Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army . First raised in 1798 , it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry . History . Under threat of invasion by the French Revolutionary government from 1793 , and with insufficient military forces to repulse such an attack , the British government under William Pitt the Younger decided in 1794 to increase the Militia and to form corps of volunteers for the defence of the country . The mounted arm of the volunteers became known as the " Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry " . The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was first raised in 1798 as independent troop s , one of the main organisers of which process was Col . John Rolle , 1st Baron Rolle ( 1751 - 1842 ) , of Stevenstone near Great Torrington , Devon . In 1803 it was regimented as the North Devonshire Mounted Rifles . Despite the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 , the Yeomanry was retained by the government " for Military Service in aid of the Civil Power " in the absence of organised police forces . For example , in 1816 , a mob forced its way into Bideford prison to try to release their ringleaders . Members of the Regiment were mustered and patrolled the town all night ; several rioters were arrested and escorted to Exeter . The unwilliingness of the government to pay for the Yeomanry led to many corps being disbanded in 1827 – 28 . Twenty two corps were authorised to continue officially , and another sixteen were allowed to continue to serve without pay . Serving without pay from 1828 to 1831 , the Regiment was never disbanded . The regiment was renamed as the North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry and in 1856 as the Royal North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry . In 1868 , the regiment was the Royal North Devon Hussars with Headquarters at Barnstaple . On 1 April 1893 , the troops were reorganised in squadrons . Boer War . Due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899 , the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army , thus issuing a Royal Warrant on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces serve in the Second Boer War . This warrant officially created the Imperial Yeomanry . The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each . In addition to this , many British citizens ( usually mid - upper class ) volunteered to join the new regiment . The Royal North Devon Hussars and the Royal 1st Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry co - sponsored the 27th ( Devonshire ) Company of the 7th Battalion , Imperial Yeomanry which arrived in South Africa on 23 March 1900 . Upon arrival , the regiment was sent throughout the zone of operations . On 17 April 1901 , the regiment was renamed as the Royal North Devonshire Imperial Yeomanry and reorganised in four squadrons and a machine gun section . On 1 April 1908 , the regiment was renamed for the final time as the Royal North Devon Yeomanry and transferred to the Territorial Force , trained and equipped as hussars . Its organisation was : It was ranked as 30th ( of 55 ) in the order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914 . World War I . In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ( 7 Edw . 7 , c . 9 ) , which brought the Territorial 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 for Imperial 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 . 1 / 1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry . At the outbreak of the First World War , the regiment was part of the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade . It mobilised on 4 August 1914 and , with its brigade , moved to the Colchester area . It was dismounted in September 1915 . Gallipoli 1915 . Still with the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade , in September 1915 the regiment left Colchester for Liverpool . On 24 September it boarded RMS Olympic and sailed the next day . It arrived at Mudros on 1 October and on to Suvla Bay . The regiment landed in Gallipoli on 9 October and was attached to the 11th ( Northern ) Division ( digging trenches ) . In November it was in the firing line , attached to the 2nd Mounted Division and 53rd ( Welsh ) Infantry Division . On 19 December it was evacuated to Imbros . Egypt 1916 - 17 . On 30 December 1915 , the regiment landed in Alexandria to help defend Egypt . In February 1916 , 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade was absorbed into the 2nd Dismounted Brigade ( along with elements of the Highland and Lowland Mounted Brigades ) . It served on Suez Canal defences and part of the Western Frontier Force . On 4 January 1917 , the regiment was amalgamated with the 1 / 1st Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry at Moascar , Egypt to form the 16th ( Royal 1st Devon and Royal North Devon Yeomanry ) Battalion , Devonshire Regiment and 2nd Dismounted Brigade became 229th Brigade in the 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division . Palestine 1917 - 18 . With the 74th Division , it took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918 . It fought in the Second and Third Battles of Gaza ( including the capture of Beersheba and the Sheria Position ) . At the end of 1917 , it took part in the capture and defence of Jerusalem and in March 1918 in the Battle of Tell ' Asur . On 3 April 1918 , the Division was warned that it would move to France and by 30 April 1918 had completed embarkation at Alexandria . France and Flanders 1918 . On 7 May 1918 , 16th ( Royal 1st Devon and Royal North Devon Yeomanry ) Battalion , Devonshire Regiment landed at Marseilles , France with 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division . It served in France and Flanders with the division for the rest of the war . From September 1918 , as part of III Corps of Fourth Army , it took part in the Hundred Days Offensive including the Second Battle of the Somme ( Second Battle of Bapaume ) and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line ( Battle of Épehy ) . In October and November 1918 it took part in the Final Advance in Artois and Flanders . By the Armistice it was east of Tournai , Belgium , still with 229th Brigade , 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division . 2 / 1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry . The 2 / 1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry was formed at Barnstaple in September 1914 . In May 1915 it joined 2 / 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade at Woodbury . In September 1915 it moved to Colchester , taking over the horses of the newly dismounted 1st Line regiment . In April 1916 it went to Norfolk with its brigade ( by now renamed as 2nd Mounted Brigade ) and joined 1st Mounted Division . In July 1916 it became a cyclist unit in the 2nd Cyclist Brigade of the 1st Cyclist Division in the Yoxford , Suffolk area . In November 1916 , the 1st Cyclist Division was broken up and the regiment was amalgamated with the 2 / 1st Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry to form the 4th ( Royal 1st Devon and North Devon ) Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment , still with the 2nd Cyclist Brigade , in Norfolk . In March 1917 it resumed its identity , still with the 2nd Cyclist Brigade , at Melton Constable before moving to East Dereham later in 1917 . In May 1918 it went to Ireland with the 2nd Cyclist Brigade and was stationed at Longford until the end of the war . 3 / 1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry . The 3 / 1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry was formed at Barnsaple in 1915 . In the summer it was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Tidworth . In the summer of 1916 it was dismounted and attached to the 3rd Line Groups of the Wessex Division as its 1st Line was serving as infantry . Disbanded in early 1917 with personnel transferring to the 2nd Line regiment or to the 4th ( Reserve ) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment at Bournemouth . Post war . On 7 February 1920 , the Regiment was reconstituted in the Territorial Army with HQ still at Barnstaple . Following the experience of the war , it was decided that only the fourteen most senior yeomanry regiments would be retained as horsed cavalry , with the rest being transferred to other roles . As a result , on 7 June 1920 , the Regiment was amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry and simultaneously transferred to the Royal Artillery to form 11th ( Devon ) Army Brigade , RFA .