Worcestershire Yeomanry 1908-1914

This post will look at numbering in the Worcestershire Yeomanry (The Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars) between 1908 and 1914.

By 1914 The Worcestershire Yeomanry, headquartered in Worcester and forming part of the 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade, was distributed as follows: A Squadron at Kidderminster with drill stations at Bewdley, Dudley and Witley. B Squadron was at Camp Hill with drill stations at Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Redditch and King's Hill. C Squadron was at Malvern with drill stations at Upton-on-Severn, Leigh Sinton and Ledbury, whilst D Squadron was at Worcester with drill stations at Droitwich and Pershore.

The regiment did not start numbering from 1 in April 1908 but instead continued with the numbering sequence that had been in use when it was the Worcestershire Imperial Yeomanry. Thus we see, for example, 1328 Ernest T Sherwood joining the newly formed Worcestershire Yeomanry on 3rd April 1908. His number though, dates to 25th November 1905 when he joined the Worcestershire Imperial Yeomanry as a bandsman.

1630 joined on 8th February 1909
1777 joined on 13th January 1910
1839 joined on 30th January 1911
1986 joined on 24th May 1912
2016 joined on 4th February 1913
2163 joined on 19th January 1914
2216 joined on 5th August 1914
2395 joined on 7th September 1914
2652 joined on 1st October 1914

A 2/1st battalion had been formed in September 1914 and a 3/1st battalion would be formed in June 1915.

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DIARY OF A YEOMANRY MO (Medical Officer). Egypt, Gallipoli. Palestine and Italy

 



From Naval & Military Press:

 

"The author, [Captain o Teichman] a Territorial medical officer in the RAMC, was attached to the Worcestershire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars) in 1914. The regiment was part of the 1st South Midland Brigade, 1st Mounted Division, but within a month of the outbreak of war a 2nd Mounted Division was formed and the 1st S Midland Brigade joined it. In April 1915 the division went to Egypt and in May the brigades were numbered as Mounted Brigades with 1st S Midland becoming 1st Mounted Brigade. In August 1915 the division was ordered to proceed, dismounted, to Gallipoli and Teichman went with his regiment and into action. The division suffered heavy losses at Scimitar Hill (21 Aug) and this attack is described in some detail. A week later, on Chocolate Hill, Suvla, he was wounded by shrapnel and evacuated home. In one entry he describes how a large packet of maps (in very short supply) delivered to brigade HQ turned out to be maps of Cromer, Sheringham and King's Lynn districts where they had been stationed in 1914. He rejoined his regiment at Mudros in early November from where they returned to Egypt to the Canal zone, but at christmas Teichman went down with enteric fever and was again evacuated to the UK. By May he was back at duty (his brigade had been renumbered 5th) and during operations in the Sinai Desert was again wounded, at the battle of Qatia (5 Aug 1916) which kept him out of action till the end of October.

 

The diarist takes us through the rest of the Sinai campaign and, in March 1917, into Palestine, first with Murray (battles of Gaza) and then, from June 1917, with Allenby, fighting as part of the Australian Mounted Division. At Huj, on 8 November, he rode close behind his regiment as it took part in a charge against some 2,000 Turkish infantry who were protecting guns manned by Austrians and Germans; the infantry retreated and the guns were taken. The marvellous descriptions of living and fighting in the desert include an incident involving a ten foot black mamba and attempts to kill it using chloroform (corps HQ had asked for dead but undamaged snakes for antidotes to snakebites). He left the Middle East in June 1918 for leave in the UK after which he was posted to Italy where he joined 22nd Brigade (7th Division) in October for the last month of the war. Teichman ended the war with a DSO, MC, Croix de Guerre, Croci di Guerra and three mentions in despatches. This is a well-written book by one who knows his military history - a most informative account of war in the desert.

 

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