Formation and early history In 1793, the prime minister,
William Pitt the Younger, proposed that the
English Counties form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry that could be called on by the king to defend the country against invasion or by the
Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the country. The regiment was originally formed at Althorp, with
George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer becoming Colonel of the Regiment, as the
Northamptonshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1794, but it was disbanded in 1828.
First World War 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 Northamptonshire Yeomanry On mobilisation in August 1914, the 1st Line regiment was attached to the
Eastern Mounted Brigade, which was part of the
1st Mounted Division. In November 1914, the regiment moved to
France with the
8th Division. It remained with the 8th Division until April 1915, when it was split up: :Regimental
HQ and B
Squadron joined the
6th Division :A Squadron joined the
4th Division :C Squadron joined the
5th Division.
3/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in the summer it was affiliated to the
3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment at
Canterbury. Early in 1917, it was absorbed in the 6th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Tidworth. with the rest being transferred to other roles. As a result, on 1 March 1922, the regiment was one of eight converted and reduced to
7th (Northamptonshire) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps. In 1922, it was renumbered as
25th (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps, in October 1923 as
25th (Northamptonshire Yeomanry) Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Corps, and in April 1939 it was transferred to the
Royal Armoured Corps. In November 1938, the formation of a Mechanised Cavalry Brigade (TA) was announced, to comprise three Cavalry Light Tank Regiments. The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was selected to form part of this Brigade and ordered to expand to full Regimental status. By early 1939, Regimental Headquarters and "A" Squadron were based at Northampton, with "B" Squadron at Daventry and "C" Squadron at Brackley. This expansion coincided with the decision to increase the Territorial Army by forming duplicates of existing TA units. By 1939, it had become 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. As a result of this move, the Northamptonshire Yeomanry was divided in May 1939 to form two Cavalry Light Tank Regiments: :
1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (TA) - Regimental Headquarters and "A" Sqn at Northampton, "B" Sqn at Daventry and "C" Sqn at Brackley. :
2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry (TA) - Regimental Headquarters and "A" Sqn at Northampton, "B" and "C" Sqns at Kettering. Both Regiments formed part of
20th Light Armoured Brigade (TA) and were mobilised on 1 September 1939. A nominal 4th NY was formed later.
Second World War 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry In 1944, as a part of the
33rd Armoured Brigade, the unit participated in the
Invasion of Normandy, landing on
Gold Beach in
Normandy on 6 June. The brigade also included the
1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry and the
144 Regiment RAC. The Brigade's role was infantry support, therefore it rarely fought as an entity. One of the occasions when the Brigade did undertake an operation on its own was at Le Mesnil-Patry, Rots on 11 June 1944. Further battles they were involved in were around
Caen, including
Operation Charnwood on 7 July, the battle to capture Caen. On 16 July 1944, it was involved in
Operation Pomegranate, where it come under the command of the
59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division. The regiment was briefly attached to the
51st (Highland) Infantry Division for the actions around the
Battle of the Bulge. The regiment was re-formed and re-equipped with
LVT 4 Buffalo amphibious armoured fighting vehicles for the
Operation Plunder the Rhine crossing and was placed under the command of the
79th Armoured Division.
2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry After leaving the 20th Armoured Brigade in 1943, the 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry was converted to an Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment and assigned to the 11th Armoured Division. The regiment landed in
Normandy in June 1944. In August, it was disbanded and its members were drafted to other regiments.
4th Northamptonshire Yeomanry The 4th "regiment" was formed as a deception unit. It constructed and moved
dummy tanks in order to deceive the enemy as to the disposition and strength of British armour. However, the Northamptonshire Yeomanry Association, established on 6 August 1943, became a Charity in 1945, and was renamed the Northamptonshire Association Yeomanry Benevolent Fund. Under its president, the
9th Earl Spencer, this charity finally closed its doors in December 2024, exactly 230 years after being raised by the
2nd Earl Spencer in 1794. ==Uniform and insignia==