science

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry

Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry rather than just read about it. In short: The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced.

Key takeaways

Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced. The regiment lives on in B (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. The regiment took part in the Second Boer War as part of the Imperial Yeomanry. In the First World War, it fought on the Western Front, but saw relatively little action as horsed cavalry. After conversion to infantry, it fought in the trenches, notably during 3rd Ypres in 1917 and during the German spring offensive in 1918. In the Second World War, the regiment fought in the Middle East, seeing action in Syria against Vichy French forces, as well as operations in Iraq and Iran. It then joined 9th Armoured Brigade, seeing action in North Africa and Italy. With this formation, it took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein, spearheading the break-out of the 2nd New Zealand Division during Operation Supercharge on 2 November 1942. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry cap badge is the Prince of Wales's feathers on a red baize backing, and vehicles carry the New Zealand fern leaf emblem.

History

Formation and early history On 4 June 1794, a meeting of country gentlemen at the Bear Inn in Devizes decided to raise a body of ten independent troops of Yeomanry for the county of Wiltshire. The decision was implemented by the High Sheriff Richard Long. Five gentlemen were identified to be captains in the unit. The existing troops were regimented into the Wiltshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1797. Neither the Yeomanry, nor the Militia (the infantry counterpart of the Yeomanry), were liable for service overseas and so the regiment took no part in the Napoleonic or later wars of the 19th century. However the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry was called to deal with civil disorders, such as a mutiny by the county Militia in Devizes, the Swing Riots and the 'machine riots'. In recognition of this service, the regiment was awarded the title 'Royal' by King William IV in 1831; the first yeomanry regiment to be so honoured. Contrary to common belief, the regiment was not involved in the restoration of order after the Bristol riots, which followed the rejection of the 1830 Reform Bill (although they did mobilise for the duty before regular troops restored order).

In 1863, it provided an escort to the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) through the Savernake Forest, in recognition of which it was the first regiment in the British Army to be awarded the title of 'Prince of Wales's Own' (entitling it to wear the Prince of Wales's feathers as a badge). In 1884, it was placed at the head of the newly formed Yeomanry Order of Precedence by Queen Victoria.

Second Boer War The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but 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. A Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War. The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each for the Imperial Yeomanry. The regiment provided:

1st (Wiltshire) Company, 1st Battalion in 1900 2nd (Wiltshire) Company, 1st Battalion in 1900 63rd (Wiltshire) Company, 16th Battalion in 1900, transferred to 1st Battalion in 1902 In 1900, the regiment represented the Yeomanry cavalry at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia. On 17 April 1901, the regiment was renamed as the Royal Wiltshire Imperial Yeomanry (Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment) and reorganised in four squadrons and a machine gun section. On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed as the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment) and transferred to the Territorial Force, trained and equipped as hussars. The regiment was based at the Yelde Hall in Chippenham at this time. Its organisation was:

It was ranked 1st (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.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry: Guidon of the RWY — Guidon of the RWY

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry

In research: Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1794 establishments in Great Britain, Imperial Yeomanry regiments, Military units and formations established in 1794, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry in simple terms?

Why does Royal Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire Yeomanry.