The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boer War, but opportunities for mounted action were much more restricted during the First World War and it was temporarily converted into a cycle unit. It remained a cavalry regiment throughout the interwar years, and was the last horsed unit of the British Army to see action, in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign of 1941, finally mechanising the following year. It served as motorised infantry in the North African and Italian campaigns of the Second World War. In 1956, it merged with the Yorkshire Hussars and the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by A (Yorkshire Yeomanry) Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars After Britain was drawn into the French Revolutionary Wars, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger proposed on 14 March 1794 that the counties should form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry (Yeomanry) that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the county. As Lord Lieutenant the Duke of Norfolk presided over a meeting at Pontefract that agreed to raise such a force in the West Riding of Yorkshire and at a second meeting at Doncaster in May 1794 the borough corporation subscribed £525 towards the costs. Two regiments were formed on 13 August: the 1st or Southern Corps of West Riding Yeomanry Cavalry at Pontefract and the 2nd or Northern Regiment on 13 August: these later became the Yorkshire Dragoons and the Yorkshire Hussars respectively. A local landowner, William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse, was colonel-commandant of both corps and Bryan Cooke of Owston Hall was lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Corps. Each regiment initially consisted of five Troops of 50 men each, those of the 1st Corps being at Doncaster, Pontefract, Barnsley, and two at Rotherham. The first parade of the Doncaster Troop in uniform took place on 29 August and on 8 November all five troops were paraded at Doncaster for the presentation of standards. Subsequently, further troops were added to the Southern regiment, one at Sheffield and three at Strafforth and Tickhill. Each troop assembled monthly, and annual training between 1795 and 1801 normally took place at Doncaster (Leeds in 1799, when 14 days' training was undertaken). The Rotherham and Barnsley Troops were thanked by the magistrates in January 1795 for their assistance to the civil power at Wath upon Dearne. The Peace of Amiens saw most of the Yeomanry disbanded, including the Southern West Riding regiment in April 1802. However, the peace quickly broke down and a meeting convened by Earl Fitzwilliam (now the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding) on 16 July 1803 resolved to re-raise it under the command of Lt-Col Francis Ferrand Foljambe of Aldwark, MP. It was again based at Doncaster, but now consisted of 12 troops, at Barnsley, Tickhill, Doncaster, Hatfield, Rotherham, Kiveton Park, Pontefract, Wath Wood (two), Wakefield and Sheffield (two). The Southern Regiment was now the largest in Yorkshire, but the threat of invasion brought more regiments and independent troops into existence, so that the West Yorkshire Yeomanry became a force of 1600 men in 33 troops. When an invasion beacon was mistakenly lit and the Yeomanry and Volunteers were called out on 15 August 1805, the Southern Regiment immediately mustered with the local infantry volunteers. James Stuart-Wortley (later created Lord Wharncliffe), a politician and former colonel in the 1st Foot Guards, assumed command of the Southern Regiment in 1810 and held it for 35 years.
19th century The Yeomanry declined in importance and strength after the end of the French wars, but the South West York Yeomanry was one of the few regiments that maintained a continuous existence. In 1840–2 it saw considerable service in suppressing the Chartist riots and new troops were raised at Morley and Agbrigg on 2 June 1842. On 16 June 1844 the regiment was reorganised as the 1st West York Yeomanry Cavalry (1st WYYC), with the Morley and Agbrigg Troops being detached to form the 2nd West York Yeomanry Cavalry at Halifax. The 1st WYYC was commanded by Lord Wharncliffe until his death in 1845. William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton (later 6th Earl Fitzwilliam) became Colonel on 4 May 1846 and remained in command for 40 years, with several of his brothers and sons serving as officers in the regiment, as well as members of the Stuart-Wortley family. In the 1850s the regiment used the Doncaster Mansion House as its officers' mess, and carried out training and drill on Doncaster Racecourse.
The 1st WYCC was reorganised into eight troops in 1871:
A Troop at Sheffield B Troop at Kiveton Park C Troop at Doncaster D Troop at Barnsdale E Troop at Wentworth Park F Troop at Pontefract G Troop at Barnsley H Troop at Wakefield Earl Fitzwilliam became honorary colonel of the regiment on 25 December 1886 when his younger son the Hon Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam (a former captain in the Royal Horse Guards and major of the 1st WYY since 26 May 1873) took command as Lt-Col. Having been Hussars, the regiment progressively adopted Dragoon style, and was officially renamed the Yorkshire Dragoons in 1889. It was affiliated to the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) and adopted that regiment's uniform with minor alterations. In 1893 it reorganised into three squadrons:
A Squadron, with A & B Troops at Sheffield, C Troop at Rotherham B Squadron, with A Troop at Pontefract, B & C Troops at Wakefield C Squadron, with A & B Troops at Doncaster, C at Barnsley A fourth squadron was added in 1894 when the 2nd WYYC was disbanded:
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