| Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1794–present |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1794–1800) United Kingdom (1801–present) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Yeomanry |
| Size | First World War Three regiments Second World War One regiment |
| Part of | Territorial Force Royal Armoured Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Nottingham |
| Motto | Loyal unto Death |
| Colours | Green and Gold |
| March | The Sherwood Rangers |
| Engagements | Second Boer War First World War |
| Battle honours | Seebattle honours below |
| Commanders | |
| Honorary Colonel | Major Andrew M. Smith, TD, JP[1] |
| Notable commanders | Lt ColVernon Willey, 2nd Baron Barnby Lt ColSir Albert Bennett, 1st Bt. ColE. O. Kellett DSO MP Lt Col S. D. Christopherson DSO MC US Silver Star Lt ColSir Thomas White, 1st Bt. Lt ColSir Thomas White, 2nd Bt. |
TheSherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a BritishYeomanryregiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form theRoyal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of theArmy Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1794, the regiment was used on several occasions in the 19th century to maintain law and order. During theSecond Boer War and both World Wars the regiment earned 44 battle honours. It is now one of the six squadrons of theRoyal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of theArmy Reserve. Designated as 'A' Squadron, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry's current role is to support the Light Cavalry Regiments on operations by providing reconnaissance soldiers.
The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry was raised in the summer of 1794 as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry, byThomas White ofWallingwells, who financed and housed the regiment at his own cost. White was to be granted abaronetcy byKingGeorge III for his loyalty to the Crown. The regiment took Sir Thomas's motto (Loyal Until Death) as its own, with a minor variation (Loyal Unto Death).[2]
The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but due to the string of defeats duringBlack Week in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army. A royal warrant was issued on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in theSecond Boer War. The royal warrant asked standing Yeomanryregiments to provide servicecompanies of approximately 115 men each for theImperial Yeomanry, organised asmounted infantry.[3] The regiment provided the 10th (Sherwood Rangers) Company for the 3rd Battalion in 1900. The men and horses of 10th Company leftLiverpool on 28 January 1900, sailed to South Africa onWinifredian, and reachedCape Town on 20 February.[4][5] The mounted infantry concept was considered a success and from 1901 to 1908 the regiment was designated theNottinghamshire Imperial Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers).[6] The regiment was based atAlbert Road inRetford by 1914.[7]
| Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade |
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| Organisation on 4 August 1914 |
Assigned units
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In accordance with theTerritorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7, c.9), which brought theTerritorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered forImperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.[9]
In the First World War, the 1/1st Sherwood Rangers served in theNottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade (later7th Mounted Brigade) inEgypt as cavalry. In 1915, it was despatched toGallipoli performing an infantry role and served as such for three months, receiving the "King's Colour" in recognition of its gallantry. The Regiment then returned to Egypt as cavalry, serving thereafter in NorthGreece andPalestine, taking part in the great cavalry advance fromGaza toAleppo.[10]
The 2nd Line regiment was formed atRetford in 1915 and in March joined the2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade. By June, the brigade was in the2/2nd Mounted Division in theKing's Lynn area. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence[11] and the brigade became the9th Mounted Brigade (and the division3rd Mounted Division).[12]
In July 1916, there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments were converted tocyclists;[11] the 2/1st Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry remained mounted and transferred to the1st Mounted Brigade in the new 1st Mounted Division (3rd Mounted Division redesignated) atThorndon Park,Brentwood.[12]
The regiment was converted to cyclists in August 1917 and joined11th Cyclist Brigade inThe Cyclist Division where it remained until the end of the war, in theCanterbury area.[12]
The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in the summer it was affiliated to aReserve Cavalry Regiment atAldershot. In the summer of 1916, it was affiliated to the1st Reserve Cavalry Regiment, also at Aldershot. Early in 1917, it was absorbed into the3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Aldershot.[12]
Post war, a commission was set up to consider the shape of the Territorial Force (Territorial Army from 1 October 1921). The experience of the First World War made it clear thatcavalry was surfeit. The commission decided that only the 14 most senior regiments were to be retained as cavalry (though theLovat Scouts and theScottish Horse were also to remain mounted as "scouts"). Eight regiments were converted to Armoured Car Companies of theRoyal Tank Corps (RTC), one was reduced to abattery in another regiment, one was absorbed into a local infantry battalion, one became a signals regiment and two were disbanded. The remaining 25 regiments were converted to brigades[a] of theRoyal Field Artillery between 1920 and 1922.[15] As the 4th most senior regiment in theorder of precedence, the regiment was retained as horsed cavalry.[16]
Between the wars, the Regiment continued as a cavalry unit, mobilising in that role in 1939, upon the outbreak ofWorld War II, to move toPalestine, as part of the5th Cavalry Brigade of the1st Cavalry Division.[18]
In 1940 it was converted to artillery and took part in the defence of bothTobruk andBenghazi as well as thebattle of Crete. In 1941, the Regiment converted to armour initially withM3 Grant andM4 Sherman medium tanks andCrusadercruiser tanks, and was assigned to the8th Armoured Brigade. The Regiment served in most of the major battles of theEighth Army in theNorth Africa campaign, includingAlam El Halfa andSecond El Alamein and theTunisia Campaign.[19]
The Regiment landed in France onD-Day equipped with swimmingDD Sherman andSherman Firefly tanks and was in the thick of thefighting in Normandy and on theadvance across northern France and Belgium. The reconnaissance troop was the first British unit to fight on German soil in September 1944, as part ofOperation Market Garden, and later took part in theWestern Allied invasion of Germany. The Sherwood Rangers were involved in further hard fighting around the Rhine and had pushed ontoBremen and beyond by the end of the war.[10]
In 1947, the Sherwood Rangers was revived as an armoured regiment, converting to reconnaissance in 1961. In 1964, the Regiment converted back to tanks before, in 1967, being reduced and reformed as a reconnaissance squadron of the newly createdRoyal Yeomanry. Fighting (Sabre) Troops (1-5) were equipped with, initially, a combination ofFerret andAlvis Saladin armoured cars and later withFox Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle. SHQ troop started inAlvis Saracen later having availableFV105 Sultan Armoured Command Vehicles andFV104 Samaritan Armoured Ambulances. Support (Boot) Troop was initially equipped with Saracen and then CVR(T)FV103 Spartan APCs. This lasted for 25 years until 1992, when the Sherwood Rangers moved to become B Squadron of theQueen's Own Yeomanry, where they operated as recce for theACE Rapid Reaction Corps, during which period sabre troops were re-equipped withCVR(T) Scimitar andSabre.[10] The squadron rejoined the Royal Yeomanry asChallenger 2 reserves in 1999 and converted to the formationCBRN reconnaissance role in 2006.[20] Following the latest defence review the Squadron became 'light cavalry' and uses theLand RoverRWMIK.[21]
The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum is based atThoresby Hall inNottinghamshire.[22]
The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry was awarded the followingbattle honours (honours in bold areemblazoned on theRegimental Guidon):[23]
As was frequently the case with yeomanry prior to World War I the regiment had retained afull dress uniform with features that were highly distinctive. In the case of the Sherwood Rangers these included a "rich dark green" jacket and breeches, braided in gold and yellow.[24] The short hip-length jacket worn for review order was of a style abandoned by regularhussar regiments after the Crimean War. Officers had a gold lacedpouch belt. Furbusbies, with white over green plumes, were worn by all ranks for parade dress. On less formal occasions a dark green "frock" tunic with chain mailepaulettes and green peaked caps with yellow bands was worn.[25] After 1914 the Sherwood Rangers wore the standard khaki service dress with regimental insignia for nearly all occasions until the introduction of battle dress.[26]
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