Formation and Early History
During the Napoleonic Wars that the Gentlemen of Uxbridge sought permission from the Government to form a Military Association to maintain law and order when the Regular Forces were sent to the coast to protect the country against invasion by the French. A Cavalry Troop was raised in 1797 and titled the 'Uxbridge Volunteer Cavalry' and its first Captain Commandant was Christopher Baynes Esq' (later Sir Christopher),
The role of the Uxbridge Volunteer Cavalry was to act as armed police and support the Civil Powers in maintaining law and order in the local parishes.
A second troop was raised in 1798 with the change of title to 'Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry'. Captain-Commandant Christopher Baynes was appointed Major-Commandant and the UYC was given a wider sphere of operation. The volunteers provided their own clothes and horses, and received no payment if called out to quell a disturbance,
At the end of the war with France the number of Yeomanry units was reduced and it was not until 1830 that the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry was reformed to maintain the peace during a period of extreme poverty, when rioters terrorised the inhabitants and destroyed machinery which was being introduced into the agriculture and cotton industries.
The uniform worn by the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry was of the Light Dragoon pattern with a broad-topped shako of dark green, ornamented with a brass Maltese Cross with the Arms of the County of Middlesex placed in the centre, and the motto adopted was 'Pro Aris et Focis', which can be loosely interpreted as 'For Hearth and Home'.
In 1856 the badge was changed to a gilt metal six-pointed star, surmounted by the Royal Crown, and a circle bearing the regimental motto 'Pro Aris et Focis' enclosing the Royal Cypher 'VR',
Read more about this topic: Middlesex Yeomanry
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