The Army School of Equitation was a British Army school at Weedon in Northamptonshire, created in 1922 and closed in 1940. In the worlds of cavalry and horses it was commonly called simply Weedon.
The Army School of Equitation was a British Army school at Weedon in Northamptonshire, created in 1922 and closed in 1940. In the worlds of cavalry and horses it was commonly called simply Weedon.
In December 1922, the Cavalry School, based at Netheravon in Wiltshire, was amalgamated with the Royal Artillery Riding Establishment to become the Army School of Equitation, which was given a military camp at Weedon, [1] alongside the Military Ordnance Depot there dating from 1805, the central small arms depot of the British Army.
The first Commandant was Colonel Charles Walwyn, known as "Taffy". [2]
The choice of location gave an area with good riding country, in the heart of England, served not only by the Grand Union Canal and Weedon railway station but also by a branch line to the military depot.
The school came to be seen as the leading centre of British horsemanship and was described as "the Mecca of cavalrymen throughout the Empire". [3]
The Great Britain equestrian team at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin was raised from the Army School of Equitation at Weedon, with Philip Bowden-Smith, a former Chief Instructor at Weedon, as team captain. It won the Bronze Medal in the team eventing. [4]
Weedon closed in 1940. [5] Its demonstration horses were dispersed and were noted for their high standard of accuracy in performing the school movements. [6] Ten years later, the term "Weedon seat" was still being used for the style of riding taught at Weedon. [5] Instead of the old-fashioned "backward seat", it taught a version of the "forward seat" developed by Federico Caprilli in the Italian Army's school at Pinerolo. [7]
Weedon gained fame through the achievements of its pupils, including Harry Llewellyn and his horse Foxhunter.
In 1950, John Board wrote that "All English riding to-day is based on the teaching of Weedon." [2] In 1952, he added that "nearly all of our best horsemen" had graduated from the school, adding "Now there is no Weedon." [8]
On Tuesday 25 July 1939, in the House of Commons Somerset de Chair asked Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War "whether it has been definitely decided to close down the Equitation School at Weedon; and, if so, whether he will consider establishing a training and remounts depot there to supply the remaining horsed cavalry regiments." [12] The reply was
"The establishment at Weedon comprises an equitation school, where officers and other ranks are trained as instructors in equitation; and a remount wing. The transfer of the school and remount wing elsewhere has not yet been finally approved. A depot squadron for training cavalry recruits has been opened at Edinburgh." [12]
Chair then asked "May I take it that, if it is decided to transfer the establishment from Weedon, it is not proposed to abolish the Equitation School as such?" [12] The reply to this was
"I hope that my honourable Friend will not read into the answer more than it contains." [12]
The Equine Training Squadron of the Defence Animal Training Regiment, based at Melton Mowbray, has stabling for 140 horses and grazing for 260. It provides training for all riders and horses going to the Household Cavalry (Life Guards and Blues and Royals) and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. When Anne, Princess Royal, formally opened a riding school there in 2008, it was referred to as "the new Army School of Equitation Riding School at the Defence Animal Centre". [13]
Weedon Bec, usually just Weedon, is a village and parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is close to the source of the River Nene. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,706.
Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is also the name of a street on the east side of the common, as well as an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 17,499.
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. They are also responsible for explosives and drug search dogs. It is a small corps, forming part of the Army Medical Services.
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equipment, ammunition and clothing and certain minor functions such as laundry, mobile baths and photography. The RAOC was also responsible for a major element of the repair of Army equipment. In 1942 the latter function was transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) and the vehicle storage and spares responsibilities of the Royal Army Service Corps were in turn passed over to the RAOC. The RAOC retained repair responsibilities for ammunition, clothing and certain ranges of general stores. In 1964 the McLeod Reorganisation of Army Logistics resulted in the RAOC absorbing petroleum, rations and accommodation stores functions from the Royal Army Service Corps as well as the Army Fire Service, barrack services, sponsorship of NAAFI (EFI) and the management of staff clerks from the same Corps. On 5 April 1993, the RAOC was one of the corps that amalgamated to form The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC).
Brigadier James Joseph "Joe" Kingstone DSO & Bar MC CBE, DL was an officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars.
General Sir James Frederick Noel Birch was a British Royal Artillery officer during the Second Boer War and World War I and subsequently Master-General of the Ordnance. The Birch gun was named after him.
William Clark "Bill" Steinkraus was an American show jumping champion.
Harry Dwight Chamberlin was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Moro Rebellion, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II, he attained the rank of brigadier general, and was most notable for his command of several Cavalry units, including 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the Cavalry Replacement Center at Fort Riley, and 4th Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division. During World War II, he commanded the New Hebrides Task Force, Southwestern Security District, and Fort Ord.
Reuben "Ben" Jones was a British Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
The Defence Animal Training Regiment (DATR) is a training establishment, based in Melton Mowbray, east Leicestershire. It trains animals, of which the most numerous are dogs, for all three armed forces. Its headquarters are also the principal base of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
A part of the Quartermaster Corps, the U.S. Army Remount Service provided horses as remounts to U.S. Army units. Evolving from both the Remount Service of the Quartermaster Corps and a general horse-breeding program under the control of the Department of Agriculture, the Remount Service began systematically breeding horses for the United States Cavalry in 1918. It remained in operation until 1948, when all animal-breeding programs returned to Department of Agriculture control.
Lieutenant-General Sir Antony Ernest Wentworth Harman was an Anglo-Irish British Army officer who commanded 1st Division.
Army Remount Depot Mona is a depot of the Pakistan Army situated in Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 1902 and is home to breeding grounds for horses, mules and donkeys. It was originally designed to supply mountain artillery mules and general service mules. Mona is a full member of the World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO). It is the largest functional remount facility in the world and is spread over 10,000 hectares. There are over 600 Arabian mares at the depot.
The Army Remount Service was the body responsible for the purchase and training of horses and mules as remounts for the British Army between 1887 and 1942.
Brigadier Philip Ernest Bowden-Smith CBE, was a cavalry officer and later armoured commander of the British Army who served in the First World War and the Second World War. Described as 'one of the finest horsemen of his generation' he also represented Great Britain at the 1924 Olympic Games.
Invicta Park Barracks is a military installation in Maidstone, Kent. It is set to close in 2029.
The Shrapnel Barracks was a British army base providing living accommodation in Woolwich in southeast London from the mid-19th century until the 1960s. Named after Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel, it was situated to the northwest of the modern-day Stadium Road, on the western edge of Woolwich Common; the site is now occupied by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Lawrence Tyndall "Taffy" Walwyn (1883–1959) was a British Army officer of the First World War who received the Military Cross. His son was the race horse trainer Peter Walwyn.
Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School was a Swedish Army equestrian facility which operated from 1868 to 1970. Its tasks from the 1930s were to train commanders at the infantry and cavalry into instructors and more in horse-driving or horse riding. Today the school is one of three national facilities operated by the Swedish Equestrian Federation.
John Tupper Cole was a highly decorated officer in the United States Army with the rank of Brigadier General. A graduate of the United States Military Academy and veteran of both World Wars, he is most noted for his service as Colonel and Commanding officer, Combat Command B, 5th Armored Division during combats on the Western Front.