsemen carried out internal security duties in the Wuppertal area until 7 June, when these duties were handed over to the 14th/20th Hussars and the North Irish Horse was disbanded. In 1947, however, it was reformed as part of the extension of the Territorial Army Yeomanry into Northern Ireland . In 1956,
1808-519: The Boer War , a parliamentary decision was taken to raise squadrons of Yeomanry Cavalry under the "Militia and Yeomanry Act 1901" for service in South Africa. Because of the pressing need to raise this force quickly, normal cavalry training with swords or lances (known as the arme blanche ) was dispensed with and the new yeomanry was issued only with rifles in a break with cavalry tradition. This new force
1921-509: The French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte , the perceived threat of invasion of the Kingdom of Great Britain was high. To improve the country's defences, Volunteer regiments were raised in many counties from yeomen . While the word "yeoman" in normal use meant a small farmer who owned his land, Yeomanry officers were drawn from the nobility or the landed gentry, and many of
2034-478: The Military Cross . The regiment continued to support other elements of the invasion force in troop or squadron formations, taking heavy casualties and losing tanks but continuing to press forward all the time until, in early April moving to Oued Zarga where the entire regiment came together for the first time since landing at Algiers. In the further advance north while attached to the 38th (Irish) Brigade , which
2147-528: The Peterloo Massacre ; as police forces were created and took over this role, the Yeomanry concentrated on local defence. In 1827, it was decided for financial reasons to reduce the number of yeomanry regiments, disbanding those that had not been required to assist the civil power over the previous decade. A number of independent troops were also dissolved. Following these reductions, the yeomanry establishment
2260-611: The Seaforth Highlanders . The introduction of conscription early in 1916 overwhelmed the New Army's regiment-based system of training new recruits, resulting in the reorganisation of its training battalions into the centralised Training Reserve in September 1916. The Special Reserve battalions remained responsible for training replacements for their own regular battalions, but when they were at full establishment, new recruits were sent to
2373-493: The Western Front . They formed reserve regiments to supply their own drafts. Similarly, the Special Reserve artillery manned the ammunition columns, but there were no subsequent replacements for this pool of men. The demographic of the Special Reserve was transformed, from that of young men, to that of older men with prior military experience. Army Order 295, dated 6 August 1914, announced supplementary terms of service by which
SECTION 20
#17328519196172486-476: The "Militia Act 1793", which in Ireland was used in conjunction with the compulsory disbandment of Lord Charlemont's Irish Volunteers , who had become a political entity and "out of the scope of official influence". The scope of the Militia was broadened by an act of the Dublin Parliament in 1796, which led to the raising of forty-nine troops of cavalry , later renamed yeomanry . A troop normally consisted of
2599-521: The 'Horse' were to join the regiment in France landing on 2 May 1915, 17 November 1915 and 11 January 1916. A total of 70 officers and 1,931 men of the regiment went to war between 1914 and 1916. The North Irish Horse did not stay together as a unit, but squadrons were attached to different formations in the BEF as and when required: On 25 May 1916, 2nd North Irish Horse was formed. This regiment included, as A Sqn,
2712-514: The 3rd Battalion, Essex Regiment, for example, had already sent 300 men to the regiment's 2nd Battalion. The huge increase in numbers led to over-crowded depots, and the 3rd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry , was so overwhelmed that it had to send many men on to other regimental depots. Special Reserve units experienced a high turnover of men in bringing their regular battalions up to strength and, once battle had been joined in France, replacing casualties. At one stage in 1914, consideration
2825-605: The 5th Buffs. The German infantry did not expect tanks to be able to make the crest of the Djebel and as a result were thrown into panic when the Churchills of B Sqn appeared in their midst. On 16 June, the Belfast Telegraph carried a report of the action: It was very slow and therefore a most impressive assault with steel. At times the tanks almost 'stood on their heads', twisting to avoid mounds of rock and to get at right angles to
2938-455: The 69 infantry regiments received a 3rd (Reserve) battalion (or, for regiments with four battalions, a 5th and 6th (Reserve) Battalion), and 23 regiments also established between them an additional 27 (Extra Reserve) battalions. These Extra Reserve Battalions, who were to deploy as a unit, for home or active service, were hindered as recruiting was generally poor. The reserve battalions were to be 550 strong, increasing to 1,500 on mobilisation with
3051-644: The 7th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment ). As Christmas leave was drawing to a close, those still away from the unit were recalled by telegram and ordered to get ready to deploy for overseas service, although oddly, they were then given six days "embarkation leave" (with an extra day to allow the Irishmen to travel home). On their return, the regiment's tanks were sheeted down so that all markings were hidden and all ranks had to divest themselves of identifying badges to prevent knowledge of their deployment becoming known. All were then entrained for Liverpool, where they embarked on
3164-718: The Axis Offensive – Operation Ochsenkopf in late February 1943. It made best speed with all 27 available tanks towards Béja , some 90 miles away – one of the longest "on track" journeys ever made by Churchill tanks. In the ensuing 60-hour action, mostly against elements of the German 10th Panzer Division , the Horse took its first casualties of the war and lost a number of tanks to enemy artillery and direct tank-on-tank actions. It also received its first decoration, with Captain Griffith being awarded
3277-683: The Boer War could not be incorporated into the Territorial Forces because the Act did not cover Ireland or the Dominions. These were transferred to the Special Reserve. It had been intended to convert the Royal Garrison Artillery Militia units into Royal Field Artillery brigades of the Special Reserve, but this was abandoned and the units disbanded in 1909. Instead the Special Reserve artillerymen would form Brigade Ammunition Columns for
3390-511: The Churchill as they crawled slowly up the almost sheer walls of the ravine to re-enter the battle. During this battle, Major Griffiths again displayed great heroism and was later awarded the only bar to the MC that an officer of the regiment received. The total cost to the Horse in the engagement was 36 men killed in action and 32 tanks lost. This represented 60% of the regimental strength. The date of 23 May
3503-581: The Curragh and other years at Ballykinlar, Dundrum, Magilligan and Bundoran. The regiment became part of the special reserve in 1908 and its name was changed to the North Irish Horse as part of the Haldane Reforms , the formation of the Territorial Force, which created the Special Reserve of Militia and Yeomanry regiments in Ireland. The North Irish Horse, along with the other Militia battalions, remained on
North Irish Horse - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-550: The Earl of Donoughmore and paid £130 each for their horses and equipment. The officers of the battalion included the Earl of Leitrim , Sir John Power (of the Powers whiskey family) and James Craig (later Lord Craigavon ), and was known as the "Millionaires Own". Following the South African war, sixteen new yeomanry regiments were formed, two of these in Ireland. King Edward VII approved
3729-514: The Expeditionary Force, and ambiguous statements he made later suggested that Special Reserve battalions might also serve overseas. Reservists were volunteers at least 17 years old who committed to a six-year term of service, six months full time basic training on enlistment and three to four weeks training annually. Officers were recruited from a newly created Special Reserve of Officers, though Haldane also hoped that another of his innovations,
3842-710: The German Kaiserschlacht (or Spring Offensive). Following the Armistice , on 13 November a supply of boot blackening and button polish was made available in the other ranks canteen and the regiment began handing in stores in preparation for moving back to Ireland. The regiment's location was close to le Cateau , not far from where it had started the war. During the Great War, the "Horse" won 18 battle honours, and lost 27 officers and 123 men. One officer, Captain Richard West ,
3955-537: The Home Counties and also spent time in Wales, exercising and becoming familiar with its Churchill tanks. On 6 September 1942, it was transferred from the 34th Tank Brigade to the 25th Army Tank Brigade , which was attached to the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division , joining the 51st (Leeds Rifles) Royal Tank Regiment (formerly the 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion , West Yorkshire Regiment ) and the 142nd Regiment RAC (formerly
4068-668: The Horse from its "One Man Regiment" status from scratch. On 11 September, a Special Army Order transferred the regiment from the Cavalry of the Line to the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). By November, 50 recruits had been trained and a further 30–40 were due to start training immediately. In the same month, the regiment also moved its base to Enniskillen Castle. By January 1940, the regiment had received its vintage Rolls-Royce armoured cars fitted with Vickers machine guns and No 11 radio sets and
4181-674: The Indian Brigade), the town was finally occupied. This effectively ended the campaign in Tunisia. The Horse were allowed to rest and receive replacement vehicles and men for several months after the Tunisian actions. It has been surmised that this is because General Montgomery did not believe the Churchill tank to be a practical vehicle for the Italian campaign. Nevertheless, the regiment embarked on 16 April for Naples, coming under air attack as it entered
4294-638: The Line units became the permanent staff instructors (PSIs). On 7 December 1913, the Duke of Abercorn was appointed as the regiment's first honorary colonel. The declaration of war against Germany in August 1914 found the North Irish Horse at summer camp, as was its sister regiment, the South Irish Horse . The Expeditionary Force squadron (designated A Squadron) under the command of Major Lord Cole, consisting of 6 officers and 154 other ranks, along with its counterpart in
4407-401: The Militia to the Expeditionary Force, allocate a further 56,000 as a reserve for it and transfer the remainder into the Territorial Force was met with opposition by militia representatives. Their intransigence forced Haldane to abolish the Militia altogether and create the Special Reserve as a separate institution to the Territorial Force, both of which were established on 1 April 1908. There
4520-486: The Militia's existence as an independent body capable of operating in independent units, and it became little more than a source of recruitment into the army, with 35 per cent of its men enlisting each year. The reorganisation did little to ease the army's manpower problems, and as early as 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War , there were just 59 regular home battalions supporting 82 abroad. The situation became untenable at
4633-546: The Regular RFA brigades on the outbreak of war. Some 35,000 former militiamen, representing about 60 per cent of the Militia, transferred into the Special Reserve. A further 20,000 new recruits were enlisted, though 6,100 of them joined the army before completing their initial six months' training and some 2,000 were quickly rejected on medical grounds. Many that did pass the medical were nevertheless in poor shape physically. The reserve failed to attract sufficient recruits, and it
North Irish Horse - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-462: The Second World War, including a commanding officer, two squadron leaders and several troop leaders. In the immediate aftermath of the German surrender, the regiment fell into a routine of guard duties and time off. Eventually, most of the tanks were handed in except for three per squadron, and a move was made into Austria , where the Horse took on the role of armoured reconnaissance regiment for
4859-595: The Service Squadron of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, which had been formed on 2 October 1914 from volunteers of the Inniskilling Horse of the Ulster Volunteer Force . This squadron did not welcome the change and maintained its Inniskilling identity; being allowed to keep its precedence in the line coming just after the dragoons until 1919. Records indicate that a third regiment was being formed at
4972-544: The South Irish Horse (designated B Squadron) was assigned to the British Expeditionary Force . Both squadrons sailed from Dublin on the SS Architect on 17 August 1914. They were the first non-regular troops to land in France and be in action in the First World War . They were joined shortly afterwards by C Squadron of the North Irish Horse under the command of Major Lord Massereene and Ferrard DSO . Three more squadrons of
5085-462: The Special Reserve as long as certain conditions were met. They were not permitted to serve beyond the age of 42. They were exempted from basic training, but would attend the annual camp. In 1910, Haldane established the Veteran Reserve, renamed later to National Reserve . It was recruited from former pre-Territorial Force auxiliaries, time-expired territorials and ex-regular soldiers. Faced with
5198-597: The Special Reserve list until 1953. This arrangement gave the Irish units precedence in the line over the Territorial Army regiments just after the Cavalry of the Line, but also guaranteed the use of the Militia and Yeomanry in overseas conflicts. The first commander was the Earl of Shaftesbury , whose adjutant was Captain RGO Bramston-Newman, 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards , from Cork . Senior NCOs from regular Cavalry of
5311-467: The Special Reserve of officers. After the war, the Special Reserve was only some 9,000 strong, and a committee chaired by General Alexander Hamilton-Gordon concluded in July 1919 that it should be abolished. By the end of the year it had effectively ceased to exist. The routine nature of its wartime duties meant that it received little attention in most post-war regimental histories. When the Territorial Force
5424-524: The TA lost its tanks, and the Horse became an armoured reconnaissance regiment, again in armoured cars. It avoided disbandment at this point and did so again in 1961. Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. In the 1790s, following
5537-574: The Training Reserve. It is noted that none of the 3rd (Reserve) battalions served overseas as a complete unit during the conflict. In 1916, after conscription had been introduced a number of Special Reserve battalions (all 'Extra Reserve') were selected for service on the Western Front. The few casualties among Special Reservist units at home were a result of air raids – the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion , Manchester Regiment , lost 31 men during
5650-413: The Volunteer Force were transferred voluntarily into the army reserve and sent to South Africa, and the yeomanry provided the nucleus of the separate Imperial Yeomanry in which over 34,000 volunteered. The experience in South Africa prompted further debate about the abilities of the army to intervene in a major foreign conflict and of the auxiliaries, which were perceived to have performed poorly during
5763-426: The Yeomanry Force was fixed as that of light cavalry . During the previous decades, horse artillery troops had been raised to be attached to a number of yeomanry regiments and dismounted detachments appeared where horses were not available in sufficient numbers. These supernumerary units were now abolished. During the Second Boer War , companies of Imperial Yeomanry were formed to serve overseas from volunteers from
SECTION 50
#17328519196175876-524: The Yeomanry served in the Long Range Desert Group from 1940 through to 1943, incorporated into "Y Patrol". There were reductions in the size of the TA in both 1957 and 1961, which led to the amalgamation of some pairs of yeomanry regiments. There was a major reduction in reserve forces in 1967 with the formation of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve; all existing yeomanry regiments were reduced to squadron, company or battery sub-units. A number of further reorganisations have taken place since then. In
5989-438: The Yeomanry. In 1901, all yeomanry regiments were redesignated as "Imperial Yeomanry", and reorganised. In 1908, the Imperial Yeomanry was merged with the Volunteer Force to form the Territorial Force , of which it became the cavalry arm. The "Imperial" title was dropped at the same time. On the eve of World War I in 1914, there were 55 Yeomanry regiments (with two more formed in August 1914), each of four squadrons instead of
6102-418: The advance northwards quickly continued. The Churchills once again proved their worth in their ability to cross natural obstacles such as rivers, mountains and the thick glutinous mud, which formed on the arable farmland during the rains and after it had been churned up by thousands of men and machines. Eventually, the regiment was granted an extended period of maintenance and rest at Riccione . On 4 December, it
6215-406: The age threshold to 35, with former non-commissioned officers, regardless of age, being posted to the New Army units. The order changed the age limit for ex-soldiers to enlist in the Special Reserve, being raised to 45 for ORs and 50 for certain NCOs. Despite the conflict of interest - on the one hand, the New Army battalions needed to be recruited and trained, on the other the regular battalions in
6328-451: The arrival of Army Reservists not immediately required by the Expeditionary Force. Each infantry regiment was to have ‘a Reserve battalion composed of Special Reservists’ primarily, its purpose was not to go to war as a unit, but to provide drafts to the regular battalions. It was also Haldane's intention that the Extra Reserve battalions would be available for garrison duties in the Mediterranean or line of communications duties in support of
6441-401: The autumn rains had arrived, which slowed the Allied advance but did not stop it. On 2 October, the regiment was ordered to move to Poggio Berni to relieve the 6th Royal Tank Regiment. Action continued until 3 November, when the Horse were pulled out of the line and local leave granted after a memorial service for those killed in action. On 7 November, Lt Col Llewellen-Parker took command, and
6554-416: The bridges crossing the Marano river. On 8 September, the regiment was withdrawn to a safer area in the knowledge that the Gothic Line had been broken. On 29 November, the regiment was advancing north to Monte Cavallo supporting the Mahratta infantry. Lt Col Lord O'Neill arrived and took up a position of observation at a small stone barn. A heavy shell impacted nearby and he was killed. By this time,
6667-417: The command of Sir Basil Brooke (formerly 10th Hussars ) with Lord Erne as his second in command, although Brooke was shortly to leave the position as his political commitments took precedence. Ultimately to be replaced, after several temporary officers, by Lt Col David Dawnay, grandson of the 8th Viscount Downe . Recruiting commenced and instructors were brought in from other RAC and Yeomanry units to raise
6780-427: The current Army Reserve , several remnants of former Yeomanry regiments are still serving, usually as a sub-unit of a larger unit: In 1907 the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was established as an all female volunteer organisation to provide a link between field hospitals and the front line, with their primary role being to rescue the wounded, rather than provide nursing care. Because the organisation as initially formed
6893-419: The dead. The loss of some of the squadrons' war diaries for the early part of the war means that much information is no longer available, but enough remains to know that some men were deployed on fatigues, enough to render the squadrons non-existent from a "military or fighting point". The historian of the British Cavalry, the Earl of Anglesey , noted that "the cavalry were being used for every odd job where there
SECTION 60
#17328519196177006-445: The depot in Antrim and it has been speculated that this had unofficially adopted the title "3rd North Irish Horse" but no official records exist to support this. As the war in France and the Low Countries stagnated into trench warfare, the mobility of cavalry and other mounted troops was restricted leading to many cavalry regiments being dismounted and deployed on a range of tasks from that of infantry to menial tasks, including burying
7119-493: The draft-finding role to the 3rd (Reserve) battalions. After the outbreak of war there was a proposal to form the eight 4th battalions and four 5th battalions into a complete Irish Division, which was supported by the Nationalist leader John Redmond , who lobbied the War Office on the subject. However, the Irish Extra Reserve battalions became draft-finding units, duplicating the work of the 3rd battalions. They steadily declined in numbers as volunteering dropped off and conscription
7232-413: The eve of the Second World War in 1939, the Territorial Army was doubled in size, with duplicate units formed; this led to some regiments being de-amalgamated. The last mounted regiment of yeomanry was the Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons , who were converted to an armoured role in March 1942, and later converted into an infantry battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry —KOYLI. Volunteers from
7345-402: The field still required reinforcements - on 17 September 1914 Kitchener made a statement in Parliament that 'Special Reserve units will be maintained at their full establishments as feeders to the Expeditionary Force.' The priority placement of recruits was to make up the strength of K1 units, then the Reserve battalions, and then the K2 units. Drafts began to be sent to the regular battalions;
7458-413: The first militia statutes of 1558. Originally recruited by various means of compulsion, the British Militia had become a voluntary institution by the late 19th century, and over 950,000 men had served in its ranks between 1882 and 1904. The Militia was, alongside the Yeomanry and the Volunteer Force , designed to supplement the regular army in defending the country against invasion and insurrection, and
7571-504: The first to be sent as drafts, with the Special Reserve second in precedence. The Official History notes that Special Reserve drafts were despatched a month into the fighting, with the Army Reserve component having already being depleted. In support of staffing the Special Reserve battalions, War Office Instruction 117 dated 17 August 1914 demanded new recruits aged 30 years and over were posted to Reserve battalion, not to New Army. In contrast, Army Order 341 dated 30 August 1914 changed
7684-456: The five four-battalion infantry regiments. In addition to providing replacements to the regular army, the Special Reserve was deployed on home defence duties guarding the coast and key installations during the First World War . The routine nature of its duties meant that scant attention was paid to it in regimental histories. After the war, the Special Reserve was abolished and the Militia was resurrected in 1921 to take on its former role. No effort
7797-484: The flood-banks and engaging them at close range. The last of the German resistance crumbled as more tanks made it into position to engage them, and they surrendered, with the Horse taking 40 prisoners. Following Operation Buckland and the crossing of the River Po , the regiment was ordered to stand down on 30 April 1945 for the last time in the Second World War. Two days later, all German forces in Italy surrendered. The North Irish Horse lost 73 men killed in action during
7910-403: The formation of the North of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry and the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry in 1901. Their formation was sanctioned and gazetted on 7 January 1902. Recruiting for the North of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry did not begin until 1903, with four squadrons being raised: The first training camp was held at Blackrock Camp, Dundalk in 1903; thereafter, camps were held every third year at
8023-432: The great difficulties the Special Reserve faced in "performing the double duty of training drafts...and defending our shores". Because of the large number of pre-existing Irish Militia regiments, the Irish regular regiments had been assigned an unusually high proportion of 4th and 5th 'Extra Reserve' battalions in 1908. These units believed that they had been promised that they would serve overseas as formed units, leaving
8136-432: The harbour two days later. Vesuvius could be seen just a few miles away with fire and smoke pouring from its brim, having erupted just several weeks earlier on 19 March. At Afragola the regiment received 18 Sherman tanks and then loaded all tanks onto trains to be taken across country to Foggia and from there moved into a brigade harbour area near the village of Lucera . By now, Lord O'Neill had been given command of
8249-507: The huge cracks and shell holes, but always getting nearer and nearer. Like beetles trying to climb an inverted ice-cream cone, they slipped a little, hung suspended and then went onwards towards the top. The behaviour of these tanks upset the Germans. Such tactics were untanklike, and no answer was contained in their military textbooks. Too late now to shift the anti-tank guns from their positions, too late to make alternative arrangements to deal with
8362-483: The men were the officers' tenants or had other forms of obligation to the officers. At its formation, the force was referred to as the Yeomanry Cavalry . Members of the yeomanry were not obliged to serve overseas without their individual consent. During the first half of the nineteenth century, Yeomanry Regiments were used extensively in support of the civil authority to quell riots and civil disturbances, including
8475-485: The new menace. There was only one answer – retreat, and that's what the Germans did – leaving the British tanks and infantry in possession of the first slope up the heights of Longstop. So ended 23 April. One German prisoner was heard to remark that the tanks were "Iron Mules". On 6 May, the final attack was launched against Tunis and, after severe street fighting and the capture of six 88 mm guns by C Sqn (in support of
8588-414: The north coast, which caused a certain amount of boredom amongst the officers and men who by now had expected to be fighting. On 19 April 1941, the regiment moved to Abercorn Barracks at Ballykinlar and re-equipped as an armoured regiment with Mk I Valentine tanks. On 18 October 1941, the Horse left Northern Ireland and took up new accommodation at Westbury , Wiltshire with the squadrons billeted in
8701-548: The pool of ex-soldiers that were available by autumn 1914. Whilst it was still possible to enlist in the Special Reserve, it was preferred that recruits would enlist under Regular terms of service, for the duration of the war, as announced by Army Order 470 on 7 November 1914. The introduction of conscription, by the Military Service Act of 27 January 1916, effectively ended recruitment of other ranks under Special Reserve terms of service. Around 30,000 were commissioned into
8814-486: The regiment, along with the rest of the 25th Tank Brigade, was transferred to the 4th Division in support of the 28th Brigade , but remained in reserve. After news of the D Day Landings was heard, the regiment was again transferred and came under command of the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade . This brief period of respite allowed a number of the men to visit Rome. Many visited the Basilica San Pietro and marvelled at
8927-575: The regiment, with Colonel Dawnay moving on to brigade staff. After a week in harbour, the regiment was sent on tank transporters to Mignano near Monte Cassino , which had fallen some days earlier along with the rest of the Gustav Line . The fighting was not over, however, as the Adolf Hitler Line , now renamed the Senger Line , lay just six miles north, and it would be the next objective. The Horse
9040-583: The regimental depot was closed and the remaining men there were transferred to the Curragh Camp prior to being demobbed. The regiment's horses were transferred to the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and the regiment was classed as "disembodied", which in British Army parlance meant that it no longer existed except as a name on the Army List with a complement (in this case) of an Honorary Colonel, Honorary Chaplain,
9153-614: The regular infantry. The possibility of enlisting in the army under Regular terms of service were facilitated under paragraph 38, one precondition was that the recruit 'fulfils the necessary physical requirements.' A similar contrast was the replacement of several weeks of preliminary training with six months of full time training upon enlisting in the Special Reserve. In addition, three Imperial Yeomanry regiments (the North Irish Horse , South Irish Horse and King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) ) created after
9266-504: The small, professional British Army better able to cope with the increasing commitments of defending the empire , a series of reforms were begun by Edward Cardwell in 1871 and completed by Hugh Childers in 1881. They were designed to foster the integration of auxiliary and professional by linking militia and volunteer battalions with regular army regiments, and provide the means by which army battalions abroad could be reinforced by linked battalions at home. The reforms effectively ended
9379-748: The support they received" the regiment was asked by the Canadians to wear the Maple Leaf insignia of the Canadian Military. In the battles of the Hitler Line was a Donegal born Lieutenant Pat Reid MC , who in later life would emigrate to Canada and would chair the committee selected by the Canadian Prime Minister that would choose the Maple Leaf design for the new national Flag of Canada . On 4 May,
9492-449: The surrounding villages. The role was changed again at this point and the regiment handed in its Valentines to receive Churchill I – Mk IV's; it was assigned to the 34th Army Tank Brigade under the command of JN Tetley , son of the English brewing magnate. At this point, the tanks were given markings that corresponded to the formation, regiment and squadrons to which they belonged and, in
9605-464: The three auxiliary institutions were not liable for service overseas . Those militiamen who subsequently joined the Militia Reserve, a pool of individuals within the Militia, consequently accepted an overseas service liability. They were poorly organised, with inadequate equipment and training, and operated as discrete institutions integrated neither with each other nor the regular army. To make
9718-422: The three of the regular cavalry. Upon embodiment, these regiments were either brought together to form mounted brigades or allocated as divisional cavalry. For purposes of recruitment and administration, the Yeomanry were linked to specific counties or regions, identified in the regimental title. Some of the units still in existence in 1914 dated back to those created in the 1790s, while others had been created during
9831-459: The track and rolled six times down a 200-foot slope. The crew were not so lucky this time, as one was killed and the rest injured. The tank was a write-off. The race was on, however, to drive the Germans back, and the North Irish Horse was rushed in again to relieve the hard-pressed 142nd RAC Regt at Maria del Monte . On 3 September, it crossed the Conca river, followed by an attack on Coriana to secure
9944-462: The troopship Duchess of York . On 2 February 1943, the North Irish Horse landed in Algiers and marched 17 miles on foot to their new camp. Its first job was to create a defensive force around Le Kef . The regiment was not up to strength at this time as many of its tanks and much of its equipment had been delayed by logistical difficulties. The regiment was ordered to leave Le Kef at speed to counter
10057-474: The turn of the century when, during the Second Boer War , the strain placed on the army severely denuded Britain's home defences and forced the government to appeal for volunteers to augment the regular forces overseas. > Nearly 46,000 militiamen served in South Africa, another 74,000 were enlisted into the army, and five battalions were deployed as garrison troops on Malta, St. Helena and in Egypt. Some 20,000 men of
10170-466: The twin roles of draft finding for regular units, and home defence. In August 1914, the line infantry could call upon 80,688 men of the Army Reserve , in addition to the Special Reserve. The Special Reserve with only 47,893 men against an establishment of 63,170, was a quarter below strength. Nearly one in five were under 19 years of age, thus ineligible for active service. The Army Reserve soldiers were
10283-533: The undamaged splendour of such an edifice. The regiment was then tasked to put together a composite unit of Shermans to relieve the 142nd RAC Regt's composite group with the 8th Indian Infantry Division , and the advance began westwards to Perugia , which fell on 20 June. On 16 June, the Horse again relieved the 142nd, this time at Bastia Umbra . In the days and actions that followed, new upgunned Churchill tanks arrived, with their Besa machine guns. Advancing again though mountainous countryside, another tank slid off
10396-495: The university-based Officers' Training Corps (OTC), would be a source of reserve officers. They were required to undergo twelve months of basic training, later reduced to six, and then attend an annual camp and other training schemes as required. In contrast with the soldier serving in the militia, those who served under Special Reserve terms of service had an obligation to serve overseas, as stipulated in paragraph 54. The standards of medical fitness were lower than for recruits to
10509-584: The war'. By September 1914, the Special Reserve had provided 35,000 replacements and was becoming so short of trained men that its ability to perform its home defence functions was in doubt. The problem was exacerbated by the loss of many of its instructors to the New Army. In the first year of the war, the 3rd Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders , supplied over 3,800 officers and men in drafts to its regular battalions, and similar efforts were made by almost every reserve battalion. Field Marshal Sir John French , Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces , acknowledged
10622-399: The war, to support it. The reform efforts of the conservative Secretaries of State for War , William St John Brodrick and H. O. Arnold-Forster , foundered in the face of opposition from auxiliary interests in the government, but their successor, the liberal Richard Haldane fared better with his efforts. He improved the army's capability to fight in a major foreign conflict by creating
10735-405: The well-prepared killing grounds of the heavily defended German positions. The Horse took heavy casualties and had to regroup by merging depleted squadrons together. One tank slipped off a track and fell 50 feet into a ravine, rolling over on its turret and then back onto its tracks. The crew were shaken but unhurt, and the incident gave them another chance to display the marvellous climbing skills of
10848-553: Was able to form three sabre squadrons plus HQ Sqn. The officer cadre was again heavily filled by members of the nobility with the squadrons being commanded by: Training was interrupted on 24 May 1940 when an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb exploded close to the officers' mess, which was in the Main Street in Enniskillen, but before any further incidents occurred the regiment was moved to Portrush . Training exercises continued along
10961-519: Was again transferred, this time to the 21st Tank Brigade under the command of Brigadier David Dawnay, the former regimental commander. On 12 January, it moved into Ravenna in support of the Italian Gruppo Cremona , which was now fighting on the side of the allies. In late March, the regiment was involved in the action south of the Senio river and by 2 April was facing the enemy's defences along
11074-670: Was agreed that a memorial to the dead of the Great War should be commissioned. The sum of £500 was allocated and a memorial window was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury and dedicated by the Right Reverend RW Hamilton MA, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church on 25 April 1925 on the occasion of the 2nd Regimental Reunion. Retirement and death eventually reduced the regimental strength in 1934 to just one combatant officer, Major Sir Ronald D Ross Bt , MC . This became
11187-504: Was awarded the Victoria Cross , Distinguished Service Order and Bar , and Military Cross . By 31 January 1919, the regiment was preparing to reduce to a cadre of three officers, five senior ranks and twenty-seven other ranks who would oversee the rundown of the regiment and its departure from France. On 13 May 1919, the rear party left Vignacourt en route for Pembroke Dock ; in Antrim,
11300-424: Was briefed for Operation Chesterfield , which was an assault by the 1st Canadian Division supported by tanks of the North Irish Horse and the 51st Royal Tanks. H Hour was to be at 6 am on 23 May. The plan required the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigades , supported by the two tank regiments, to break through the Hitler Line on a 3,000-yard front. The assaulting troops came under a withering hail of fire on
11413-598: Was called the Imperial Yeomanry . Six companies were quickly raised in Ireland, including the 46th (1st Belfast), 54th (2nd Belfast), 60th (North Irish), and the 45th (Dublin) (known as the Dublin Hunt Squadron) commanded by Captain the Earl of Longford . The 45th, 46th, 47th and 54th formed the 13th (Irish) Battalion Imperial Yeomanry. The 47th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was raised from rich "men-about-town" in London by
11526-575: Was consistently 16–18 per cent short of its 80,300 establishment. Because of the long training requirement, those it did attract tended to be the unemployed and the young, in many cases too young, with boys as young as 15 being accepted. The problem was particularly acute in the officer corps; only 283 of the 18,000 men who had by 1912 graduated from the OTC had joined, leaving the Special Reserve some 50 per cent short in subalterns . From March 1911, former Regular soldiers, up to 36 years of age, could enlist into
11639-411: Was fixed at 22 corps (regiments) receiving allowances and a further 16 serving without pay. During the 1830s, the number of yeomanry units fluctuated, reflecting the level of civil unrest in any particular region at any particular time. The Irish Yeomanry, which had played a major role in suppressing the rebellion of 1798, was completely disbanded in 1838. For the next thirty years, the Yeomanry Force
11752-465: Was given to reinforcing the Central Force , the mobile element of Britain's home defence force, with three Special Reserve divisions, but the idea was quickly dropped because of the transient population of the Special Reserve battalions at any given time. On the outbreak of war the three regiments of Special Reserve Horse were broken up to provide divisional cavalry squadrons for infantry divisions on
11865-402: Was later chosen as a "Regimental Day" to commemorate the bloodiest day in the history of the North Irish Horse, which lost more men than on any other day in two world wars. The breakthrough happened, however, and the German defenders began evacuating the position on the night of 23 May. Meanwhile, the allied advance continued. As a result of the breaking of the Hitler Line and in "appreciation of
11978-716: Was made to restart recruitment, and in 1924 the new Militia's functions were absorbed into the Supplementary Reserve . Traditional mistrust of a standing army resulted in a strong tradition of part-time military institutions in England and later the United Kingdom. The oldest of these, the English Militia , traced its origins to the military obligations of the Anglo-Saxon period, and its formal existence can be dated back to
12091-469: Was mounted it adopted the yeomanry name. The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry is an independent charity that is not part of the Armed Forces, today it provides teams to aid civil agencies. Other uses of yeoman : Special Reserve (militia) The Special Reserve was organised into battalions , providing the third for each of the regular army's 64 two-battalion infantry regiments and a fifth and sixth for
12204-535: Was never imposed in Ireland. In May 1918 many were absorbed into their regiment's 3rd battalions. In 1915, Special Reserve units began assisting in the training of Volunteer Training Corps battalions; the Suffolk Volunteers, for example, received training from the instructors of the 3rd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment , and the Huddersfield Volunteers were attached to the Special Reserve battalion of
12317-470: Was no-one else to carry it out". This led to many officers and men transferring to other arms because they felt they were not taking an active part in the war. The vast majority of "Horse" casualties in the Great War were when serving with other units during this period. After conversion to a cyclist battalion, the regiment became part of the "Great Retreat of 1918" during the Operation Michael phase of
12430-443: Was opposition from Militia colonels, who would have preferred that the battalions deployed as a body, overseas, rather than drafts of personnel dispersed to line battalions, as had happened in the Boer War. The infantry of the Special Reserve were integrated into the regular army's regimental system. Of the existing 124 Militia battalions 23 were disbanded. Of those remaining, 74 become Reserve Battalions and 27 Extra Reserve. Each of
12543-564: Was reconstituted as the Territorial Army in 1921, the Special Reserve was also renamed, becoming the Militia. Its units retained the same role, acting as regiments' third battalions in the provision of a reserve for the regular battalions, but no effort was made to recruit into it, other than in Northern Ireland where they provided the only auxiliary force. Militia battalions existed on paper until they were disbanded in April 1953. In 1924
12656-505: Was retained as a second line of support for the regular cavalry within Britain. Recruiting difficulties led to serious consideration being given to the disbandment of the entire force in 1870, but instead measures were taken the following year to improve its effectiveness. These included requirements that individual yeomanry troopers attend a minimum number of drills per year in return for a "permanent duty" allowance, and that units be maintained at
12769-512: Was under the command of Brigadier Nelson Russell, the Horse showed the agility of the often underestimated Churchills by climbing heights regarded as safe from tanks and surprising the Germans occupying them, a fact noted by Spike Milligan in his account of the Tunisian Campaign in his book "Rommel?" "Gunner Who?" The most notable of these feats of tank hill climbing was the attack on Djebel Rhar (also known as Longstop Hill) in support of
#616383