Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and Talk:Chet Blaylock: Difference between pages

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The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a [[Yeomanry]] regiment of the UK [[Territorial Army]] until its disbandment in 1967. The Regiment took part in the First and Second World Wars. In the latter it fought in North Africa and Italy with the [[9th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|9th Armoured Brigade]]. With this formation it took part in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]], spearheading the breakout of the [[2nd New Zealand Division]] during Operation Supercharge on 2nd November 1942. It lives on in A(RWY) Squadron of the [[Royal Yeomanry]] and B(RWY) Squadron of the [[Royal Wessex Yeomanry]]. Its cap badge is the Prince of Wales feathers on a red baize backing, and vehicles carry the New Zealand fern leaf emblem.

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==Early history==

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On 4th June 1794 a meeting of country gentlemen at the Bear Inn in [[Devizes]] decided to raise a body of ten independent troops of Yeomanry for the county of [[Wiltshire]]. In 1797 the independent troops were amalgamated into a unit called 'The Regiment of Wiltshire Yeomanry Cavalry', the first such unit to be embodied in Britain. In 1831 it was awarded the title 'Royal' and in 1884 it was placed at the head of the newly formed [[Yeomanry Order of Precedence]] by Queen Victoria. During the [[Boer War]] of 1899-1901 the [[Imperial Yeomanry]] was raised to permit Yeomen to serve overseas. The RWY provided three companies to this force. In 1900 the Regiment represented the Yeomanry cavalry at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1908 the old Militia were replaced by the new [[Territorial Force]], which would work much more closely with the Regular Army.

==The First World War and inter-war years==

[[Image:RWY guidon.gif|frame|The guidon of the RWY, showing South African and First World War battle honours.]]The Regiment was mobilised in August 1914 but did not proceed to France until December 1915. In May 1916 two squadrons joined the XV Corps cavalry unit, with two further squadrons joining [[IX Corps (United Kingdom)|IX Corps]] Cavalry regiment.During 1916-17 duties mainly involved policing, traffic control, despatch riding and similar activities. In March 1917 the Regiment played its only part in the War as horsed cavalry, during the German retreat to the [[Hindenburg Line]]. Over an eleven day period German forces retreated 20-25 miles to prepared positions. The RWY formed part of the advanced guard of the British Army, attempting to keep touch with the German rearguards, but this was difficult owing to the broken nature of the ground behind the original German lines. Contact was made several times with [[Uhlan|Uhlans]] and a lance captured in one of these engagements is still in posession of the Regiment.

In September 1917 it was finally conceded that there was little place for horsed cavalry in the conditions of the [[Western Front]]. The regiment was converted to infantry and joined the 6th Battalion, [[The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's)|The Wiltshire Regiment]], fighting in the trenches at Ypres and Cambrai in 1917. In March 1918 the German army mounted its [[Spring Offensive]] and 6th Wilts at one point took the whole weight of the offensive at Bapaume. After a week of combat, 6th Wilts (half of whom were ex-RWY) had taken over 500 casualties. In April they received reinforcements but later that month took another 400 casualties on the Messines Ridge. Shortly after this it was decided to disband 6th Wilts as they had effectively ceased to exist. The Regiment won 13 [[Battle honour|battle honours]] for the First World War, most earned with 6th Wilts.

Two second line units were raised to the RWY. The 2nd/1st Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry was raised in September 1914 and formed part of the 2nd/1st South Western Mounted Brigade. They stayed in England for all of the War, and moved to Dublin in 1918. They were demobilised in 1919. 3rd/1st RWY was in existence during 1915-16 only, as a squadron-sized formation to train reinforcements.

In 1921 the Territorial Force ceased to exist and was replaced by the [[Territorial Army]]. This differed from its predecessor in that it was liable to be called out for deployment overseas. The RWY was re-established as a horsed cavalry regiment and was in existence by August 1921. During the inter-war years it remained an important part of the social scene of the county, with its officers drawn from the nobility, landowners and larger farmers and its other ranks largely from their estates. Hunting, point-to-points and social events seem to have been as important as military training. The chapter of the Regimental History relating to the period 1920-1939 is even entitled 'The Long Weekend'!<ref>Platt, pp53-71.</ref>

One example of this brought the Regiment into contact for the first time with someone it would later meet more seriously - Brigadier [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]], then commanding 9th Infantry Brigade in Portsmouth. In 1937 the Brigade was on exercise in Wiltshire and RWY was attached to it for their two week annual camp. The Brigade Major wrote that "[The Regiment] was run like so much of the TA those days on rather feudal lines...when they heard they were going to have those tremendous exercises - three nights out at a time - they jibbed violently....Most of them had looked forward to exercises all day and then going out for a bit of jollity at night." The upshot was that the Regiment was banished to a distant part of the camp where their socialising would not be disturbed by the Regulars. However apparently they were so intrigued by Monty's exercises that the CO approached Monty and asked to be included in the last Brigade exercise.<ref>Hamilton, pp265-268</ref>

==The Second World War==

[[Image:NZ_fern.jpg|frame|The fern leaf emblem of [[2nd New Zealand Division]], still worn on RWY vehicles.]]‎ The Regiment began to mobilise in August 1939. Initially it was assigned as Divisional Cavalry to [[British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division|43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division]], then to 4th Cavalry Brigade commanded by Brigadier J.J.Kingstone as part of the 1st Cavalry Division bound for Palestine. The regiment served there and in Syria, North Africa and Iraq, in North Africa as a searchlight regiment in ports such as Tobruk and Benghazi. In January 1941 their horses were finally replaced by motorised transport after 150 years as horsed cavalry. In June they were involved in the successful campaign against [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] forces in Syria. In July 1941 4th Cavalry Brigade became [[9th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|9th Armoured Brigade]] and participated in the expedition into Persia, with the Regiment fighting as lorried infantry. In December of that year they received their first [[Stuart tank|Honey]] tanks, finally becoming an armoured regiment.

In May 1942 the Regiment moved to Egypt with the rest of the Brigade, which became an independent Brigade but was placed under the operational control of [[2nd Division (New Zealand)|2nd New Zealand Division]] under the command of [[Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg|Lt General Sir Bernard Freyberg, VC]]. The New Zealand 'fern leaf' emblem was painted on the Regiment's vehicles (a tradition which continues to this day.<ref>http://www.army.mod.uk/royalyeomanry/a_sqdn/history.htm</ref>) The Brigade was in reserve during the [[Battle of Alam el Halfa]] and in October began training for the Battle of El Alamein.

===El Alamein - Lightfoot===

===El Alamein - Supercharge===

===Italy===

==Post-WWII history==

[[Image:EdwardWessex.jpg|frame|HRH the Earl of Wessex inspecting cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He wears the uniform of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, including the Prince of Wales feathers capbadge.]]

==References==

* N.Hamilton (1981) ''Monty: The Making of a General 1887-1942'', Book Club Associates, London.

* J.R.I.Platt (1972). ''The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry 1907-1967''. Garnstone Press, London. ISBN 085511200X

<references/>

==External links==

*[http://www.army.mod.uk/royalyeomanry Official Royal Yeomanry Regimental website]

*[http://www.army.mod.uk/rwxy/index.htm Official Royal Wessex Yeomanry Regimental website]

[[Category:British yeomanry regiments]]