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Roll of Honour of Officers of the Royal North Devon Hussars Who Died in the Great War |
 Copyright and source: cwgc.co.uk |
Formation and Early Years The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Regiment first raised in 1798 in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1803 the unit was retitled as the North Devonshire Mounted Rifles. Despite the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Yeomanry Regiments were retained as militia by the Government for military service in aid of the Civil Power, in the absence of organised police forces. In time, the unwillingness of the Government to pay for the Yeomanry led to many units being disbanded during 1827 - 28. Twenty two Yeomanry Regiments 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, and was renamed as the North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1856 the Regiment was retitled as the Royal North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry, and in In 1868 the Regiment was renamed as the Royal North Devon Hussars, with its HQ at Barnstable. On 1 April 1893, the Regiment was reorganised into Squadrons. This Regiment, like all Yeomanry Regiments, was not intended to serve overseas, but due to the string of defeats during the Second Boer War in December 1899, the British Government realized that there was a requirement for more troops to reinforce the Regular Army in South Africa. A Royal Warrant was issued on 24th December 1899, to allow volunteer forces to serve in South Africa, requesting Yeomanry Regiments to provide each up to 115 men in Company strength units, to be attached to the Imperial Yeomanry (IY), equipped and deployed as mounted infantry. The Royal 1st Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry and the Royal North Devon Hussars co-sponsored the 27th (Devonshire) Company of the 7th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry which arrived in South Africa on 23rd March 1900. The mounted infantry experiment was considered a success and the existing Yeomanry Regiments were converted to IY in 1901, the Regiment becoming the Royal North Devonshire Imperial Yeomanry. The title 'Imperial' was dropped in 1908 when the Yeomanry were transferred to the Territorial Force (TF) and the Regiment was retitled as the Royal North Devon Yeomanry.
The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which brought the Territorial Force (TF) into being, established the TF as a Home and Coastal Defence force for service during wartime, and members could not be compelled to serve outside the UK. However, on the outbreak of war on 4th August 1914, many members volunteered for overseas Imperial Service. Therefore, in August and September of 1914, TF units were split into a 1st Line unit (liable for overseas service) and a 2nd Line unit (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas). Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a depot and reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line units whilst in the Home and Coastal defence role.
During the Great War the Regiment was organised into three separate units as described below. |
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Regimental Details of the Royal North Devon Hussars As Published in the Army List of August 1918 |
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Those Officers of the Royal North Devon Hussars Who Died in the Great War |