Shropshire Yeomanry - Roll of Honour of Officers of the Shropshire Yeomanry Who Died in the Great War

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Roll of Honour of Officers of the Shropshire Yeomanry

Who Died in the Great War

Formation and Early Years of the Shropshire Yeomanry
The Shropshire Yeomanry was first raised in 1795 and has its origins its origins in the French Revolutionary Wars, when volunteer cavalry units were raised throughout the country in the local Home Defence and militia role. The Regiment was formed of smaller units, which included the Wellington Troop formed in Shropshire in 1795, which over time became three larger units, the Shrewsbury Yeomanry Cavalry, the South Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry and the North Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1815. These larger units consolidated into a single Regiment in 1872. 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 Companies of approximately 115 men each for the Imperial Yeomanry (IY). The Regiment provided the 13th (Shropshire) Company for the 5th Battalion IY in 1900. The Imperial Yeomanry was equipped and trained as Mounted infantry and the experiment was considered a success and in 1901 all the existing Yeomanry Regiments were converted to IY: the Regiment became the Shropshire Imperial Yeomanry and the 'Imperial' part of the title was dropped when the Yeomanry Regiments were transferred to the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908.

The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, which brought the Territorial Force (TF) into being, established the TF as a Home 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 the 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and the 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 units.

During the Great War the Shropshire Yeomanry was organised into three separate units as described below.

Regimental Details of the Shropshire Yeomanry

As Published in the Army List of August 1918

Shropshire Yeomanry Army List 1918

Those Officers of the Shropshire Yeomanry

Who Died in the Great War

No	Date Died	Surname	Forenames	Rank	Decs	Age	Cause	Country	Location	Cemetery/Memorial	Notes
Died in 1915
1	18th May	GUNINGHAM	William John	Lt	-	44	DOI	UK	Edmonton, London	Brompton Cemetery (H.173129)	(1)
Died in 1916
2	17th March	HOPTON	Edward Michael	Lt	-	31	DOI	Egypt	Hospital at Alexandria	Alexandria (Chatby) War Cemetery (E.119)	(2)
3	19th November	TILLARD	Philip Algernon	Capt	-	34	KIA	France	"Desire Trench", south of Grandcourt	Thiepval Memorial (Pier/Face 1A)	(3)
Died in 1917
4	20th May	JOHNSTON	Thomas Peacock	2Lt	-	27	KWF	France	Near Guadiempre, South east of Arras	Warlincourt Halte British cemetery (XII.A.5)	(4)
5	30th November	HENNINGSEN	Cecil Eric	Lt	-	25	KIA	Palestine	Near "Et Tireh", west of Jersusalem	Jerusalem War Cemetery (E.64)	(5)
6	30th November	MUDDOCK	Jasper Milton Preston	2Lt	-	29	KIA	Palestine	Near "Et Tireh", west of Jersusalem	Jerusalem War Cemetery (E.60)	(6)
Died in 1918
7	22nd August	CAWLEY	The Hon Oswald	Capt	-	35	KIA	France	Near Lys Canal, south east of Merville	Nery Communal Cemetery (Sp Memorial)	(7)
8	22nd August	PLOWDEN	Francis Charles	Lt	-	40	DOW	France	CCS at Aire	Aire Communal Cemetery (IV.C.1)	(8)
9	28th September	PARTRIDGE	Richard Crawshay Bailey	Capt	MC	42	KIA	France	South of Beaumetz	Beaumetz Cross-Roads cemetery (F.10)	(9)
Died in 1921
10	8th July	TAYLEUR	William	Lt Col	OBE	49	DOI	France	Marseilles	Little Drayton (Chrish Church), north part	(10)
Notes: 1. GUNINGHAM died of ?. He was formerly with the Royal Horse Guards. 2. HOPTON was serving with the 1/1st Shropshire Yeomanry and died of pneumonia. 3. TILLARD was attached to 8th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. 4. JOHNSTON was serving with 18th Sqn RFC as an Observer Under Instruction at time of death. RFC Casualty Card does not state cause of death. 5. HENNINGSEN was serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. 6. MUDDOCK was serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. 7. CAWLEY was serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. Body was reinterred at Nery Communal Cemetery to be with his brother Maj J S Cawley, in 1921. 6. PLOWDEN was serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. He was wounded near the Lys Canal on 22nd August 1918. 9. PARTRIDGE was originally buried in a battlefield grave south of Beaumetz and reburied in Beaumetz Crossroads Cemetery in April 1920. 10. TAYLEUR died suddenly in Marseilles according to local press reports. He was Commandant of No 5 Labour Group.

Regimental History

A detailed history of the Shropshire Yeomanry can be viewed here.

During the Great War the Shropshire Yeomanry was organised into three separate units as described below:

1/1st Shropshire Yeomanry.   The 1/1st Shropshire Yeomanry was mobilised with the Welsh Border Mounted Brigade on 4th August 1914 at the outbreak of war.   It moved to East Anglia, where it joined the 1st Mounted Division in September 1914.   In November 1915, the Brigade was dismounted and all horses were transported overseas.   The Regiment was posted with the Brigade to Egypt in March 1916 and on 20th March 1916, the Welsh Border Mounted Brigade was absorbed into the 4th Dismounted Brigade (along with the South Wales Mounted Brigade).   The Brigade was deployed with the Suez Canal Defences when, on 14th January 1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) Order No. 26 instructed that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Dismounted Brigades be reorganized as the 229th, 230th and 231st Brigades.   Between January and March 1917 the small Yeomanry Regiments were amalgamated and numbered as Battalions of Infantry Regiments recruiting from the same home districts.   As a result, the 1/1st Cheshire Yeomanry was amalgamated with the 1/1st Shropshire Yeomanry at Cairo on 2nd March 1917 to form the 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) (10th KSLI).On 23rd February 1917, the General Officer Commanding the EEF, sought permission from the War Office to reorganise the 229th, 230th and 231st Brigades into a new Division, which was granted on 25th February 1917, and the new 74th (Yeomanry) Division started to assemble. The 231st Brigade joined the Division at el Arish by 9 March.   The 10th KSLI remained with 231st Brigade in 74th (Yeomanry) Division for the remainder of the war.   It took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918, including the Second (17th–19th April 1917) and Third Battles of Gaza (27th October–7th November 1917) – including the capture of Beersheba on 31st October 1917 and the Sheria Position on 6th November 1917. At the end of 1917, it took part in the capture and defence of Jerusalem and in March 1918 in the Battle of Tell 'Asur. On 3rd April 1918, the Division was warned that it would move to the BEF in France and by 30th April 1918 it had completed embarkation at Alexandria. In May 1918, the 10th KSLI had landed at Marseilles, with the 74th (Yeomanry) Division.   By 18th May 1918, the Division had concentrated in the Abbeville area and underwent training for service on the Western Front, particularly trench warfare and gas defence.   On 14th July 1918, the Yeomanry Division went into the line for the first time, near Merville on the right of XI Corps. From September 1918, as part of III Corps of Fourth Army, it took part in the "Hundred Days Offensive" including the Second Battle of the Somme (Second Battle of Bapaume) and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line (Battle of Épehy).   In October and November 1918, it took part in the Final Advance in Artois and Flanders. By the Armistice, it was near Tournai, Belgium.   With the end of the war, the troops of 74th Division were engaged in railway and road repair work and all personnel attended education classes while demobilisation began. The Division and its sub-units were finally disbanded on 10th July 1919.

2/1st Shropshire Yeomanry.   The 2nd Line of the Regiment was formed in September 1914.   In January 1915 the Regiment joined the 2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade around the Newcastle area of Northumberland (along with the 2/1st Shropshire Yeomanry and the 2/1st Denbighshire Hussars) and the Brigade was placed under the command of the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division. On 31st March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the Brigade became 17th Mounted Brigade, remaining in Northumberland under the Northern Command.   In April 1916, the Regiment moved with its Brigade to East Anglia where it joined the 1st Mounted Division; the Brigade replacing the 1st Line Regiments which had departed, dismounted, for Egypt.    By July 1916, it had left with its Brigade for the Morpeth, Northumberland area.   In July 1916, there was a major reorganization of all 2nd Line Yeomanry units in the United Kingdom.   All but 12 regiments were converted to infantry cyclists and as a consequence the Regiment was dismounted and the 17th Mounted Brigade converted to the 10th Cyclist Brigade. Further reorganization in October and November 1916 saw the Brigade redesignated as 6th Cyclist Brigade, which remained in the Morpeth area. In July 1917, the Regiment moved to Acklington, near Alnwick.   Early in 1918, the Brigade moved to Ireland and was stationed at The Curragh where it remained for the rest of the war.

3/1st Shropshire Yeomanry.   The 3rd Line Regiment was formed in April 1915 and in that summer was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment at The Curragh. In the summer of 1916, it was attached to the UK based 3rd Line Unit Group of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division. The Regiment was disbanded in early 1917 with personnel transferring to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) TF at Tenby.

Battle Honours.   The sheer scale of the Great War led to a previously unheard of number of Honours being awarded and it was simply impractical to emblazon every one of them on the Regimental Colour.   In September 1922 it was ordered that Regiments should select up to 10 Honours to be emblazoned on their Regimental Colours along with previous awards, up to a total of 24.   This led to a storm of protest, since many Regiments would have had to remove previous Honours.    The order was therefore amended the following December, to allow each Regiment to select up to 10 Honours to be emblazoned on its King's/Queen's Colour, Honours from other conflicts continuing to be displayed on the Regimental Colour.   Honours in bold are emblazoned on the Regimental Colours. The Regiment earned the following Battle Honours during the Great War:

Hindenburg Line,       Epehy.          Pursuit to Mons.          France and Flanders 1918,       Egypt 1916–17,       Gaza,       Jerusalem,       Jericho,       Tell 'Asur,       Palestine 1917–18

The Debt Of Honour Register

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was established by Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission), and pays tribute to the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two World Wars. It is a non-profit-making organisation founded by Sir Fabian Ware.

The CWGC's principles are:

Each of the dead should be commemorated by name on the headstone or memorial.
Headstones and memorials should be permanent.
Headstones should be uniform.
There should be no distinction made of account of military or civil rank, race or creed.

Since its inception, the Commission has constructed 2,500 war cemeteries and plots, erecting headstones over graves and, in instances where the remains are missing, inscribing the names of the dead on permanent memorials. Over one million casualties are now commemorated at military and civil sites in some 150 countries.

Together with the tasks of structural and horticultural maintenance, the CWGC is charged with keeping records of the 1.75 million Commonwealth war dead. At each cemetery and memorial you will find a register showing the service details and, in some cases, family details, of the men and women buried or commemorated there. Much of the Commission’s day-to-day work is concerned with maintaining the integrity of the casualty database, the electronic version of the records, which can be accessed via the Debt of Honour Register (DoHR).

In December 2020, the Commission reviewed their policy on amendments to the Casualty Database. One of the outcomes of the review was that they would no longer add Honours and Awards to the database where there is no entitlement to post-nominal letters. Therefore the recording of "Mentioned in Despatches", for instance, would no longer be carried out. Listed in the table below, where applicable, are names of any officers awarded "Mentioned in Despatches" which will not be recorded in the Casualty Database.

Some apparent inaccuracies in the records of officers of the Shropshire Yeomanry may have been found in the DoHR. The Webmaster will investigate and report these errors to the CWGC as the project/website is progressed. Below is a brief summary of apparent inaccuracies discovered so far and action taken or planned to take.

Name	Apparent Inaccuracy	Date Reported to CWGC	Agreed by CWGC
CAWLEY, Capt The Hon Oswald	Parent Regiment not recorded. Serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. (WO 374/12954)
GUNINGHAM, Lt William John	? Unit at death and cause of death. (WO 374/29744)
HENNINGSEN, Lt Cecil Eric	Serving with 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. (WO 374/32753)
JOHNSTON, 2Lt Thomas Peacock	Serving with 18th Sqn RFC at time of death. Death due to accident or aerial combat? (WO 374/37888)
MUDDOCK, 2Lt J M P	Full title of 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. (WO 374/49447)
PLOWDEN, Lt Francis Charles	Full title of 10th (Shropshire and Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry TF, at time of death. (WO 374/54450)
PARTRIDGE, Capt Richard Crawshay Bailey	Serving with 7th Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry, at time of death. (WO 374/52461)
TAYLEUR, Lt Col William	Served with Labour Corps until 25th January 1920. Awarded TD in March 1919. ? Cause of death. (WO 339/26140)	TD - 27th June 2023	September 2003

Page last updated: 11th January 2025

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