West Somerset Yeomanry

 

 

Subaltern, West Somerset Yeomanry 

 Mess Kit, c. 1900

 

In 1794, fearing insurrection and faced with the threat of invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars, British Prime Minister William Pitt called for the enlargement of the militia and to form corps of volunteers for the defence of the country. The mounted arm of the volunteers became known as the "Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry."

A Troop was raised in Bridgwater, Somerset, as early as June of 1794. Three other troops were raised by the end of the year, and they were regimented as the West Somersetshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1798.

The establishment of police forces reduced the need for Yeomanry and many were disbanded between 1827 and 1828. A wave of civil unrest across Britain from 1830 led to a revival of the Yeomanry and the West Somerset Yeomanry was reorganised in 1831.

The West Somerset Yeomanry sponsored the 25th (West Somerset) Company, which served in the 7th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War. This gained the West Somerset Yeomanry its first battle honour: South Africa 1900–01.

The regiment became the West Somerset Imperial Yeomanry in 1901. When the Imperial Yeomanry was subsumed into the new Territorial Force in 1908, the regiment became the West Somerset Yeomanry.

 

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Departed the collection in 2020.

Royal Artillery

 

 

Officer, Royal Artillery

 Patrol Jacket, c. 1900

 

The Patrol Jacket was an undress uniform that developed in the mid-nineteenth century. It was first introduced to the Royal Artillery in 1864. A second pattern was adopted in 1874, which remained in service until discontinued by the Royal Artillery in 1902.

 

The artillery pattern patrol jacket featured a stand-and-fall collar edged all round with black mohair lace. Five plaits of mohair braid were worn down the front, each terminating with olivets and crow’s feet.

 

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Departed the collection in 2021.

Major Hon. Simon Nevill Astley

 

 

Major Hon. Simon Nevill Astley

 1919-1946

 Mess Jacket, c. 1939

 

 Astley was the second son of Sir Albert Edward Delaval Astley, 21st Baron Hastings. He attended the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the 7th Queen's Own Hussars in 1939. The 7th had been converted to tanks in 1937. Astley was mentioned in despatches for service with the 7th and rose to the rank of Major. He became Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief of India in 1942 and Aide-de-Camp to the Viceroy of India in 1943. He was killed at Quetta in a motor accident in 1946 and laid to rest in the Karachi War Cemetery of Pakistan.

 

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Departed the collection in 2021.

Royal Engineers

 

 

Officer, Royal Engineers

Wolseley Pattern Helmet, c. 1939

 

The Wolseley pattern helmet is a distinctive British design developed and popularised in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was the official designation for the universal sun helmet worn by the British Army from 1899 to 1948 and described in the 1900 Dress Regulations as "the Wolseley pattern cork helmet". It is named after Field Marshal The 1st Viscount Wolseley. With its swept-back brim, it provided greater protection from the sun than the old Colonial pattern helmet.

The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

 

 

Captain, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Full Dress Uniform, c. 1900

 

The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. It was the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry.

The regiment traces its roots to the Cameronian Guard, later the 26th Regiment of Foot, who were raised in 1689. After the amalgamation, the 1st Battalion preferred to be known as "The Cameronians" whilst the 2nd preferred to be known as "The Scottish Rifles". The 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of Spion Kop in January of 1900 during the Second Boer War.

Lieutenant Colonel Pietro R. Quayle

 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Pietro R. Quayle

 1890-1964

 Mess Kit, c. 1926

 

A graduate of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Quayle became a second lieutenant in 1909 and joined with the 127th Baluch Light Infantry of the Indian Army on the 5th of December, 1910. He advanced to lieutenant in 1911. At the onset of the Great War, Quayle arrived in France in October of 1914 as an interpreter with the Sialkot Cavalry Brigade, I.E.F.A. He was advanced to captain in 1915 and remained with the Sialkot Cavalry Brigade until that December when he was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 4th Gurkha Rifles in Egypt in early 1916. Quayle took command of a depot on the 5th of May, 1918, as an acting major. The 2nd Battalion of the 127th Baluch Light Infantry was raised in 1918 and served in Palestine. Quayle, now with the 2nd Battalion, became second in command as acting major in July of 1919. The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1921, and the 127th Baluch Light Infantry was grouped with five other Baluch battalions to form the 10th Baluch Regiment. With the 5th Battalion of the 10th Baluch Regiment, Quayle participated in the Waziristan campaign of 1921-24. He was made major in 1925, in which capacity he participated in the North-West Frontier campaign of 1930-31, and advanced to lieutenant colonel in 1934. Quayle retired on the 8th of September, 1938. He then became a Flight Lieutenant (Honorary Squadron Leader) on the 3rd of April, 1939, in the Royal Air Force Reserve. He remained in the service until August of 1944 when he aged out of the Reserve.

 

‘Bandnight’ (1911), a pen and ink sketch by Lt. P. R. Quayle of the 127th Baluch Light Infantry, then stationed in Poona, India.

Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry

 

Other Ranks, Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry

Albert Pattern Helmet, c. 1890

The regiment was part of the expansion of the militia, raised in 1794 for defence against foreign invasion and later frequently called out in support of the civil powers. The first Troop in the county was raised in July at the Swan Inn as the Stafford Troop of the Staffordshire Volunteer Cavalry. Soon there were five Troops in the county, which were loosely regimented as the Staffordshire Regiment of Gentlemen and Yeomanry (one of the first counties to be regimented).

The Yeomanry generally declined in importance and strength after the end of the French wars, but this was not the case in industrial areas. The Staffordshire Yeomanry was regularly called out in support of the civil power and was expanded to twelve troops in 1819.

In 1832 the regiment escorted the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Princess Victoria when they visited Lieut. Colonel Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield (the regiment's second-in-command), at Shugborough Hall. After Princess Victoria ascended the throne as Queen Victoria, the regiment was given the title of Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Staffordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (often referred to as the Queen's Own Royal Yeomanry).

The regiment fielded two companies with the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War, the 6th (Staffordshire) Company and the 106th (Staffordshire) Company. This earned the regiment its first battle honour: South Africa 1900–01. The regiment was re-designated the Staffordshire Imperial Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) in 1901.