Yeomanry - 200 years

Year

Event

1794

Yeomanry formally established under William Pitt the Younger — county volunteer cavalry to defend against French invasion; officers & men largely landowners/farmers providing their own horses

1819

Called out to maintain civil order — notably at Peterloo Massacre; retained key domestic security role throughout early 19C

1830s–1890s

Peace-time social & county institution; musters, parades, little active service; numbers fluctuated

1899–1902

Boer War: Imperial Yeomanry formed — first overseas service; mounted infantry companies sent to South Africa

1908

Haldane Reforms: Yeomanry integrated into Territorial Force — 58 regiments organised as mounted cavalry

1914–1918

WWI: served dismounted as infantry, mounted in Palestine/Macedonia; later as machine-gun & artillery units; heavy casualties

1920s–1930s

Reduced & reorganised; many regiments converted to Royal Horse Artillery batteries

1939–1945

WWII: fully mechanised — armour, artillery, signals, reconnaissance; served North Africa, Europe, Far East

1947

Reconstituted within Territorial Army; postwar shifts to artillery, signals & reconnaissance roles

1967

Major TA cuts — most regiments reduced to squadron or company strength; formation of The Royal Yeomanry

1994

Bicentenary — Mileham’s revised edition published; Yeomanry continues in Army Reserve today