The Royal Yeomanry

The Royal Yeomanry
Cap badge of the Royal Yeomanry
Active	1 April 1967–
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Yeomanry
Role	Light Cavalry
Size	One Regiment
Part of	Royal Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – Fulham House, London C&S Squadron – Fulham A Squadron – Nottingham B Squadron – Dudley C Squadron – Croydon C Squadron Detachment – Windsor D Squadron – Telford E Squadron – Leicester Band - London
March	The Farmers Boy
Engagements	Iraq 2003
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Col Conn MacEvilly
Royal Honorary Colonel	HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy LG GCVO
Honorary Colonel	Major General Simon Howe Brooks-Ward CVO OBE TD VR
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash

The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. The Regimental Headquarters is located at Fulham in London, with squadrons in London and the Midlands at Fulham, Nottingham, Dudley, Croydon, Windsor, Telford and Leicester. The regiment is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is paired with the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.

The Royal Yeomanry was formed in 1967, following the amalgamation of six distinguished county yeomanry regiments, as a medium reconnaissance regiment equipped with armoured cars. It continued in this role until 1996, when it became the British Army's nuclear, biological and chemical defence regiment.

The Royal Yeomanry served exclusively in the NBC role until 1999. In that year, the Joint NBC Regiment was formed as a joint regular Army and Royal Air Force unit composed of four squadrons of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and 27 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment.

The Royal Yeomanry was therefore reconfigured and partly re-roled. Two of the Royal Yeomanry's squadrons (A and W) were retained in the NBC role to provide reserves for the Joint NBC Regiment. The remaining three squadrons converted to Challenger 2 to serve as reserves for armoured regiments.

In January 2003, A and W Squadrons were mobilised for Operation TELIC, the war in Iraq. The two squadrons were amalgamated with a number of augmentees from the other three squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry and from the Royal Logistic Corps to form a much-enlarged "Y" Squadron, which deployed as part of the Joint NBC Regiment. This was the first deployment of a formed TA unit (TA soldiers under TA command) for combat operations since the Suez crisis in 1956.