Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry ( SRY ) is one of the five squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry ( RY ) , an armoured regiment of the Territorial Army . Designated as ' S ' Squadron , the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry ' s current role is to support the Formation Reconnaissance Regiments and the Joint Chemical Biological Nuclear and Radiological Regiment on operations by providing skilled CBRN reconnaissance soldiers . Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry in 1794 , the Regiment was used on several occasions in the 19th Century to maintain law and order . Since 1900 , the Regiment has seen overseas service during the Second Boer War and both World Wars , earning 44 battle honours during these campaigns . The Squadron has contributed to the Royal Yeomanry ' s operational deployments to Iraq from 2003 to date . The squadron is currently supporting operations in Afghanistan , reinforcing regular regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps . History . The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry was raised in the summer of 1794 as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry , and is the fourth senior regiment of Yeomanry . The Regiment did not see active service until a mounted squadron was sent to South Africa in 1900 , followed by another squadron a year later , earning the Sherwood Rangers their first battle honour . In the First World War the 1 / 1st Sherwood Rangers served in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade ( later 7th Mounted Brigade ) in Egypt as cavalry . In 1915 it was despatched to Gallipoli 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 North Greece and Palestine , taking part in the great cavalry advance from Gaza to Aleppo . The Sherwood Rangers won 13 battle honours for the First World War . The 2 / 1st Sherwood Rangers remained in Britain throughout the war , initially as part of the 2 / 2nd Mounted Division later as bicycle troops . Between the wars the Regiment continued as a cavalry unit , mobilising in that role in 1939 to move to Palestine . However , in 1940 it converted to Artillery and took part in the defence of both Tobruk and Benghazi as well as the battle for Crete . In 1941 the Regiment converted to armour initially with M3 Grant , M4 Sherman and Crusader tank and served in most of the major 8th Army tank battles in North Africa , including Alam El Halfa and El Alamein . The Regiment landed in France on D - Day equipped with swimming DD Sherman and Sherman Firefly tanks and was in the thick of the fighting in Normandy and on the advance across northern France and Belgium . The recce troop was the first British unit to fight on German soil in 1944 . The Sherwood Rangers were involved in further hard fighting around the Rhine and had pushed onto Bremen and beyond by the end of the war . The Regiment ' s record in the Second World War is evidenced by 30 battle honours and 159 awards to its Yeomen . In 1947 the Sherwood Rangers were 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 created Royal Yeomanry . Fighting ( Sabre ) Troops ( 1 - 5 ) were equipped with , initially , a combination of Ferret armoured car and Alvis Saladin armoured cars and later with Fox Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle . SHQ troop started in Alvis Saracen later having available FV105 Sultan ACV and FV104 Samaritan Armoured Ambulance . Support ( Boot ) Troop were initially equipped with Saracen and then CVR ( T ) Spartan APCs . This lasted for 25 years until 1992 when the Sherwood Rangers were moved to become B Squadron of the Queen ' s Own Yeomanry , where they operated as recce for the ACE Rapid Reaction Corps , during which period sabre troops were re - equipped with CVR ( T ) Scimitar and Sabre . The squadron rejoined the Royal Yeomanry as Challenger 2 reserves in 1999 and converted to the formation CBRN reconnaissance role in 2006 . Operating with logistical support provided by an Admin troop equipped with " 4 tonners " and Land Rovers , the Unit , also had an element of REME LAD ( Light Aid Detachment ) who were equipped with first a Scammel then Foden recovery vehicle , then a Spartan ( which ought to have been a Samson ) CVRT recovery vehicle .