Duke of Yorks Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars
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History
The Duke of Yorks Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars was a unit of the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1794–1961.
The regiment was formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. The Suffolk Yeomanry was raised in as the Loyal Suffolk Hussars, they fought in the Boer war
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
as part of the Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
. In the First World War they fought at Gallipoli, Palestine and the Western front. They were subsequently converted to artillery, serving in this role during the Second World War North Africa, Italy and France. In 1961 they were amalgamated with the Norfolk Yeomanry
Norfolk Yeomanry
The Norfolk Yeomanry was a regiment of the British Army.In 1901, the Norfolk Yeomanry were raised at the express wish of King Edward VII, after a gap of 33 years, and titled the King's Own Royal Regiment with the Royal cipher as their badge.In September 1915, the regiment embarked on RMS Olympic...
to form the Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry.
World War I
In World War One The Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars, consisted of three units the 1/1st the 2/1st and the 3/1st.1/1st Duke of Yorks Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars
The 1/1st was embodied in August 1914 at Bury St. EdmundsBury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...
and became part of the Eastern Mounted Brigade , 1st Mounted Division
1st Mounted Division
The 1st Mounted Division was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom. It was formed from existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three regiments of Yeomanry....
.
In September 1915 , they were dismounted and moved to the ANZAC bridgehead at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
and came under the command of the British 54th Division. After they were withdrawn from Gallipoli they moved to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in December 1915 , the first party being evacuated to Mudros on December 14 and the rest following five days later.
They were next attached to the 3rd Dismounted Brigade on Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
defences , from February 22 , 1916.
In January 1917 , they were converted to an infantry battalion and formed the 15th (Suffolk Yeomanry) Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment
Suffolk Regiment
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959...
in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division , which moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in May 1918.
2/1st Duke of Yorks Owns Loyal Suffolk Hussars
The 2/1st was formed in September 1914 , and remained in United Kingdom converting into a cyclist unit in 1916. In May 1918 when they moved to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
3/1st Duke of Yorks Own Loyal Sufolk Hussars
The 3/1st was formed in 1915. They remained in United Kingdom until they were disbanded in early 1917.World War II
Prio to World War II The Duke of York’s Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars , were amagamated with the Norfolk YeomanryNorfolk Yeomanry
The Norfolk Yeomanry was a regiment of the British Army.In 1901, the Norfolk Yeomanry were raised at the express wish of King Edward VII, after a gap of 33 years, and titled the King's Own Royal Regiment with the Royal cipher as their badge.In September 1915, the regiment embarked on RMS Olympic...
and converted into an Anti Tank Regiment of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, 55 Anti Tank Regiment R.A. (Suffolk & Norfolk Yeomanry).
Later in 1938 the Suffolk Yeomanry separated from the regiment to form 55th Anti-Tank Regiment, RA (217th, 218th, 219th and 220th Batteries), The Regiment was attached to various Divisions during the war
- 54th (East Anglian) Division ,Sep 1939
- 79th Armoured Division79th Armoured DivisionThe 79th Armoured Division was a specialist British Army armoured formation created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944...
, Sep 1942 - Apr 1943 - 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division , Jul 1943 - Aug 1945
Post war
During the major reorganisation of the Territorial Army that took place in 1967, "202 (The Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Battery" Royal Artillery was formed out of the old "308 Regiment Royal Artillery". The new Battery became part of "100 (Medium) Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers)". At the time the Battery was equipped with the BL 5.5 inch Medium GunBL 5.5 inch Medium Gun
The BL 5.5 inch Gun was a British artillery gun introduced during the middle of the Second World War to equip medium batteries.-History:In January 1939 a specification was issued for a gun to replace the 6 inch 26 cwt howitzers in use with most medium batteries...
. In 1980 the Battery re-equipped with the 105mm Light Gun, then to the much larger FH70 155mm Gun in 1992.
On 1 July 1999, the Battery yet again began re-roling as an Air Defence Battery affiliated to 12 Regiment Royal Artillery in Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
, Germany, with the Lightweight Multiple Launcher (LML) High Velocity Missile (HVM) system.
On 2 July 2006, 202 (The Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Battery Royal Artillery (Volunteers) re-roled to become 677 (The Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Squadron Army Air Corps (Volunteers), part of 6 Regiment Army Air Corps (Volunteers).
677 Squadron Army Air Corps (Volunteers) currently has its headquarters alongside 6 Regiment Army Air Corps (Volunteers) in Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk). The Squadron has detachments at Swaffham
Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
and Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
(Norfolk).