The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry.
History
Formation and early history
Under threat of invasion by the French Revolutionary government from 1793, and with insufficient military forces to repulse such an attack, the British government under William Pitt the Younger decided in 1794 to increase the Militia and to form corps of volunteers for the defence of the country. The mounted arm of the volunteers became known as the "Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry". The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was first raised in 1798 as independent troops, one of the main organisers of which process was Col. John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1751–1842), of Stevenstone near Great Torrington, Devon. In 1803 it was regimented as the North Devonshire Mounted Rifles.
North Devon Regiment of Local Militia
Col. Henry II Beavis (1736–1813), of Yeotown in the parish of Goodleigh, North Devon, was appointed on 5 July 1803 by the King as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant (of 441 men) of the "Barnstaple Volunteer Infantry". He was the son of Henry I Beavis, Mayor of Barnstaple in 1738 and 1751, whose portrait survives in Barnstaple Guildhall. He died on 7 December 1813, and his small mural monument survives in Pilton Church inscribed as follows:
Sacred to the memory of Josiah Crane Esq., Captain and Adjutant of the North Devon Regiment of Local Militia. Colonel Henry Beavis, Commandant, who departed this life 7th December 1813 aged 77 years. This monument is erected by his brother officers as a small token of their respect and esteem. Despite the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Yeomanry was retained by the government "for Military Service in aid of the Civil Power" in the absence of organised police forces. For example, in 1816, a mob forced its way into Bideford prison to try to release their ringleaders. Members of the Regiment were mustered and patrolled the town all night; several rioters were arrested and escorted to Exeter. The unwillingness of the government to pay for the Yeomanry led to many corps being disbanded in 1827–28. Twenty-two corps were authorised to continue officially, and another sixteen were allowed to continue to serve without pay. Serving without pay from 1828 to 1831, the Regiment was never disbanded. The regiment was renamed as the North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry and in 1856 as the Royal North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1868, the regiment was the Royal North Devon Hussars with Headquarters at Barnstaple. On 1 April 1893, the troops were reorganised in squadrons.
Second Boer War Due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army, thus issuing a Royal Warrant on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War. This warrant officially created the Imperial Yeomanry. The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each. In addition to this, many British citizens (usually mid-upper class) volunteered to join the new regiment. The Royal North Devon Hussars and the Royal 1st Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry co-sponsored the 27th (Devonshire) Company of the 7th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry which arrived in South Africa on 23 March 1900. On 17 April 1901, the regiment was renamed as the Royal North Devonshire Imperial Yeomanry and reorganised in four squadrons and a machine gun section. On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed for the final time as the Royal North Devon Yeomanry and transferred to the Territorial Force, trained and equipped as hussars. The regiment was based at Bear Street in Barnstaple at this time. Its organisation was:
It was ranked as 30th (of 55) in the order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914.
First World War
In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7, c.9) which brought the Territorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.
1/1st Royal North Devon Yeomanry At the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment was part of the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade. It mobilised on 4 August 1914 and, with its brigade, moved to the Colchester area. It was dismounted in September 1915.
Gallipoli 1915 Still with the 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade, in September 1915 the regiment left Colchester for Liverpool. On 24 September it boarded RMS Olympic and sailed the next day. It arrived at Mudros on 1 October and on to Suvla Bay. The regiment landed in Gallipoli on 9 October and was attached to the 11th (Northern) Division (digging trenches). In November it was in the firing line, attached to the 2nd Mounted Division and 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. On 19 December it was evacuated to Imbros. The diary of Lt.Col. Robert Arthur Sanders (1867–1940) (Baron Bayford from 1929) of the Royal North Devon Yeomanry (and Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds 1895-1907) survives in the National Army Museum covering the Gallipoli Campaign. Casualties of the regiment included:
Major Morland Greig (1864-1915), of Edgcott, Exford, Somerset, then Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds Captain John Oliver Clemson (1882-1915) of Stevenstone, St Giles in the Wood.
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