Formation and early 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 Bedfordshire Yeomanry was first raised in 1797 as independent
troops. These were regimented in 1803 as the
Bedfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry but were disbanded in 1810. A new
Bedfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry was raised in 1817, disbanded in 1827. The first contingent of recruits contained 550
officers, 10,371 men with 20
battalions and 4
companies, The 28th (Bedfordshire) Company of the 4th Battalion,
Imperial Yeomanry (also known as Compton's Horse) was raised in January 1900 by
Lord Alwyne Compton, the local Bedfordshire
MP. This company was perpetuated from 19 September 1901 by the
Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry. On 1 September 1901, the regiment was re-raised as the Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry with
headquarters at
Bedford. It was organised in four squadrons and a machine gun section formed from South African war veterans to perpetuate 28th (Bedfordshire) Company, 4th Bn, Imperial Yeomanry. On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed as the
Bedfordshire Yeomanry and transferred to the
Territorial Force, trained and equipped as
lancers. The regiment was based at Ashburnham Road in
Bedford at this time (since demolished). The regiment's organisation was: (of 55) in the
order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914.
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 Bedfordshire Yeomanry At the outbreak of the
First World War, the regiment was attached to the
Eastern Mounted Brigade. It mobilised on 4 August 1914 and was stationed at
Hatfield Peverel and
Stansted until June 1915. On 12 June 1915, it joined the
9th Cavalry Brigade,
1st Cavalry Division in
France,
2/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry The 2nd Line regiment was formed in September 1914. From October 1915 to February 1916, it was assigned to the
61st (2nd South Midland) Division in the
Chelmsford area. In June 1916, it joined the
16th Mounted Brigade of the
4th Mounted Division in
Essex. Later in 1916, the regiment was split up as divisional cavalry: • A
Squadron joined
57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division at
Aldershot • B Squadron joined
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division at
Colchester • C Squadron joined
68th (2nd Welsh) Division at
Turvey 3/1st Bedfordshire Yeomanry The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in June was attached to the
13th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at
Colchester. It remained in the United Kingdom until July 1917 when it was absorbed into the
1st Reserve Cavalry Regiment at
The Curragh. It served as 'Army Troops' in
54th (East Anglian) Divisional Area with four batteries: 417–420 (Bedfordshire) Batteries. The brigade underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of the
Second World War. In 1921, it was renumbered and regained its yeomanry title as
105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA. Another title change came in 1924 as the Royal Field Artillery was amalgamated back into the
Royal Artillery as
105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) (Army) Field Brigade, RA. Then, on 1 November 1938, as artillery
brigades became regiments, it became the
105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Army Field Regiment, RA.
Second World War 52nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, RA 105th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA was converted to
52nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, RA on 1 November 1939. It fought with the
BEF but was disbanded after evacuation from
Dunkirk on 20 June 1940. It was disbanded in the
British Army of the Rhine on 1 April 1946. At the outbreak of the war, 148th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA was assigned to the
18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. Initially commanding two batteries (419 and 420), the third battery (512) was formed in the regiment at
Rochdale on 1 June 1941. The regiment was transferred to
Singapore with its division, arriving just before the
Fall of Singapore in February 1942. The unit was reduced to battery strength as 201 (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Battery,
100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery in 1967. Under
Army 2020, this unit was placed in suspended animation in 2014. ==Battle honours==