Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry - Between The Wars

Between The Wars

In 1921 the Territorial Force ceased to exist and was replaced by the Territorial Army (TA), meaning the unit was liable to be called out for deployment overseas. The RWY was re-established as a horsed cavalry regiment and was in existence by August 1921. During the inter-war years it remained an important part of the social scene of the county having its officers drawn from the nobility, landowners, and larger farmers while other ranks coming largely from their estates. Hunting, point-to-points, and social events seem to have been as important as military training. The chapter of the Regimental History relating to the period 1920–1939 is even entitled "The Long Weekend".

This brought the regiment into contact for the first time with someone it would later meet more seriously, Brigadier Bernard Montgomery (referred to as "Monty"), then commanding 9th Infantry Brigade in Portsmouth. In 1937 the brigade was on exercise in Wiltshire and RWY was attached to it for their two-week annual camp. The Brigade Major wrote that " was run like so much of the TA those days on rather feudal lines...when they heard they were going to have those tremendous exercises — three nights out at a time — they jibbed violently....Most of them had looked forward to exercises all day and then going out for a bit of jollity at night." The upshot was that the regiment was banished to a distant part of the camp where their socialising would not be disturbed by the Regulars. However, apparently the Yeomanry were so intrigued by Monty's exercises that their CO approached him and asked to be included in the last brigade exercise.