History of a Regiment

A Concise History of the North Somerset Yeomanry

yeomanry

[ˈyōmənrē]

NOUN

historical

1. a group of men who held and cultivated small landed estates.

o    (in Britain) a volunteer cavalry force raised from the yeomanry (1794–present).

The definition above gives a very simple description of the Yeomanry Cavalry in Britain it is also wrong in one aspect. The Yeomanry Cavalry were recruited form all classes of society if you were able to afford the cost of the horse. But before we get too far into this it will be worth looking at why the Yeomanry Cavalry were formed.

In the mid 1790’s France was in the turmoil of revolution having got rid of it’s royal family in 1793 and the Terror that followed. Royal families and governments across Europe looked on with astonishment and fear. In Britain the fear of invasion from Jacobin France began to rise and whilst the government had it’s comparatively tiny standing army the counties of England began to act on their own.

The rural southern counties of England felt particularly at risk from invasion and insurrection and began to raise volunteer regiments of infantry, artillery and of course cavalry. The cavalry were initially raised from the yeoman class of landed farmers and tenant farmers though the appeal also brought in many middle class men, those who could afford the horse needed. Officers were recruited from the local gentry and it was often they who provided the uniform and arms for the rank and file.

As the threat of invasion from France diminished many Yeomanry squadrons were disbanded with their members returning to their normal lives, however this was short lived and a young Corsican officer of Artillery in the French army began his meteoric rise to power. His rise to leader of France and his decision to invade the “ nation of shopkeepers “ brought about a revival of interest in Yeomanry membership. The invasion never came and Napoleon turned his eyes to the East and a final defeat at Waterloo saw the disbandment of the Volunteer Corps but the Yeomanry had discovered a new role.

Aiding the Civil Power became the reason the Yeomanry continued after the threat of invasion had disappeared. In the early 19th century almost all counties had no official police force, relying on local constables and deputised locals when needed. The political upheaval in Europe, dissatisfaction amongst the poor and working classes were beginning to cause unrest in Britain. Riot’s and political demonstrations were beginning to occur in cities and towns across the country and local authorities had no means of responding to these, however the Yeomanry were seen as a politically reliable force who could be used to disperse crowds or riots in support of the local authorities. The most famous or infamous example of this was the ‘Peterloo Massacre’ in St Peters Fields, Manchester in 1817. The Manchester and Salford Yeomanry were called to disperse a political meeting, sadly they had been waiting most of the day for a call to action and had been drinking heavily. This led to a shambles in which 17 people were killed and 650 others injured. Things were so bad that a regular cavalry regiment, the 15th Hussars, were called in to rescue the Yeomanry and prevent further loss of life. This use of the Yeomanry in aid to the civil powers continued until the 1850’s when better police forces were established and a further threat of invasion from France changed the role of the Yeomanry back to defence of the realm.

As the threat of invasion eventually disappeared the role of the Yeomanry was often debated, with governments trying without success to disband the various volunteer bands. This led to the Yeomanry being undermanned and funded by their rich colonels, turning into a social club of sorts. They were often lampooned and criticised for this by the press and periodicals of the day but they continued training and recruiting for the rest of the century until the Yeomanry were finally called on to fight for their country.

The Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1901 was the turning point of the Yeomanry history. In December 1899 the British Army in South Africa suffered it’s worst defeats since the Napoleonic Peninsular Wars. Three defeats in what became known as Black Week made the government of the day rethink a proposal by lt. Col. A G Lucas for the Yeomanry to provide much needed mounted reinforcements for the campaign.

The government created the Imperial Yeomanry in January 1900 and asked the various county Yeomanry committees to provide companies of men based on a core of local Yeomanry Cavalry for service abroad. This had to be a separate entity as the Yeomanry were not legally allowed to serve away from the shores of Britain.

Around 34000 men eventually served in the Imperial Yeomanry acting as mounted infantry rather than typical cavalry. Their mobility being able to counteract the Boer commandos speed in manoeuvre they were successful in helping the British inflict a crushing defeat on the Boers. These skills were to serve the Yeomanry well in the future though they didn’t know it.

Following the South Africa War the Army and Government instituted massive reforms of the armed forces of Britain. These reforms were so widespread that they would make an book in itself so we will contain ourselves with only how they applied to the Yeomanry.

In 1908 the Yeomanry along with Rifle and Artillery volunteer corps were all brought under the name The Territorial Forces. This meant a standardisation in training, arms, communication, uniform (within the usual army resistance to uniformity and it’s desire for regimental differentiation ) and conditions of service.

These changes were to lay the groundwork for the high quality of the small British Expeditionary Force that took the field in France, Belgium and the Middle East and the integration of Territorial forces into the army that still continues today.

The North Somerset Yeomanry came into being in 1814 but it’s various components had been in existence since 1794 performing the duties mentioned above. The NSY were originally composed of six troops but over the next three years a further six were added. By 1819 the regiment was organised into two divisions, Bath and Frome, consisting of five and four troops respectively. Over the 19th century the Yeomanry underwent many changes of organisation but these changes have no place in this narrative, the regiment were typical of the time and followed what we have written above.

The South African War of 1899-1902 saw the yeomanry of Somerset playing their part, as mentioned above the local Yeomanry committee formed a company of mounted infantry based on a core of NSY men with other volunteers. They formed the 48th Company Imperial Yeomanry and served in the 7th Battalion alongside the 25th West Somerset,  26th Dorsetshire, 27th Devonshire and 69th Sussex (from 1902) companies. The 48th served through the war and acted as Lord Roberts bodyguard, his nephew Oliver Sherston was the c/o of the 48th and offered their services. A number of men who are to perform well in the future served in South Africa though not always with the 48th.

Following the regiments return in 1902 life continued much as it had before although the new Khaki uniform and slouch hats were now the service uniform replacing the blue of previous years. 1908 and the integration of the NSIY into the territorial forces saw the biggest change in the regiment in decades.

 The Imperial Yeomanry were subsumed into the new Territorial Force  under the Haldane Reforms  of 1908. The North Somerset Yeomanry was designated as Dragoons and was organised as follows:

·         RHQ at Shepton Mallet, moving to a new drill hall in Upper Bristol Road, Bath in 1912

·         A Squadron at Bath, with detachments at Bathampton, Farmborough, Frome, Mells and Road

·         B Squadron at Weston-super-Mare  with detachments at Axbridge, Clevedon, Langford, and Nailsea

·         C Squadron at Shepton Mallet, with detachments at Queen Camel, Ston Easton, Wells, Wincanton  and Castle Carey with HQ at the new Drill Hall built in 1912.

·         D Squadron at Bristol with detachments at Queens Charlton, Barrow Gurney and Keynsham

Training in the new tactics and weapons continued over the years following, taking place in drill halls up and down the county on drill nights with weekends away and two or three week summer camps every year. The camps for the North Somerset Yeomanry were as follows

1900  Kingsdown, Box, Wiltshire                      1905 Lansdown, Bath, Somerset

1901 Kingsdown, Bow, Wiltshire                      1906 Maiden Camp, Dorset

1902 Bulford Camp, Wiltshire                           1907 Priddy, Wells, Somerset

1903 Shepton Mallet, Somerset                       1908 Minehead, Somerset

1904 Wells, Somerset                                      1909 Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire

1910 Windmill Hill Ludgershall, Wiltshire          1911 Lansdown, Bath, Somerset

1912 Shepton Mallet, Somerset                       1913 Frome, Somerset

1914 Wilton, Salisbury, Wiltshire

 These camps were often reported in the local press and visited by local worthies and some of the stories make for interesting reading. As mentioned above new skills and tactics were practiced at these camps, this was to bring the quality of the Yeomanry closer to the regular cavalry though the regulars often were less than complimentary about the Yeomanry, a position they were later to change.

In 1910 a major change to conditions of service for Territorial Forces came into being, the Imperial Service obligation. Under their conditions of service Territorial forces could not be sent abroad to fight however they could volunteer to fight in a national emergency. By volunteering they were issued with the Imperial Service Badge which indicated that they had done so. For a unit to be sent abroad 90% of that unit had to have volunteered. To the authors knowledge no unit stayed at home when asked to serve abroad.

The 1914 Wilton Camp was held in the May of that year and was the final chance for the Yeomanry to train with other units. The regiment was to work in cooperation with the Wiltshire Yeomanry. The tensions in Europe must already have been felt within the regiment and the camp must have had a determination possibly not felt before. The regiment returned home in early June 1914 and continued with its normal duties until 4th August 1914 when a telegram was sent to all British Forces to mobilise for war.  

The Great War history of the North Somerset Yeomanry deserves a page to itself and the various stories of the Regiment whilst in France and Belgium will be added in the Blog section.