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Yeomanry - 7th Mounted Brigade in the Struma Valley Salonika 1916
Image above by British war photographer - photograph HU 81082 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums., Public Domain, Wiki Commons
British Army Reserve
Work in Progress
Active - 1908 to Present
a.k.a.
- Territorial Army (TA)
- Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) created in 1967
Ancestry
The Territorial Force
- created 1 April 1908 by the Secretary of State for War Richard Burdon Haldane
Contained
14 infantry divisions
14 mounted yeomanry brigades. It had an overall strength of approximately 269,000.
Combination of
Volunteer Force,
and
Yeomanry
Remaining units of militia were converted to the Special Reserve (WIKI). The obligation to serve in the militia in England derives from a common law tradition, and dates back to Anglo-Saxon times. The tradition was that all able-bodied males were liable to be called out to serve in one of two organisations. These were the posse comitatus, an ad hoc assembly called together by a law officer to apprehend lawbreakers, and the fyrd, a military body intended to preserve internal order or defend the locality against an invader. The latter developed into the militia, and was usually embodied by a royal warrant.[58] Service in each organisation involved different levels of preparedness.
The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army. The Army Reserve was created as the Territorial Force in 1908 by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane, when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 combined the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Force, with the mounted Yeomanry. Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, becoming Territorial battalions of Regular Army infantry regiments. Some, notably the London, Monmouthshire and Hertfordshire Regiments maintained a separate identity.
Its original purpose was home defence, although the establishment of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967 involved a restructuring and revised doctrine leading to the provision of routine support for the regular army overseas. Reservists in the past also served as constables or bailiffs, even holding positions of civic duty as overseer of their parish. The more modern Yeomen of the 18th century were cavalry-based units, which were often used to suppress riots (e.g. Peterloo Massacre). Several units that are now part of the Army Reserve bear the title "militia", reflecting their origins as part of that organisation prior to the formation of the Special Reserve in 1907.
During periods of total war, the Army Reserve is incorporated by the Royal Prerogative into Regular Service under one code of Military Law for the duration of hostilities or until de-activation is decided upon.
After the Second World War, for example, the Army Reserve - or Territorial Army as it was known then - was not demobilised until 1947. Army Reservists normally have a full-time civilian job or career, which in some cases provides skills and expertise that are directly transferable to a specialist military role, such as NHS employees serving in Reservist Army Medical Services units. All Army Reserve personnel have their civilian jobs protected to a limited extent by law should they be compulsorily mobilised.
In August 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, territorial units were given the option of serving in France and, by 25 August, in excess of seventy battalions had volunteered.
Territorial formations at first saw service in Egypt and British India and other Empire garrisons such as Gibraltar, releasing regular units for service in France. Several reserve units were also deployed with regular formations and the first territorial unit to see action on the Western Front was the Glasgow Territorial Signallers Group, Royal Engineers at the First Battle of Ypres on 11 October 1914.
The first fully Territorial division to join the fighting on the Western Front was the 46th (North Midland) Division in March 1915, with divisions later serving in Gallipoli and elsewhere. As the war progressed, and casualties mounted, the distinctive character of territorial units was diluted by the inclusion of conscript and New Army drafts. Following the Armistice all units of the Territorial Force were gradually disbanded.
Volunteer Force
... a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created in 1859. On 12 May 1859 the Secretary of State for War, Jonathan Peel issued a circular letter to lieutenants of counties in England, Wales and Scotland, authorising the formation of volunteer rifle corps (VRC, a.k.a. corps of rifle volunteers and rifle volunteer corps), and of artillery corps in defended coastal towns. The units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908. Most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units.
Yeomanry
In the 1790s the threat of invasion of the Kingdom of Great Britain was high after the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. 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 the men were the officers' tenants or had other forms of obligation to the officers. These regiments became known collectively as the Yeomanry. 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 the Peterloo Massacre; as police forces were created and took over this role, the Yeomanry concentrated on local defence.
In 1827 the number of yeomanry regiments were reduced, disbanding those which had not been required to assist the civil power over the previous decade. As a result the yeomanry establishment 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 was retained as a second line of support for the regular cavalry within Britain. In 1871 measures were taken 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 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 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 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.
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 there were 55 Yeomanry regiments (with two more formed in August 1914), each of four squadrons instead of 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 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-roled 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.
At the outbreak 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 again into an infantry battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Volunteers from the Yeomanry served in the Long Range Desert Group from 1940 through to 1943, incorporated into "Y Patrol".
See https://web.archive.org/web/20070416010204/http://www.regiments.org...
Organised into 2 sections
1. Combat Units
- Infantry
- Royal Artillery
- Honorable Artillery Company
- Royal Engineers
- Special Air Services (SAS)
- Royal Signals
2. Combat Support Units
Specialist units contain soldiers who have some cicilian speciality that is readily transferable to the service and who are not The Army Reserve - (previously known as the Territorial Force, Territorial Army (TA) and the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1920 to 2014) - is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army.
The Army Reserve was created as the Territorial Force in 1908 by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane, when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 combined the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Force, with the mounted Yeomanry (at the same time the Militia was renamed the Special Reserve). Most Volunteer infantry units had unique identities, but lost these in the reorganisation, becoming Territorial battalions of Regular Army infantry regiments. Some, notably the London, Monmouthshire and Hertfordshire Regiments maintained a separate identity.
Organised into 2 sections
1. Combat Units
- Infantry
- Royal Artillery
- Honorable Artillery Company
- Royal Engineers
- Special Air Services (SAS)
- Royal Signals
2. Combat Support Units
Specialist units contain soldiers who have some cicilian speciality that is readily transferable to the service and who are not affliated with a unit
- Air Army Corps
- Royal Corps of Transport
- Royal Army Medical Corps
- Royal Army Ordnance Corps
- Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- Royal Military Police
- Royal Army Pay Corps
- Royal Army Veterinary Corps
- Royal Pioneer Corps
- Intelligence Corps with a unit
- Air Army Corps
- Royal Corps of Transport
- Royal Army Medical Corps
- Royal Army Ordnance Corps
- Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- Royal Military Police
- Royal Army Pay Corps
- Royal Army Veterinary Corps
- Royal Pioneer Corps
- Intelligence Corps
Current Yeomanry regiments
In the current Army Reserve there remain remnants of former Yeomanry regiments serving, usually as a sub-unit that is part of a larger unit:
Royal Yeomanry
- C&S (Westminster Dragoons) Squadron
- A (Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- B (Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry) Squadron
- C (Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry) Squadron (Croydon)
- D (Shropshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- E (Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- The Royal Yeomanry Band (Inns of Court and City Yeomanry)
Royal Wessex Yeomanry
- B (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- A (Dorset Yeomanry) Squadron
- C (Royal Gloucestershire Hussars) Squadron
- D (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Squadron
- Y (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Squadron
Queen's Own Yeomanry
- A (Yorkshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- B (Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry) Squadron
- C (Cheshire Yeomanry) Squadron
- C & S (Command and support) (Northumberland Hussars) Squadron
Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry
- A (Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry) Squadron in Ayr
- B (North Irish Horse) Squadron in Beflast and Coleraine
- C (Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse) Squadron in Cupar
- E (Lothians and Border Yeomanry) Squadron in Edinburgh
Units and formations of the Volunteer Force (Great Britain)
Artillery Volunteer Corps of the British Army
Reference - WIKI Artillery Volunteer Corps of the British Army
- 205 (3rd Durham Volunteer Artillery) Battery Royal Artillery
- 1st Berwickshire Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Caithness Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Cornwall (Duke of Cornwall's) Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Durham Volunteer Artillery
- 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (South Shields) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 4th (Hartlepool) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 5th (Rainton) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 1st (Tayport) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 1st Fife Artillery Volunteers
- 2nd (Newport) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (St Andrews) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 4th (Inverkeithing) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 5th (Kirkcaldy) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 6th (Burntisland) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 7th (Anstruther) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 8th (Leven) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 9th (Dysart) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 10th (Wemyss) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 11th (Kinghorn) Fife Artillery Volunteer Corps
- Gloucestershire Volunteer Artillery
- 1st Wessex Artillery
- 2nd Hampshire Artillery Volunteers
- 2nd Kent Artillery Volunteers
- 3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal)
- 1st Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Lincolnshire Artillery Volunteers
- 1st London Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery
- City of London Artillery
- 1st (Hanover Square) Middlesex Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 1st Administrative Battalion, Middlesex Artillery Volunteers
- 2nd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Northumberland Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 1st Newcastle-upon-Tyne Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Orkney Artillery Volunteers
- 1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers
- 1st (Grangemouth) Stirlingshire Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 2nd (Stirling) Stirlingshire Artillery Volunteer Corps
- Sutherland Artillery Volunteers
- 1st (Poplar) Tower Hamlets Artillery Volunteer Corps
- Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery
- 1st (Leeds) Yorkshire West Riding Artillery Volunteer Corps
- 2nd (Bradford) Yorkshire West Riding Artillery Volunteer Corps
- West Riding Artillery
2nd Tower HamletsEngineer Volunteer Corps of the British Army
Reference - WIKI Engineer Volunteer Corps of the British Army
- Clyde Division (Electrical Engineers)
- Clyde Division Submarine Miners
- 1st Devonshire and Somersetshire Engineers
- 1st Devonshire Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st Durham Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st Essex Engineer Volunteer Corps
- Forth Division Electrical Engineers
- Forth Division Submarine Miners
- 1st Hampshire Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st Lancashire Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st City of London Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st London Engineer Volunteers
- London Electrical Engineers
- Mersey Division Electrical Engineers
- Mersey Division Submarine Miners
- 1st Newcastle Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 1st Somersetshire Engineer Volunteer Corps
- Tay Division Submarine Miners
- 1st Tower Hamlets Engineer Volunteer Corps
- 2nd Tower Hamlets (East London) Engineer Volunteers
- Tyne Division Submarine Miners
- Tyne Electrical Engineers
Mounted Rifle Volunteers of the British Army
Reference: WIKI Mounted Rifle Volunteers of the British Army
- Fife and Forfar Light Horse
- Fifeshire Mounted Rifle Volunteers
- 1st Northamptonshire Mounted Rifle Volunteer Corps
Rifle Volunteer Corps of the British Army
Reference: Rifle Volunteer Corps of the British Army
- 2nd (Sudbury) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd Administrative Battalion, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (Chesterfield) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd Administrative Battalion, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th (High Peak Rifles of Buxton) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 7th (High Peak Rifles of Chapel-en-le-Frith) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 8th (Dove Valley) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th (High Peak Rifles of Bakewell) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 10th (Wirksworth) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 11th (Matlock) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 17th (Clay Cross) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 18th (Whaley Bridge) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 21st (Hartington) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 22nd (Staveley) Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd Essex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 4th Essex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th Essex (Plaistow and Victoria Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th Essex (Silvertown) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Huntingdonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteer Corp
- 3rd Kent (Blackheath) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd Kent (West Kent) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 4th Kent (Royal Arsenal) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 4th Kent (Woolwich Town) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 7th Kent (Kidbrooke) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 8th Kent (Sydenham) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 12th Kent (Dartford) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 13th Kent (Greenwich) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 18th (Bromley Rifle Club) Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 21st Kent (Lewisham) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 25th Kent (Blackheath Artisans) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 26th Kent (Royal Arsenal) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 27th Kent (Deptford Dockyard) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 28th Kent (Charlton) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 32nd Kent (Eltham) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 34th Kent (Deptford Town Artisans) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th (Liverpool Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 19th (Liverpool Lowland Scottish) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 32nd (Liverpool) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 39th (Liverpool Welsh) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 56th (Salford) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 63rd (Toxteth) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 64th (Liverpool Irish) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 68th (Lyceum Corps) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 71st (Liverpool Highlanders) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 79th (Liverpool) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 86th (Liverpool) Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st (1st Leicester Town Rifles) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Administrative Battalion, Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd (Duke of Rutland's Belvoir Rifles) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (Melton Company) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 4th (2nd Leicester Town Rifles) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th (3rd Leicester Town Rifles) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th (Loughborough) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 7th (Lutterworth) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 8th (Ashby de la Zouch) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th (Leicester Town) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 10th (Hinckley) Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd City of London Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd City of London Rifle Volunteer Corps
- South London Rifles
- 1st (Victoria and St George's) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th (West Middlesex) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th (Marylebone and West Middlesex) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 15th (London Scottish) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 18th (Harrow Rifles) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 19th (St Giles and St George's, Bloomsbury) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 21st (Civil Service Rifles) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 22nd (Queen's Westminster) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 23rd (Inns of Court) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 28th (London Irish) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 29th (North Middlesex) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 38th (United Artists Rifles) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 48th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Havelock's Temperance Volunteers)
- 49th (Post Office Rifles) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Administrative Battalion, Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd (Towcester) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (Northampton) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 4th (Northampton) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th (Northampton) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th (Peterborough) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 7th (Wellingborough) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 8th (Daventry) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th (Kettering) Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- Rifleman
- 1st (Handsworth) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Administrative Battalion, Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 2nd (Longton) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd (Hanley) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd Administrative Battalion, Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th (Burslem) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th (Tunstall) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 9th Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 10th (Stoke-on-Trent) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 13th (Kidsgrove) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 15th (Brierley Hill) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 16th (Newcastle-under-Lyme) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 17th (Seisdon) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 18th (Kingswinford) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 20th (West Bromwich) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 27th (Patshull) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 28th (Leek) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 31st (Smethwick) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 35th (Kinver) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 36th (Hanley) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 40th (Stone) Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Surrey Rifles
- 3rd Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 1st Warwickshire (Birmingham) Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 3rd Warwickshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th Warwickshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 11th (Leeds Rifles) Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 22nd (Leeds) Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 5th Administrative Battalion, Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 6th (The Huddersfield) Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 32nd Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 34th (Saddleworth) Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 41st Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
- 44th Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps
Volunteer Infantry Brigades of the British Army
Reference: WIKI Volunteer Infantry Brigades of the British Army
- Essex Brigade
- South London Brigade
- North Midland Brigade
- Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade
- Staffordshire Brigade
Volunteer Training Corps (World War I)
A voluntary home defence militia in the United Kingdom during World War I. The only time that Volunteer Training Corps men were engaged in actual combat, was in the Easter Rising in Dublin starting on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. Suspended in December 1918, and officially disbanded in January 1920, with the exception of the Volunteer Motor Corps which was retained until April 1921 in case of civil disorder.
Home Service Force
A Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. It was linked to the Territorial Army (TA) and recruited from volunteers aged 18–60 with previous British forces (TA or regular) experience. It was introduced to guard key points and installations likely to be the target of enemy ‘special forces’ and saboteurs, so releasing other units for mobile defence roles. It was stood down in 1992.
Honourable Artillery Company (HAC)
Reference: WIKI Honourable Artillery Company
Incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII and is considered one of the oldest military organisations in the world. Today it is a registered charity whose purpose is to attend to the "better defence of the realm", this purpose is primarily achieved by the support of the HAC Regiment and a detachment of Special Constabulary to the City of London Police. The word "artillery" in "Honourable Artillery Company" does not have the current meaning that is generally associated with it, but dates from a time when in the English language that word meant any projectile, including for example arrows shot from a bow. The equivalent form of words in modern English would be either "Honourable Infantry Company" or "Honourable Military Company."
In the 17th century its members played a significant part in the formation of both the Royal Marines and the Grenadier Guards whilst more recently regiments, battalions and batteries of the Company fought with distinction in both World Wars and its current Regiment, which forms part of the Army Reserve, is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior in the Army Reserve. Members of the Regiment and Specials are drawn mostly from young men and women working in and around the City and Greater London. Those leaving the active units may become Veteran Members and remain within the fraternity of the Company.
Post Office RiflesPost Office Rifles
Reference:
A unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Territorial Army). The unit evolved several times until 1921, after which the name was lost during one of many reorganisations.
49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers Corps (Post Office Rifles)
1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Volunteer Rifle Corps (VRC)
Reference:
7th (Robin Hood) BattalionThe Robin Hood Battalion was a unit of the Volunteer Force of the British Army and Territorial Force, later the Territorial Army. The battalion served as infantry on the Western Front during World War I. In World War II it re-roled as an anti-aircraft unit and served North-western Europe from June 1944 to May 1945. It was formed as the 1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Rifle Volunteer Corps by Adjutant Jonathan White on 15 November 1859. It was one of many such 'corps' to be formed at a time of increased fear of war with France.
When the First World War began in August 1914, the Robin Hood Rifles continued to be part of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade (later the 139th (1/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade), North Midland Division (later the 46th (North Midland) Division).
After the culmination of the Cardwell-Childers Reforms on 1 July 1881, the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment) was formed (later the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) and the Robin Hood Rifles became its 3rd Volunteer Battalion.
In 1900, due to the Second Boer War, the Rifles experienced a substantial increase in size. Men of the battalion volunteered for service in the war and returned home when it ended in 1902, gaining the Robin Hood Rifles its first Battle Honour "South Africa 1900-02". In 1908, reserve forces of the British Army were reorganised, and the battalion was transferred to the Territorial Force, as the 7th Battalion (TF). In the following year, they were re-designated as the 7th (Robin Hood) Battalion. The battalion was assigned to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade, part of the North Midland Division, alongside the 5th, 6th and 8th battalions of the Sherwood Foresters.
Artists RiflesArtists' Rifles
Reference: WIKI Artists Rifles
The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regiment saw active service during the Second Boer War and World War I, earning a number of battle honours. It did not serve outside Britain during World War II, as it was used as an officer training unit at that time. The regiment was disbanded in 1945 but in 1947, it was re-established to resurrect the Special Air Service Regiment. Today, the full title of the Regiment is 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)) and with 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)), it forms the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS(R)).
21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) currently consists of:
- 'HQ' Squadron (Regent's Park)
- 'A' Squadron (Regent's Park)
- 'C' Squadron (Basingstoke/Cambridge)
- 'E' Squadron (Newport/Exeter)
The Liverpool Scottish
Reference: WIKI Liverpool Scottish
The Liverpool Scottish, known diminutively as "the Scottish", is a unit of the British Army, part of the Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army), raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment). The Liverpool Scottish became affiliated to the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in the 1920s and formally transferred to the regiment in 1937 with its identity preserved. Reflecting the Territorial Army's decline in size since the late 1940s, the battalion was reduced to a company in 1967, then to a platoon of "A" (King's) Company, King's and Cheshire Regiment in 1999. In 2006, the company was incorporated into the 4th Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border).
When war was declared in August 1914, the Liverpool Scottish mobilised and moved to Scotland under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Nicholl. Duplicate battalions were formed in Liverpool from personnel unable to volunteer for overseas service. The second-line battalion, designated as the 2/10th to distinguish it from the original, was organised in October, the third-line in May 1915. They became responsible for the training of recruits and provision of drafts for overseas service. The 2/10th, raised and organised by Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Adam Fairrie, was committed to the Western Front in 1917. The third-line remained in Britain for the duration of the war.
Halifax Volunteer Battalion, Nova Scotia
Reference: WIKI Halifax Volunteer Battalion
The Halifax Volunteer Battalion (1860–1868) included six companies that were raised in present-day Halifax Regional Municipality. The six companies included the
- Scottish Rifles,
- Chebucto Grays,
- Mayflower Rifles,
- Halifax Rifles,
- Irish Volunteers and
- Dartmouth Rifles
which were all raised in the fall of 1859. The upper ranks of the battalion was made up of distinguished people from the community filling the ranks of officers. The battalion served ceremonial functions, raised money for charities as well as defended the city against possible military threat during the Fenian Raids.
The present-day The Halifax Rifles (RCAC) descended from the 63rd regiment of the Halifax Volunteer Battalion.
Victoria Rifles (Nova Scotia)
Reference: WIKI Victoria Rifles (Nova Scotia) The Victoria Rifles was a military unit of black soldiers in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was established in 1860 in the wake of the Crimean War and on the eve of the American Civil War. It was one of the oldest black regiments established in Canada. On January 30, 1860, at a meeting of the Victoria Rifles, George Anderson was elected Captain and John H. Symonds (1st Lieut. 2nd Halifax Queen's) elected 1st. Lieut.
Bermuda Volunteer/Territorial Army Units 1895-1965
Reference: Bermuda Volunteer/Territorial Army Units 1895–1965
The Volunteer (later, Territorial) Army units raised in Bermuda were created as part of an Imperial military garrison that existed primarily to protect the Royal Naval base, centred about the HM Dockyard on Ireland Island.
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers)
Reference: Royal Hing Kong Regiment
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) (Chinese: 皇家香港軍團(義勇軍)), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong.
During the imperial age, home defence units were raised in various British colonies with the intention of allowing regular army units tied-up on garrison duty to be deployed elsewhere. These units were generally organised along British Army lines. The first locally raised militia in Hong Kong was the Hong Kong Volunteers, a fore runner of what was to become the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers).
References and further Reading
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_Force_(Great_Britain)
- http://www.yeomangreatwar.com/yeomanry-regiments1.html
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