Formation and early history The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry was raised in the summer of 1794 as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry, by
Thomas White of
Wallingwells, who financed and housed the regiment at his own cost. White was to be granted a
baronetcy by
King George III for his loyalty to the Crown. The regiment took Sir Thomas's motto (
Loyal Until Death) as its own, with a minor variation (
Loyal Unto Death).
Second Boer War The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but 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. A royal warrant was issued on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the
Second Boer War. The royal warrant asked standing Yeomanry
regiments to provide service
companies of approximately 115 men each for the
Imperial Yeomanry, organised as
mounted infantry. The regiment provided the 10th (Sherwood Rangers) Company for the 3rd Battalion in 1900. The men and horses of 10th Company left
Liverpool on 28 January 1900, sailed to South Africa on , and reached
Cape Town on 20 February. The mounted infantry concept was considered a success and from 1901 to 1908 the regiment was designated the
Nottinghamshire Imperial Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers). The regiment was based at
Albert Road in
Retford by 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 Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry 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.
2/1st Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The 2nd Line regiment was formed at
Retford in 1915 and in March joined the
2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade. By June, the brigade was in the
2/2nd Mounted Division in the
King's Lynn area. On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became the
9th Mounted Brigade (and the division
3rd Mounted Division). In July 1916, there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments were converted to
cyclists; As the 4th most senior regiment in the
order of precedence, the regiment was retained as horsed cavalry.
Second World War , Normandy, 30 June 1944. Sgt Dring (leftmost), the tank commander, received a second
Military Medal for it Between the wars, the Regiment continued as a cavalry unit, mobilising in that role in 1939, upon the outbreak of
World War II, to move to
Palestine, as part of the
5th Cavalry Brigade of the
1st Cavalry Division. In 1940 it was converted to artillery and took part in the defence of both
Tobruk and
Benghazi as well as the
battle of Crete. In 1941, the Regiment converted to armour initially with
M3 Grant and
M4 Sherman medium tanks and
Crusader cruiser tanks, and was assigned to the
8th Armoured Brigade. The Regiment served in most of the major battles of the
Eighth Army in the
North Africa campaign, including
Alam El Halfa and
Second El Alamein and the
Tunisia Campaign. 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 reconnaissance troop was the first British unit to fight on German soil in September 1944, as part of
Operation Market Garden, and later took part in the
Western Allied invasion of Germany. 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. Following the latest defence review the Squadron became 'light cavalry' and uses the
Land Rover RWMIK. ==Regimental museum==