by Ken Tout
History has been less than kind to the Yeomanry in failing to notice many other occasions when protests developed into gratuitous violence which called for calm and fortitude on the part of the relatively small Yeomanry detachments brought in to quell such outbreaks. In the same year as Peterloo, the Kettering Troop was called out to deal with a bread riot. The magistrates read the Riot Act before the Yeomanry then slowly dispersed the crowd without casualties by acting in the correct style as laid down in Standing Orders, which were not followed by the impetuous Yeomanry at Peterloo:
When formed in line and called upon to advance against a body of rioters … steadiness and order will produce much more effect and intimidation than any misplaced impetuosity … never to permit more than one half of the line to advance for the dispersion of rioters, the other half perfectly steady … at a walk or very gentle trot … and do not expose themselves to fall into confusion by attempting too great rapidity of movement … they are irresistible. No ordinary assemblage will be able to prevent mounted Troops advancing, if they preserve good order and silence.2
A situation quite different to the Peterloo assembly confronted the then Yeomen Cavalry of Gloucestershire and Monmouth. This focused on the opening of Bristol Assizes on 29 October 1831 at a time when the House of Lords had rejected the Reform Bill passed by the Commons. A crowd had gathered to protest against the Recorder, Sir Charles Wetherell, who was also an MP. The protests gradually descended into mob rule while the regular cavalry, acting as escort, held back and failed to intervene in time to take control. Many of the principal buildings in the city were destroyed, the prison broken open, prisoners released and the authorities in total retreat. Access to stores of alcohol produced a scene where drunken rioters died in fires started by themselves.
The eventual sporadic action by the regular troops caused fatal casualties among the rioters, whose reaction vacillated between momentary dispersal and random outbreaks of increased violence. Desperate messages were sent to the local Yeomanry officers: at Tetbury, Yeomen were called out of the church service on Captain Estcourt’s orders; at Doddington, Captain Codrington, informed of the situation at 3 p.m., had sent messengers out into his rural area ‘some miles in different directions’ and gathered his force by 7 p.m. The Yeomanry troops then carried out a steady advance as prescribed and were effective in the eventual pacifying of the city. The two officers commanding the regular troops were censured, one being cashiered and the other committing suicide. The Yeomanry were thanked by the mayor for ‘the promptitude, alacrity and zeal … in preserving the lives and property of the Citizens and restoring tranquillity’.3
On 27 April 1838 the House of Commons debated the future of the Yeomanry and high feelings were roused, as Viscount Howick moved a vote of £80,280 (£7 million in the present day) to defray expenses of the volunteer corps for the next year. Mr Hume MP produced a letter which supported his view that ‘he had always objected to the yeomanry, because it was a partisan force and one which was not favourably regarded by the public’. The debate continued:
The Yeomanry face the rioters – 1790s onward. (Tout)
Mr Hume: Hon Members might say ‘no, no!’ but they could not deny … this circumstance proved that these were partisan corps [No, no.] He said ‘yes, yes!’ Let hon. Members cry ‘no, no!’ till they were tired, the facts would speak for themselves … and he thought it was high time to put down the force.
Mr Benett being probably the oldest member of the yeomanry corps in that House … had served forty years in that force. The Wiltshire Yeomanry had performed good service … agricultural riots were very different from those in manufacturing places: the agricultural labourers were most persevering and active … The corps behaved with great perseverance and leniencies towards the parties.
Mr A.Sanford agreed. It was well worthy of consideration that in an adjoining district, in which the collieries were situated, the yeomanry had been called out no less then fifty times.
Mr Bagge could not listen in silence to the attacks … The whole body of the independent yeomanry would throw back with contempt the aspersions made.4
In 1828 the Northamptonshire regiment of Yeomanry had been disbanded, thus losing its precedence in the military lists, although by 1831 eight independent local troops had been raised. Contributions to the county Yeomanry fund had been so generous that there was now a question as to the dispersal of superfluous cash. St Andrew’s Hospital, Northampton, has on record that ‘the Governors of Northampton Infirmary were informed at a public meeting at the George Inn by Sir William Wake that the subscribers to the Northamptonshire Yeomanry had decided that the surplus fund of £6,000 [£550,000 today] should be given to the Asylum fund’. Actually £7,000 was donated to buy the land on which the General Lunatic Asylum was built, now St Andrew’s. A note in the deeds implies that if ever St Andrew’s is closed the land should revert from the NHS to the NY.
On the international front, Napoleon III had assumed the throne of France, rousing fears of renewed French ambitions and leading to national call-outs of the Yeomanry in 1848, 1851 and 1859. It was deemed necessary that the regiments and independent troops should be trained and maintained to requirements sometimes different to those appropriate for action against civilian rioters. The relaxed self-discipline of the earliest Yeomanry units might not always be sufficient and firm regulations were imposed.
There was a graded system of fines ranging from 10s (2012 = £45) for a commissioned officer to 2s (£9) for a private for offences such as absence from parade, lateness on parade (one-quarter of the standard fine for every quarter of an hour late), talking in the ranks, or appearing with horse appointments dirty. Failure to pay fines could cause a Justice of the Peace to impose a levy of double the amount in cash or by sale of the defaulter’s goods.
One commander told his troops that ‘whenever he heard of a man absenting himself in future, he should issue a warrant for this arrest and send a policeman to execute it’. There was also a final last resort, the public naming and shaming of a defaulter. A troop commander was able to use the local newspaper, in this case the Gloucester Journal, to publish a naming and shaming notice:
SIR – You are requested to insert this Notice:
‘Thomas Jordan of Cheltenham was dismissed this morning from the Cheltenham Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, now stationed here on permanent duty, for disorderly, unsoldierlike conduct, and disobedience of orders.’
I am. Sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS GRAY, Captain.
Headquarters, Gloucester, May 6th.5
Great emphasis was placed on the care of the horse and the need to understand the disposition of the horse. This has been stated succinctly by a more recent authority:
To the surprise of some, horses have differing qualities, get up to mischief, and are reported on their Annual Horse Report. Knowing every horse is as important as knowing every rider to ensure that the rider is suited to the horse. Any mismatch is quickly discovered with a loose horse and an injured jockey.6
Routine inspections at exercises had shown that care of mounts was not always of high enough standard. Local foraging was variable so that ‘neither army rations nor foraging were reliable and horses suffered accordingly’. There was an unavoidable weight of man and equipment on the horse’s back but this was to be restricted ‘because overloading was causing even more sore backs on the long suffering beasts’. Therefore the requisite weight was to be ‘one quarter of the horse’s body weight or 250lb’. Officers were also reminded that some NCOs ‘varied in their conscientiousness’ and needed to be supervised closely. Directions about stable fatigues were specific:
Hay that is Dusty or Mouldy should be sprinkled with Water and well shaked up. The Stables to be kept cold & free from any bad smell as nothing more Contributes to the Health of a Horse – when there are not proper air Holes they must be made … The Horses Tails to be Cut, the first of every Month. The Legs are on no account ever to be touched with Scissors. Hand dressing will
always clear away the Superfluous Hairs, the Edges of the Ears may occasionally be Clipt, but never inside, the long hair under the Jaws may be Singed. In a Stable without stalls each man to stand by his Horse while Feeding … the Hay well shaked before given. The Horses Cloathes to be kept as Clean as Possible & therefore Washed & Scowered when necessary.
The 1844 Yeomanry Regulations which were ‘issued by the government Department connected with yeomanry’ were an abridgement of the regulations for regular cavalry. They were more detailed than T. Dicey & Co.’s 1798 county booklet for Northampton but confirmed the recommendations of the earlier plan of exercise. They imposed firm instructions such as the standard system of fines previously mentioned.7 Much of the 250-page book was taken up with drill procedures, some of them of the familiar ‘March!’ and ‘Halt!’ variety, but others a little more exotic, such as ‘To Fire a Feu de Joie on Foot’ – presumably what is now done by liberated citizens of countries having unseated their dictators. The text then goes on to practical fieldwork against an enemy, as well as ‘arrangements on occasions of Riots and General Disturbances’.
Some of the fieldwork required geometric accuracy from the rural Yeomen of scant schooling. One evolution concerns an advance guard which is charged with marking out ‘an Alignment’, a defence line, the width of the regiment and at an oblique angle between two distant landmarks, say a windmill and a church steeple. NCOs were required to be able to do this. The directions for just the first phase of the ‘Alignment’, with two riders, ‘A’ and ‘B’, give a flavour of the manoeuvres required:
‘A’ chooses one of the objects, say the mill, as his regulating point, and places himself with his side towards it, and his horse’s head towards the intended Alignment. ‘B’ instantly posts himself about fifty yards from ‘A’, on that side of him which is farthest from the mill, with his horse’s head towards the intended Alignment and dresses himself exactly on ‘A’ and the mill. As soon as he has placed himself correctly as described, he gives the word ‘Ready’, upon which they both start, ‘A’ riding straight forward at a steady canter towards where the head of the Column is to follow, occasionally glancing his eye towards the Steeple; and ‘B’ riding a certain degree faster so as to keep the mill still exactly in a line with ‘A’ as he advances, and at the same time preserving his fifty yards distance from his flank …
For review purposes, once a regiment was formed up in line or column, there were twenty-one different movements from the line, such as half turn, change front, invert and retire, plus six movements from close column and seventeen movements from open column, all to be learned and rehearsed to perfection. When it came to action and the command to charge was issued, this followed the set sequence of ‘March! Trot! Gallop! Charge! … Walk! Halt!’ The vital principle of the charge was that ‘it is from uniform velocity of a Line that its greatest effect is derived; it must, therefore, on no account, be so much hurried as to bring up the horses blown, or even distressed to the attack’.
Two of the drill moves from the 1844 book of instructions.
Normally on a route march the speed of advance would be 6mph. In cases of great urgency 8mph might be permitted but only for brief periods. There were four motions of the horse, each with a speed detailed for exercises: the ‘Walk’ would be at about 4mph; the ‘Trot’ could be from 7–8½mph; the ‘Canter’ around 11mph; and the ‘Charge’ was to be no faster than the speed of the slowest horse and not exceeding a moderate hand gallop. The racecourse or hunting gallop was not contemplated for horses in formation. A ¼-mile distance must be marked out and horses and riders ‘habituated’ to cover that distance at correct speeds; for instance, the quicker trot would complete the distance in exactly one minute and forty-six seconds, with NCOs’ stopwatches to hand! This certainly was precision riding.
No doubt some Yeomen would become a little bored or frustrated with an endless regime of such exercises. And no doubt the men of the Kettering Troop would have been delighted to know that the monotony was to be broken by a royal visit to the burgh. In November 1844 Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert, had been invited to a christening at Burleigh. There was as yet no railway station in Northampton so the royal couple would descend from their train at Weedon and continue by horse carriage, passing through Kettering. It was an opportunity for the Yeomen to don their finery, immaculate scarlet tunics with dark-blue facing, gold epaulets and plentiful gold lace, and the riders’ heights enhanced by their bell-top shakos. They would polish their swords and percussion carbines, and diligently ‘skower their Horse Cloathes’.
The royals were to change horses at the White Hart Inn before proceeding to Stamford. Captain William Maunsell, commanding the Kettering Troop, waited with civic dignitaries at Market Hill to greet the couple, and it was Lieutenant Booth who would have the honour of commanding the escort through the streets and on towards Stamford. The formation was strictly ordered: an advanced guard of two riders, followed by an NCO; then the advanced party of twelve Yeomen formed in threes; a flanker riding on each side of the lead horses, an officer flanker at each side level with the carriage windows; two more flankers immediately behind the coach; and finally a rear part of twelve, an NCO and two ‘whippers in’. At the Market Hill the troop band stood and played the national anthem. Crowds lined the streets and a 17-year-old girl was inspired to poetry:
On Market Hill our great Yeomanry stood
To guard Queen Victoria to Weedon in the Wood
While through the High Street in Ket’ring she rides
With a thousand spectators arrayed on both sides.
Other county regiments carried out similar colourful engagements. When the commander in the Crimea, Lord Raglan, died, he was afforded a state funeral from a ceremonial barge in Bristol docks to a vault at Badminton. The vanguard of the processions and the guard at the vault were provided by the Yeomanry Cavalry of Gloucestershire and Monmouth, now honoured as the Royal Gloucester Hussars.
Throughout the century Yeomanry troops were being raised or disbanded all over the country. None was more bizarre or remote than the unique Bengal Yeomanry which existed from 1857 to 1861 during the Indian Mutiny. Raised and equipped within a week by Lord Canning, with a strength of 258, and commanded by a Colonel Richardson CB, it consisted of clerks, indigo planters, midshipmen from the P&O line and newly arriving officers not yet appointed. The force took part in fourteen engagements, and at one of these actions, Amorha in March 1858, the British, Sikh and Gurkha troops were at a disadvantage of twelve to one. The insurrectionist army overlapped their front by a mile on either flank. The flanks were guarded by the Bengal Yeomanry and a ‘brilliant charge’ by the horsemen was an important element in the hard-won victory. The Bengal Yeomanry gained the name of Shaitan-i-Pultan – The Devil’s Regiment.
The latter part of the century saw measures to tighten organisation and upgrade efficiency in a way commensurate with the development of modern warfare. The issue of breech-loading carbines greatly increased the rapidity of fire and allowed accuracy at targets twice the former distance, up to 200 yards. Independent troops were abolished and the minimum size of a regiment fixed. There would be thirty-six regiments with a total strength of 11,850 officers and men, and Yeomen were signed on for a minimum of three years. Two national inspectors of auxiliary cavalry were also appointed.
In 1893 there was a further reorganisation: formal squadrons were initiated within regiments; regiments would be formed into brigades; a permanent staff of NCOs would function at regimental and squadron level; and there would be ‘Trained Yeoman’ courses and musketry courses. A Yeoman failing for two years to pass the third-class test at musketry would be struck off the roll. On the other hand, a third-class pass would be rewarded by one extra day’s pay of 3s 6d.
One inspecting staff officer uttered words of ominous and almost prophetic import when assessing a regimental exercise. Reflecting on the First Boer War of 1881, he remarked of the Yeomen:
The firing was too rapid. There as
no attempt at taking aim, the sole object of the men seemed to be to fire off their cartridges as quick as they could. If they were on active service they would soon discover the necessity of husbanding their ammunition … the Yeomanry represent what the Boers did in the Transvaal. The Boers were men who could ride and shoot and had shown England what an extremely effective and valuable force a body of Yeomanry could be made, if only they knew how to ride, how to do outpost duty, and, at the same time, if they were good shots.8
Some of the Yeomen addressed by this sage would soon learn for themselves just how accurate and elusive the Boers could be. And some would pay a price if they themselves did not attain equal levels of horsemanship and marksmanship, far away from county camps, in the wide open spaces of South Africa.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1 Many contemporary reports and later critiques.
2 Yeomanry Regulations, 1844.
3 The Yeomanry Cavalry of Gloucestershire and Monmouth, 1898.
4 Hansard.
5 1898, op. cit.
6 Household Cavalry in Armour, 2009.
7 1844, op. cit.
8 Lt Col F. Burnaby, Royal Horse Guards, in 1898, op. cit.
CHAPTER THREE
BOER WAR OR BORE WAR?
(1899–1902)
The Yeomanry had to wait more than 100 years before experiencing serious combat under fire from an enemy. Even then it did not seem to be much of a war when the civilian Dutch farmers of South Africa’s Transvaal and Orange Free State, also known as ‘Boers’ (the simple Dutch name for ‘farmer’ which had become transmuted into a national designation), invaded the British-ruled Cape Colony in October 1899, to commence the Second Boer War. There might be a brief chance of cavalry glory in fast, galloping charges before the serried might of the well-trained British infantry ranks crushed those insolent rural oafs.