Queen's Own Yeomanry

Queen's Own Yeomanry

Cap Badge of The Queen's Own Yeomanry
Active 1 April 1971 - Present
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Type Yeomanry
Role Formation Reconnaissance
Size One Regiment
Part of Royal Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ RHQ - Newcastle upon Tyne
A Squadron - York
B squadron - Wigan
C Squadron - Chester
Colours Prussian Blue & Cavalry Gold
March D'ye Ken John Peel
Commanders
Royal Honorary Colonel Field Marshal HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM AK QSO ADC[1]
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash

The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is one of the Army Reserve light armoured reconnaissance regiments.[2]

History

The Queens Own Yeomanry was initially formed on 1 April 1971 as the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment from five of the yeomanry units across the North and Middle of England and South West Scotland.[3] During the Cold War The Queen's Own Yeomanry were a British Army of the Rhine Regiment with an Armoured Reconnaissance role in Germany. With the Strategic Defence Review in 1999 the geographical locations of the regiment changed to encompass East Scotland and Northern Ireland.[4] Soldiers from the regiment have served both in Iraq and Afghanistan.[5]

Under the Army 2020 and creation of the Army Reserve, A, B and C squadron transferred to the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, which in turn was renamed the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry. D Squadron re-roled as a C&S Squadron. It gain two squadrons (C and D Squadrons) from the RMLY. D Squadron from the RMLY was renamed as B (Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Squadron. Y (Yorkshire Yeomanry) Squadron was renamed as A (Yorkshire Yeomanry) Squadron. The unit is paired with the Light Dragoons and uses the Land Rover RWMIK.[6][7]

Organisation

The Regiment is part of 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and consists of four squadrons:[8]

Order of precedence

For the purposes of parading, the Regiments of the British Army are listed according to an order of precedence. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being the most senior.

Preceded by
Royal Mercian
& Lancastrian Yeomanry
British Army
Order of Precedence
Succeeded by
Reserve Units of the Royal Regiment
of Artillery

Guidon

QOY Guidon with Guard of Honour for TA 100 Celebrations

The Guidon, which is awarded by The Queen, is a flag of crimson silk damask embroidered and fringed with gold with the Regimental Battle Honours emblazoned upon it and the Regimental emblem embroidered in the centre. On 22 September 2007 HRH Prince Charles, in his capacity as Royal Honorary Colonel of The Queen's Own Yeomanry, presented a new Guidon to the Regiment in an hour-long ceremony in the grounds of Alnwick Castle. This is the first Guidon the QOY has received since its formation.[9]

Armoured Vehicles

In late 2013, with the phasing out of CVR(T) across the British Army, the regiment was re-equipped with the Land Rover Defender-based RWMIK, a light armoured vehicle, equipped with the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and the Browning .50 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), as well as individual BOWMAN digital battlefield communications systems and specialisec surveillance optics, including thermal imaging.[10]

Uniform

Badges

The whole Regiment wears a variation of the running fox cap badge of the old East Riding Yeomanry. However, each of the Squadrons wears its own collar badges and buttons.

Stable Belt and Shoulder Flash

The Regimental Stable Belt or shoulder flashes are worn to show a soldier or officer is serving with the QOY in various forms of dress. The colour of both is Prussian blue with two horizontal stripes of cavalry gold (yellow): 

 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 55908. p. 7545. 11 July 2000. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  2. "Queen's Own Yeomanry". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  3. "A royal thumbs up: Ayr newlyweds meet Prince Charles on their big day". Evening Times. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  4. "Queen's Own Yeomanry". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. "A Squadron Queen's Own Yeomanry". Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  6. Summary of Army 2020 Reserve Structure and Basing Changes, pages 1 and 2
  7. Army 2020 Report Archived June 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. "Queen's Own Yeomanry: contact details". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  9. "Prince is king of castle with soldiers". The Journal. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  10. "Queen's Own Yeomanry". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
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