science

Royal Devon Yeomanry

Royal Devon Yeomanry is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Royal Devon Yeomanry rather than just read about it. In short: The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1920. It participated in the Second World War and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.

Key takeaways

Royal Devon Yeomanry belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Royal Devon Yeomanry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Royal Devon Yeomanry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1920. It participated in the Second World War and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.

History

Formation Following the experience of the First World War, it was decided that only the fourteen most senior yeomanry regiments would be retained as horsed cavalry, with the rest being transferred to other roles. As a result, on 7 June 1920, the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry was amalgamated with the Royal North Devon Yeomanry to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry and simultaneously transferred to the Royal Artillery to form 11th (Devon) Army Brigade, RFA.

Pre war The brigade / regiment underwent a number of redesignations before the outbreak of Second World War. In 1921 it was renumbered and regained its yeomanry title as 96th (Devon Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA and in 1922 became 96th (Devonshire Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA. In 1923 it regained its royal title as 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA. Another title change came in 1924 as the Royal Field Artillery was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery and the regiment became 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Brigade, RA. The final change came in 1938 as artillery brigades became regiments, hence 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA. In 1939, the Territorial Army was duplicated – existing units formed a second unit. 96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA formed 142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA.

Second World War Field regiments were organised in 1938 into two 12-gun batteries. The experience of the BEF in 1940 showed the problem with this organisation: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions. This could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries.

96th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA 96th Field Regiment served in the Home Forces for most of the war, moving to India in January 1945. At the outbreak of the war, 96th Field Regiment was part of 45th Division. Initially commanding two batteries – 381 from Torverton and 382 from Totnes – the third battery (469) was formed in the regiment at Knottingley in December 1940. It transferred to 61st Division in June 1944 before being posted to India. In the Far East, it supported 81st (West Africa) Division and 25th Indian Division in preparation for Operation Zipper.

142nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA

142nd Field Regiment also initially served in the Home Forces, before moving to Sicily and Italy from July 1943. At the outbreak of the war, 142nd Field Regiment was also part of 45th Division. Initially commanding two batteries – 383 from Torrington and 384 from South Molton – the third battery (506) was formed in the regiment at Bircotes on 5 November 1940. It was authorised to use the "Royal Devon Yeomanry" designation from 17 February 1942. 142nd Field Regiment fought in Sicily from July 1943 and in Italy thereafter under command of 8th Army, taking part in most of the major actions of that campaign including the landings in Sicily and Anzio and the Battle of Monte Cassino. The regiment was armed with Bishop self-propelled guns during the Sicilian campaign and part of the Italian campaign but in early 1944 was re equipped with the American M7 Priest self-propelled gun. For its support to the Canadian Division it was awarded the right to wear the Maple Leaf of Canada.

Post war Both regiments were reformed in 1947 as 296th (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA (at Exeter in 43rd (Wessex) Division) and 342nd (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, RA (at Taunton in 91st Army Group Royal Artillery. In 1950, 342nd Medium Regiment was amalgamated into 296th Field Regiment and in 1956 the regiment also absorbed 256th (Wessex) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA. 296th Field Regiment survived until 1967. On 1 April 1967 the regiment was amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment to form The Devonshire Territorials (Royal Devon Yeomanry/The 1st Rifle Volunteers). In the process it was reduced to squadron strength as "A" Squadron. This had a brief, two year, existence and throughout that time was kept very short of equipment and training time. It was reduced to cadre in 1969. With a change of government policy, in 1971 the Territorials were again reformed, and on 1 April a new regiment was born incorporating three old and distinguished cavalry regiments. "A" and "C" Squadrons were formed from the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, "B" Squadron from the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, and "D" Squadron from the old Royal Devon Yeomanry. The regiment is called the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. The Royal Devon Yeomanry now serves as D (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Squadron, Royal Wessex Yeomanry, based at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter, Devon. It provides trained replacement crewmen for the Regular Army's Challenger 2 Main battle tank.

Regimental museum The Royal Devon Yeomanry Museum is incorporated in the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon in The Square, Barnstaple.

Battle honours The Royal Devon Yeomanry inherited the combined battle honours of the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry and of the Royal North Devon Yeomanry (honours in bold are emblazoned on the regimental colours):

Honorary Colonels 1967–1968: Peter Acland 1968–1984: Lewis Hugh Clifford, 13th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh 1984–1992: Sir John Acland

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Royal Devon Yeomanry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Royal Devon Yeomanry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Royal Devon Yeomanry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Royal Devon Yeomanry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Royal Devon Yeomanry

In research: Royal Devon Yeomanry appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Royal Devon Yeomanry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Royal Devon Yeomanry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Military units and formations established in 1920, Military units and formations in Devon, Royal Devon Yeomanry, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Royal Devon Yeomanry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Royal Devon Yeomanry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Royal Devon Yeomanry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Royal Devon Yeomanry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Royal Devon Yeomanry in simple terms?

The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1920. It participated in the Second World War and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.

Why does Royal Devon Yeomanry matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Royal Devon Yeomanry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Royal Devon Yeomanry.