Seventeen Cavalry Reserve Regiments were formed by the British Army on the outbreak of the Great War in August, 1914.[1] These were affiliated with one or more active cavalry regiments, their purpose being to train replacement drafts for the active regiments. In 1915, the 3rd (i.e. training) Regiments of the Yeomanry were also affiliated with the Cavalry Reserve and, in September 1916, the Household Cavalry Reserve Regiment was formed in Windsor, supplying replacements to the dismounted Household Battalion. In 1917, the regiments underwent major reorganization, being reduced to ten in number.
Although nominally cavalry, many of the drafts ended up being converted into infantry in order to satisfy the manpower demands of trench warfare.
Despite being training and not combat formations, several were involved in the putting down of the Easter Rising in Dublin in April 1916. A little after noon on Easter Monday, a mixed troop of 9th and 12th Lancers, attached to the 6th Cavalry Reserve Regiment at Marlborough Barracks in Phoenix Park, was dispatched to investigate a "disturbance" at Dublin Castle.[2] As they cantered down Sackville Street, they were fired upon by rebels who had taken up positions in and on the roof of the General Post Office. Three troopers were killed instantly and one was mortally wounded, becoming the first military casualties of the rising. The same evening, 1600 men of the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Brigade (consisting of the 8th, 9th and 10th Cavalry Reserve Regiments) arrived from their barracks at the Curragh to support the local Dublin garrison.[3]
Original August 1914 Formations[]
Formed in 1916[]
| Regiment | Location | Affiliated Regiments | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household Cavalry | Windsor | Household Battalion |
After 1917 re-organization[]
| Regiment | Location | Affiliated Regiments | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Life Guards | Hyde Park | 1st Life Guards | |
| 2nd Life Guards | Windsor | 2nd Life Guards | |
| Royal Horse Guards | Regent's Park | Royal Horse Guards | |
| Household Cavalry | Windsor | Household Battalion | Disbanded early 1918 |
| 1st | The Curragh | 5th Lancers 9th Lancers 12th Lancers 16th Lancers 17th Lancers 21st Lancers Bedfordshire Yeomanry Lincolnshire Yeomanry City of London Yeomanry Surrey Yeomanry East Riding Yeomanry |
|
| 2nd | The Curragh | 3rd Hussars 4th Hussars 7th Hussars 8th Hussars Dorset Yeomanry Lancashire Hussars 1st Country of London Yeomanry 3rd County of London Yeomanry South Nottinghamshire Hussars Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry |
|
| 3rd | Aldershot | 11th Hussars 13th Hussars 15th Hussars 19th Hussars Buckinghamshire Yeomanry Leicestershire Yeomanry Staffordshire Yeomanry Wiltshire Yeomanry Sherwood Rangers |
|
| 4th | Aldershot | 1st Dragoon Guards 2nd Dragoon Guards 5th Dragoon Guards 6th Dragoons Derbyshire Yeomanry Essex Yeomanry Glasgow Yeomanry Hampshire Yeomanry 2nd County of London Yeomanry Lothian and Border Horse |
|
| 5th | Tidworth | 10th Hussars 14th Hussars 18th Hussars 20th Hussars Northumberland Hussars Yorkshire Hussars Warwickshire Yeomanry Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Worcestershire Yeomanry |
|
| 6th | Tidworth | 3rd Dragoon Guards 4th Dragoon Guards 6th Dragoon Guards 7th Dragoon Guards 1st Dragoons 2nd Dragoons Berkshire Yeomanry Hertfordshire Yeomanry Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry Northamptonshire Yeomanry North Somerset Yeomanry Yorkshire Dragoons |
References[]
- ↑ The Cavalry Reserve Regiments The Long, Long Trail
- ↑ Ciaran Byrne, The Harp and Crown, the History of the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers, 1902 - 1922, p. 105
- ↑ General J.G. Maxwell, From the General Officer, Commanding-in-Chief, The Forces in Ireland. To the Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Chief, The Home Forces. 25th May, 1916
The original article can be found at Cavalry Reserve Regiments (United Kingdom) and the edit history here.