Derbyshire Yeomanry - First World War

First World War

The regiment mobilised in August 1914 in the Notts and Derby Mounted Brigade, but remained in England until 1915, when they moved to Egypt with the 7th Mounted Brigade, 2nd Mounted Division. They then sailed for Gallipoli, where they saw action at the Battle of Scimitar Hill, serving as dismounted infantry, and took heavy losses. Returning to Egypt in December, the regiment was employed with the Western Frontier Force in the Senussi Campaign, before moving to Salonika in February 1916. One squadron served with the 27th Division from March to June 1916, whilst the regiment remained as GHQ reserve in Macedonia until the end of the war.

The regiment raised a second-line battalion, the 2/1st Derbyshire Yeomanry, in September 1914; this remained in the United Kingdom as part of 9th Mounted Brigade, 2/2nd Mounted Division, did not see service, and was converted into a cyclist unit in 1916. Some 165 men and four officers from this battalion were drafted to France to reinforce the 14th Battalion Durham Light Infantry in October 1916. A third-line battalion was formed in 1915, and remained in the United Kingdom until absorbed into the 4th Reserve Cavalry Regiment in 1917.

Following demobilisation after the War, the regiment was reconstituted in 1920 in the Territorial Army. In 1921 it was reorganised as the 24th (Derbyshire Yeomanry) Armoured Car Company of the Tank Corps, and April 1939 returned to full regimental status as the Derbyshire Yeomanry, being mechanised and transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps.