Berkshire Yeomanry
Channel: the aleatoric learning channel
Date: 2021-11-28

Government support for the Yeomanry was withdrawn in 1828 and many corps were disbanded; the 1st Berkshire Regiment was disbanded in January 1828 and the Eastern Regiment in April. The official title was Berkshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. The two Berkshire companies, in which 600 men of all ranks of the Berkshire Yeomanry had served by the end of the war, earned the regiment its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900-01.The Imperial Yeomanry were trained and equipped as mounted infantry. Each brigade formed a battalion sized unit, for example, 2nd South Midland Regiment and each regiment a sub-unit. In November 1916, the division was broken up and regiment was merged with the 2/1st Hampshire Yeomanry to form 11th Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment in 4th Cyclist Brigade. The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915; in the summer it was affiliated to the 7th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Tidworth. In February 1922 it regained its yeomanry title as 99th Brigade, RFA. Another title change came in June 1924 as the Royal Field Artillery was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery and it became 99th Field Brigade, RA. The final change came in November 1938 as artillery brigades became regiments, hence 99th Field Regiment, RA. By 1939 it became clear that a new European war was likely to break out, and the doubling of the Territorial Army was authorised, with each unit forming a duplicate. The Windsor battery was detached to form 662nd Medium Regiment, RA which was shortly afterwards redesignated as 346th Medium Regiment, RA. They were amalgamated on 16 August 1950 as 345th Medium Regiment, RA. On 31 October 1956, the regiment was reduced to a single battery as R Battery in 299th Field Regiment, RA.On 1 May 1961, the battery was amalgamated with the Westminster Dragoons to form C Squadron, Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons, RAC and converted to armoured cars. The squadron became independent in 1996, joined 31st Signal Regiment in 2003 and transferred to 39th Signal Regiment in 2006.A second squadron was formed from C Company, 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment in October 1995 as D Squadron, Royal Yeomanry at Slough. The Berkshire Yeomanry has been awarded the following battle honours: Second Boer WarSouth Africa 1900-01 First World WarArras 1918, Scarpe 1918, Ypres 1918, Courtrai, France and Flanders 1918, Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Palestine 1917-18 Second World WarThe Royal Artillery was present in nearly all battles and would have earned most of the honours awarded to cavalry and infantry regiments.