Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry

The regiment was raised by Colonel Henry Lowther as the Westmorland Yeomanry Cavalry in 1819.[1][2] It was re-raised as the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry in 1828 and was called on to suppress chartist riots at Penrith and Carlisle in 1839.[1][2] It was called upon again to suppress fighting between English and Irish labourers working on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway at Lowther Park in 1846.[1]

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.[3] The regiment formed the 24th (Westmorland and Cumberland) Company of the 8th Battalion in 1900.[4] It was based at Portland Place in Penrith at this time.[5][lower-alpha 1]

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.[7]

The 1/1st was mobilised in August 1914 and attached to the Welsh Border Mounted Brigade. In the spring of 1915, the regiment was split: A squadron's personnel were divided between the three other Sqns, which were then each assigned to an Infantry Division located in the United Kingdom - B Sqn to 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division; C Sqn to 18th (Eastern) Division; Regimental Headquarters and D Sqn to 20th (Light) Division. The three squadrons (and, of course, the divisions to which they were attached) arrived in France that summer. B Squadron was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division for the first half of April 1916; C and D squadrons were both attached to the 2nd Cavalry Division for a short period in the following month. On 15 May 1916, the regiment reformed and served as XI Corps Cavalry Regiment.[8]

In June 1917, it was announced that, due to manpower shortages, the Regiment would be dismounted and retrained as infantry. On completion of the conversion, the regiment was redesignated as the 7th (Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry) Battalion, the Border Regiment.[8]

The 2nd line regiment was formed in September 1914. By July 1915, it was under the command of the 2/1st Western Mounted Brigade (along with 2/1st Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry[9] and the 2/1st Lancashire Hussars[10]) and in March 1916 was at Cupar, Fife.[11] On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were numbered in a single sequence and the brigade became 21st Mounted Brigade, still at Cupar under Scottish Command.[12]

In July 1916 there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments were converted to cyclists[12] and as a consequence the regiment was dismounted and the brigade converted to 14th Cyclist Brigade. Further reorganization in October and November 1916 saw the brigade redesignated as 10th Cyclist Brigade in October 1916, still at Cupar.[13]

By January 1918, 10th Cyclist Brigade had moved to Lincolnshire with the regiment at Spilsby and Burgh-le-Marsh.[11] About May 1918 the Brigade moved to Ireland[13] and the regiment was stationed at Buttevant and Charleville, County Cork. There were no further changes before the end of the war.[11]

The 3rd Line regiment was formed in 1915 and in the summer it was affiliated to a Reserve Cavalry Regiment in Ireland. In the summer of 1916 it was affiliated to 10th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at The Curragh. It was absorbed by the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment, still at The Curragh, in early 1917. By 1918 it had left the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment when the 1st Line regiment was converted to infantry and joined 5th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry at Sutton-on-Hull.[11]

Post war, a commission was set up to consider the shape of the Territorial Force (Territorial Army (TA) from 1 October 1921). The experience of the First World War made it clear that cavalry was surfeit. The commission decided that only the 14 most senior regiments were to be retained as cavalry, the others would be converted to other roles.[14][lower-alpha 2] Many became brigades[lower-alpha 3] of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), including the Westmorland and Cumberland, which became a two-battery brigade as the 2nd (Cumberland Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA, being redesignated 93rd (Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA, in 1921. In 1923 the brigade was involved in cross-posting with the 51st (East Lancashire and Cumberland) Brigade of 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, whereby the two Cumberland Artillery[lower-alpha 4] batteries transferred to the Yeomanry brigade, which replaced the East Lancashires in 42nd Division and was redesignated as the 51st (Westmorland and Cumberland) Brigade, RFA, with the following organisation:[2][17][19]

• 203 (Cumberland) Battery at Whitehaven
• 204 (Cumberland) Battery at Workington
• 369 (Westmorland Yeomanry) Battery at Artillery Drill Hall, Carlisle
• 370 (Cumberland Yeomanry) Battery at Artillery Drill Hall, Carlisle, moving by 1938 to Riding School, Carlisle

In 1924 the RFA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery (RA) and in November 1938, the Royal Artillery renamed its brigades as regiments. In 1939, as part of the general duplication of the TA following the Munich Crisis, the 51st Regiment transferred the 204th and 369th batteries to the 109th Field Artillery Regiment RA.[2][17]

The 51st (Westmoreland & Cumberland) Field Regiment began the war as part of 42nd (East Lancashire) Division.[20] In April 1940, the 203rd battery sailed to Norway and took part in the brief Norwegian Campaign.[21][22] The regiment sailed to North Africa towards the end of the year, where it was originally attached to the 6th Australian Division. The regiment saw action in the Western Desert Campaign, serving with the 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats) in November 1941 and in the siege of Tobruk with the 9th Australian Division.[23]

In February 1942, the regiment served in Ceylon as part of the 16th Infantry Brigade.[24] In February 1943, it moved to India, where it joined the 70th Infantry Division. In September 1943, it was placed in suspended animation.[25] The regiment was at this time assigned as infantry to the Long Range Penetration Group more commonly known as the Chindits.[26]

The regiment was authorized a designation on 17 February 1942, becoming 109th (Westmoreland and Cumberland) Field Regiment, RA.[17][27] It served in 66th (East Lancashire) Infantry Division until that formation disbanded in 1940, then in 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division until the end of the war. It served in the United Kingdom throughout.[28][29]

When the TA was reconstituted in 1947, the regiment reformed as the 251st (Westmorland and Cumberland) Field Regiment, RA.[2][17][30] In 1950 it absorbed the 309th (Westmorland and Cumberland) Coast Regiment, RA, and in 1953 its subtitle was changed back to 'Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry'.[2][17][30]

It was broken up in 1961, Q Battery at Carlisle becoming 851 (Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry) Independent Field Battery, RA, while the Workington and Whitehaven batteries became the anti-tank and mortar platoons of 4th Battalion, Border Regiment. In 1967, 851 Bty became B (Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry) Company of 4th Bn Border Regiment.[2][17][30] It was reduced to a cadre in 1969 and re-constituted as B (4th Border Regiment) Company, Northumbrian Volunteers in 1971. The yeomanry lineage was discontinued at that time.[2]