Royal East Kent Yeomanry WW1 Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment Cap Badge

Royal East Kent Yeomanry WW1 Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment Cap Badge
additional image for WW1 Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment Cap Badge
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Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original WW1 Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment Cap Badge for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment cap badges.


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The Royal East Kent Yeomanry were formed in 1794, originally as a series of independent troops based in the important towns of Kent, England. In the latter part of the 19th century they frequently provided escorts for the Queen and members of the Royal Family, and as a result, in 1856 the East Kent Yeomanry became the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles (Duke of Connaught's Own). The 1st Line regiment was mobilised on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War and was in the Canterbury area (under Second Army of Central Force) until September 1915. It was dismounted and left Kent for Liverpool; on 24 September it boarded RMS Olympic and sailed the next day. It arrived at Lemnos on 1 October. The regiment landed in Gallipoli on 8 October and was attached to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. On 30 December it was evacuated to Mudros with 42nd Division; it left the Division at Mudros on 2 January 1916. On 23 February, the GOC EEF (Lt-Gen Sir A.J. Murray) sought permission from the War Office to form the 229th, 230th and 231st Brigades into a new division. The War Office granted permission and the new 74th (Yeomanry) Division started to form. The 230th Brigade joined the division at Deir el Balah between 9 and 13 April. The battalion remained with 230th Brigade in 74th (Yeomanry) Division for the rest of the war. With the 74th Division, the battalion took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918. It fought in the Second and Third Battles of Gaza (including the capture of Beersheba and the Sheria Position). 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 3 April 1918, the Division was warned that it would move to France and by 30 April 1918 had completed embarkation at Alexandria.

In May 1918, the battalion landed at Marseilles, France with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. It served in France and Flanders with the division for the rest of the war. By 18 May, the division had concentrated around Rue in the Abbeville area. Here the dismounted Yeomanry underwent training for service on the Western Front, particularly gas defence. On 14 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 Epehy). In October and November 1918 it took part in the Final Advance in Artois and Flanders. By the Armistice it was near Tournai, Belgium, still with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. Following the experience of the First World War, it was decided that only the fourteen most senior yeomanry regiments would be retained as horsed cavalry, with the rest being transferred to other roles. As a result, on 20 August 1920, the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) was amalgamated.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other Royal East Kent Yeomanry Regiment cap badges.