Paget's Horse

Last updated

Paget's Horse
19th (Paget's Horse) Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry
Active1900–1902
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch Flag of the British Army.svg British Army
Type Yeomanry
Role Mounted infantry
Size4 Companies
Garrison/HQ Chelsea Barracks
Nickname(s)Piccadilly Heroes
Engagements

The 19th (Paget's Horse) Battalion was a unit of the Imperial Yeomanry raised by George Paget as auxiliaries to the British Army during the Second Boer War. The men were mainly upper middle class and recruited from the gentlemen's clubs of London. The unit saw action at Faber's Put, Elands River, Lichtenburg, and numerous engagements on the lines of communication. The battalion was disbanded after the war.

Contents

Recruitment

Following a string of defeats during Black Week in early December 1899, the British government realised that it would need more troops than just the Regular army to fight the Second Boer War, particularly mounted troops. On 13 December, the War Office decided to allow volunteer forces to serve in the field, and a Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December that officially created the Imperial Yeomanry (IY). This was organised as service companies each of approximately 121 officers and men enlisted for one year. Existing Yeomanry and fresh volunteers quickly filled the new force, which was equipped to operate as mounted infantry. [1] [2]

Besides the companies raised directly by the Yeomanry Cavalry regiments, a number of battalions were formed by enthusiasts, including Paget's Horse, enlisted by George Paget the son of Lord Alfred Paget and grandson of Field Marshal Henry Page, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey. Paget recruited largely from upper middle class members of London gentlemen's clubs and professional men (Trooper Cosmo Rose-Innes, who wrote an account of the first months of the unit, [3] was a barrister at Gray's Inn). Paget's Horse was accepted as the 19th Battalion of the IY [2] [4] [5]

The unit was organised as follows: [6] [7] [8] [9]

Paget himself was not a regular soldier, but had seen some service as a volunteer in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the Anglo-Zulu War (1879–80). He served as the battalion's second-in-command with the temporary rank of major. [4] [10] [ page needed ] [11]

Service

A typical Imperial Yeoman on campaign Boer War Q71976.jpg
A typical Imperial Yeoman on campaign

The recruits did their basic training daily at Chelsea Barracks (many of the gentlemen arriving for morning drill by Hansom cab), their riding twice-weekly at Knightsbridge Barracks, and their musketry course at Bisley Ranges, all under Regular non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and a Colonial lieutenant attached to the unit. [12] The first three companies embarked at Southampton aboard the troopship SS Tagus on 16 March and disembarked at Cape Town on 4 April; the 73rd Company followed on the SS Delphic on 31 March, arriving on 24 April. The last company had been formally inspected by the Prince of Wales outside Chelsea barracks two days before departure. [13] The battalion was sent to Maitland Camp outside Cape Town where it awaited the arrival of its horses and carried out fatigues and further training. It was next sent to the base camp at Stellenbosch. [4] [9] [14]

The battalion then went up-country to join Lord Roberts' main army on the Orange River. It travelled by train to Belmont, where it continued field training. [15] At the end of April the battalion was assigned to Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren's column, which was ordered to suppress Boer rebels in Griqualand West and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Warren arrived at the Orange River on 4 May and set about organising his column. [16] [17]

Faber's Put

The IY part of the column, consisting of Pagets Horse, and the 23rd (Lancashire) and 24th (Westmorland and Cumberland) companies of the 8th Bn, were commanded by Charles Hay, the Earl of Erroll. Warren began his advance before all the troops had assembled, and entered Douglas on 21 May. Paget's Horse followed behind. The Boers were at Campbell, blocking the route up onto the Kaap Plateau. On 26 May Warren's column camped at Faber's Put, a farmstead a few miles south of Campbell where he prepared to assault the position. He ordered two companies of Paget's Horse up to cover Schmidt's Drift on the Vaal River by 30 May to prevent the Boers escaping northwestwards, while another detachment of 52nd Company under Lieutenant J.G.B. Lethbridge escorted the column's supply convoy up from Belmont; this arrived on 29 May. Warren had placed insufficient pickets and before dawn on 30 May a force of Boers surrounded the camp at Faber's Put, infiltrated into the garden and prepared to attack. Spotted by a Yeomanry sentry who fired on them, the Boers fired back and a furious firefight ensued, while the Boers stampeded the Yeomanry's horses and shot down gun crews. The 23rd and 24th IY Companies advanced to support their picket on the southern ridge and brought their two Colt machine guns into action. The small group of Paget's Horse protected the machine guns while the rest of the IY advanced by rushes over open ground towards the ridge and drove off the Boers. The Boer force rode off before the Yeomanry could recover their own horses. Lieutenant Lethbridge was among the casualties, his left forearm being shattered, and Trooper Mather was mentioned in despatches for bringing Lethbridge in under heavy fire. Following the action at Faber's Put Warren was able to clear Griqualand West without further trouble, the column entering Campbell and then Griquatown. [4] [17] [18] [19]

After the action Paget's Horse continued guarding Schmidt's Drift and escorting supply convoys from Kimberley for the column, which camped at Blickfontein. When Warren moved on, a detachment of Paget's Horse escorted the Royal Canadian Artillery's guns from Faber's Put to Schmidt's Drift. The concentrated battalion then marched from Schmidt's Drift to Kimberley for rest and refitting before entraining for Mafeking. [20]

Elands River

Imperial Yeomanry galloping over a plain during the Second Boer War. The Second Anglo - Boer War, South Africa 1899 - 1902 Q72318.jpg
Imperial Yeomanry galloping over a plain during the Second Boer War.

Lord Roberts now decided that his isolated garrisons were a waste of manpower, and he ordered most of them to be evacuated. In early July Warren sent Erroll with a column, including Paget's Horse, to relieve Klerksdorp, but it had surrendered to the Boers on 25 July before he arrived. So he continued to Lichtenburg, taking away the garrison there. Paget's Horse marched through hostile territory from Mafeking to Lichtenburg, posting advance, flank and rear guards, and having daily brushes with small detachments of Boers. Erroll then marched through Ottoshoop to join Lt-Gen Sir Frederick Carrington at Zeerust on 2 August. Carrington's column had come down from Rhodesia to evacuate some of the isolated garrisons in Western Transvaal. Carrington marched the combined force towards the Elands River to cover the retirement of the garrison at Brakfontein. The column was hampered by long train of empty ox-wagons to bring away the supplies at Eland's River, and there was a running fight with the Boers. [17] [21] [22] The action was described by Rose-Innes of Paget's Horse: [23]

'We galloped about from place to place the whole morning without firing a shot, although all round us our guns and pom-poms were throwing a continuous stream of shells, and we could hear the crack-cracking from the opposite kopjes. We were not, I think, under actual fire altogether for more than an hour, although the engagement itself lasted all day'

Lines of communication

After this inconclusive engagement, Carrington gave up the attempt to reach Brakfontein and returned to Mafeking. Paget's Horse had to fight a dismounted action to clear a Boer force blocking the road back, and Maj Paget was slightly wounded. Paget's Horse went back to its camp at Ottoshoop and spent the following weeks patrolling the road between Zeerust and Lichtenberg, fighting three separate engagements with parties of Boers. In one of these Paget's Horse had to saddle-up and gallop out of Ottoshoop to relieve a detachment of the Victorian Rifles pinned down on a kopje. On arrival they dismounted and fired volleys of suppressive fire at the Boers hidden on the opposing kopje, until the Boers withdrew. [24] A large detachment of Paget's Horse was sent by train to Vryburg to join a relief column for Schweizer-Reneke, which was being besieged by the Boers. The march was unopposed and the unit spent a few days patrolling the surrounding country, experiencing a few contacts with small parties of Boers. Paget's having returned to Vryburg, the Boers once again besieged Schweizer-Reneke. This time the unit had to escort a slow convoy of ox-carts, taking a week to cover 35 miles (56 km). This work was typical of the Guerrilla warfare that characterised the next two years of the war. After two such convoys, the detachment returned to the rest of the battalion at Mafeking. [25]

A yeoman standing by his horse in South Africa Yeomanry South Africa.jpg
A yeoman standing by his horse in South Africa

Lichtenburg

In early 1901 a group of Paget's Horse formed part of the garrison of Lichtenburg under the command of Lt-Col C.G.C. Money of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The town contained a large quantity of supplies, but was isolated in hostile territory. At the beginning of March, with the nearest British columns 70–80 miles away, the garrison was attacked by Koos de la Rey. On the night of 2/3 March the Boers penetrated into the town, isolating the outlying pickets and bringing the inner defence line under fire. The defence was obstinate and firing continued until 17.30 on 3 March, all but one of the pickets having been able to hold out. De la Rey withdrew during the following night. [26]

Second and third contingents

By now the First Contingent of the Imperial Yeomanry had completed their contracted service. Although a few stayed in South Africa with their companies or transferred to other units in the theatre, most went home. They were replaced by raw recruits of the Second Contingent raised under a special Army Order of 17 January 1901. Unlike the original companies based on county Yeomanry regiments, these men were directly recruited into the IY and were drafted as required, but four named battalions (Paget's, the Roughriders, the Sharpshooters and the Duke of Cambridge's Own) were apparently permitted to continue recruiting. [27] The returning men of the first contingent of Paget's Horse paraded at Horse Guards on 26 July 1901 to receive their medals from Queen Alexandra. [28]

On 23 February 1902, 80 men of Paget's Horse were sent as part of an escort for a convoy from Wolmaransstad to Klerksdorp, 50 miles (80 km) away. Towards evening on 24 February the convoy camped and the men of Paget's Horse were allowed to ride on into Klerksdorp. They therefore avoided the following day's disaster when the convoy was ambushed by De la Rey and the escort overwhelmed and taken prisoner after a running battle. [29]

Richard Simkin's painting of an Imperial Yeoman Imperial yeomanry.jpg
Richard Simkin's painting of an Imperial Yeoman

A Third Contingent for the IY was authorised at the end of 1901 and a number of new battalions went out fully trained. During 1902 the remaining companies still serving in South Africa were consolidated into a smaller number of battalions. [30] The 51st and 73rd (Paget's Horse) Companies transferred to the 12th Battalion. [6] [7] [8]

The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902, and the IY were progressively repatriated over the following months. Unlike the Roughriders and the Sharpshooters, which were perpetuated by the City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) and 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) respectively, Paget's Horse was not continued as a permanent unit after the war. [8] [2]

Uniform and insignia

Paget's Horse wore the standard khaki foreign service uniform with a bandolier; IY units wore leather gaiters rather than puttees. [2] The headgear (initially the colonial pattern helmet, later the slouch hat) carried a dark grey–blue flash with the letters 'PH' embroidered in yellow, surmounted by a rosette in six alternating segments of blue-grey and yellow. [4] [31] The letters 'PH' gave rise to the unit's nickname of the 'Piccadilly Heroes', but some wits chose to believe that they stood for 'Public House', 'Perfectly Harmless', or even 'Phat-head'. [32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Dunlop, pp. 104–12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Money Barnes, pp. 242–5.
  3. ↑ Rose-Innes.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Paget's Horse in the Boer War | Military Sun Helmets" . Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Amery Vol III, p. 18.
  6. 1 2 Frederick, pp. 370–1.
  7. 1 2 "Anglo Boer War - Imperial Yeomanry". www.angloboerwar.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Imperial Yeomanry [UK]". 26 December 2005. Archived from the original on 26 December 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Roll of Honour - Regiments - Boer War Imperial Yeomanry Battalions". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Burke's: 'Anglesey'.
  11. ↑ "No. 27179". The London Gazette . 3 April 1900. p. 2196.
  12. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 3–16, 20–1, 44–6.
  13. ↑ "The War - Inspection by the Prince of Wales". The Times. No. 36103. London. 30 March 1900. p. 7.
  14. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 27–33, 41–4, 47–54, 62–4.
  15. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 64–7.
  16. ↑ Amery, Vol IV, Appendix to Chapters I-XIV, pp. 503–14.
  17. 1 2 3 Amery, Vol IV, pp. 229–36.
  18. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 74–82, 89–90.
  19. ↑ Warren's report of 29 June 1900, London Gazette 8 February 1901, pp. 906–9.
  20. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 86–9, 98–102, 107.
  21. ↑ Amery, Vol IV, pp. 357–9.
  22. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 54, 107, 116, 124–36.
  23. ↑ Rose-Innes, p. 118.
  24. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 119, 137–54.
  25. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 155–70.
  26. ↑ Amery, Vol V, pp. 222–3.
  27. ↑ Dunlop, pp. 112–7.
  28. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 68–9.
  29. ↑ Amery, Vol V, pp. 497–500.
  30. ↑ Dunlop, pp. 117–8.
  31. ↑ V&A Museum photograph of Paget in uniform before departure for South Africa.
  32. ↑ Rose-Innes, pp. 23–4.

Related Research Articles

Lindley is a small town situated on the banks of the Vals River in the eastern region of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after an American missionary, Daniel Lindley, who was the first ordained minister to the Voortrekkers in Natal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but subsequent contingents were more significantly working class in their composition. The existing yeomanry regiments contributed only a small proportion of the total Imperial Yeomanry establishment. In Ireland 120 men were recruited in February 1900. It was officially disbanded in 1908, with individual Yeomanry regiments incorporated into the new Territorial Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out in support of the civil powers. It first sent units overseas at the time of the Second Boer War and saw distinguished service in Egypt and Palestine in World War I. During World War II it gave up its horses and became a tank regiment, serving in the Western Desert and landing in Normandy on D-Day. Postwar the Staffordshire Yeomanry became part of the Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry with one of the squadrons being designated 'Staffordshire Yeomanry' until 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Berkshire Yeomanry was a part time regiment of the British Army formed in 1794 to counter the threat of invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was the Royal County of Berkshire's senior volunteer unit with over 200 years of voluntary military service. After taking part in the Second Boer War, it saw action as mounted troops in the First World War and as artillery in the Second World War. Its lineage is maintained by 94 Signal Squadron, part of 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment. The Headquarters of the Squadron is based in Windsor, Berkshire. The Berkshire Yeomanry had a number of battle honours won from Europe to the Far East and Private Frederick Potts was awarded a Victoria Cross for service during the Gallipoli Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars</span> Military unit

The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army's auxiliary forces, formed in 1798. It saw service in the Second Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and was the first Yeomanry regiment to serve in Belgium and France during the Great War. After almost four years of Trench warfare on the Western Front, where cavalry had been superfluous, the QOOH led the advance during the Allies' victorious Hundred Days Offensive in 1918. In 1922, the QOOHt became part of the Royal Artillery and during World War II it served as anti-tank gunners at Singapore and in North West Europe. After a series of postwar mergers and changes of role, the regiment's lineage is maintained by 142 Vehicle Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Irish Horse</span> Military unit

The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred to the Special Reserve (Cavalry) in 1908 and was renamed as the South Irish Horse. Having taken part in the fighting of World War I, it was disbanded after Irish Independence in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DLOY) was a yeomanry unit of the British Army from 1798 to 1992. Originally raised as part-time cavalry for home defence and internal security, the regiment sent mounted infantry to serve in the Second Boer War. During World War I it carried out mounted duties in Egypt and Palestine and on the Western Front. By 1917 the reserve units at home had become cyclists and the regiment serving on the Western Front joined an infantry battalion, seeing action at the Battle of Passchendaele, against the German Spring Offensive and in the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive. At the beginning of World War II the regiment gave up its horses and formed two regiments of medium artillery, which served in the Middle East, Italy and North West Europe. Postwar it became an armoured unit. Today its lineage is maintained by B Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons</span> Yeomanry regiment of the British Army (1794–1956)

The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boer War, but opportunities for mounted action were much more restricted during the First World War and it was temporarily converted into a cycle unit. It remained a cavalry regiment throughout the interwar years, and was the last horsed unit of the British Army to see action, in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign of 1941, finally mechanising the following year. It served as motorised infantry in the North African and Italian campaigns of the Second World War. In 1956, it merged with the Yorkshire Hussars and the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by A Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

The Denbighshire Hussars was a Welsh Yeomanry regiment of the British Army formed in 1794. It saw service in the First World War before being converted into a unit of the Royal Artillery. The lineage has been continued by 398 Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps.

The Sussex Yeomanry is a yeomanry regiment of the British Army dating from 1794. It was initially formed when there was a threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. After being reformed in the Second Boer War, it served in the First World War and the Second World War, when it served in the East African Campaign and the Siege of Tobruk. The lineage is maintained by 1 Field Troop, 579 Field Squadron (EOD), part of 101 (London) Engineer Regiment (Volunteers).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army with its origins in 1798. The regiment provided troops for the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and served on the Western Front in the First World War, latterly as infantry. The regiment converted to artillery in 1920 and served as such in the early years of the Second World War, before becoming part of the Chindits in Burma. Postwar it served as a gunner regiment until 1971 when the title disappeared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glamorgan Yeomanry</span> Military unit

{{Infobox military unit |unit_name=Glamorgan Yeomanry |abbreviation= |image= |caption=Glamorgan Yeomanry cap badge |dates= 1797–1831
1861–1873
1901–present |country = Kingdom of Great Britain (1794–1800)
 United Kingdom (1801–Present) |allegiance= |branch= Territorial Army |type=Yeomanry |role= |size= Regiment |command_structure= |equipment= |Past Commanders= |ceremonial_chief= |colonel_of_the_regiment= |notable_commanders=Col Windham Wyndham-Quin |identification_symbol= |identification_symbol_2= |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles=* Merthyr Rising

The West Somerset Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1794, it participated in the Second Boer War and World War I before being converted to an artillery regiment. It served in World War II. Post-war it was gradually reduced in strength until the yeomanry lineage of the successor unit was discontinued on 9 November 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomeryshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Montgomeryshire Yeomanry was a Welsh auxiliary unit of the British Army first formed in 1803. It served in home defence and for internal security, including deployments to deal with Chartist disturbances in the 1830s. It provided volunteers to the Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War and formed three regiments for service during World War I. It was broken up and converted to infantry and artillery in 1920.

20th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army first organised in the Second Boer War. In the First World War, the brigade fought on the Western Front and on the Italian Front as part of 7th Division. The brigade was re-raised under during the Second World War and briefly served in France until being converted to an armoured formation.

21st Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army first organised in the Second Boer War, when it took part in Ian Hamilton's March from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Reformed in World War I it served under the command of first 7th Division and then 30th Division, fighting in most of the major battles on the Western Front from the First Battle of Ypres to the Armistice. It was briefly re-raised in the Sudan early in World War II before being transferred to the Indian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd (Hertfordshire) Company, Imperial Yeomanry</span> Military unit

42nd (Hertfordshire) Company was a unit of the Imperial Yeomanry formed to supplement the British Army in the Second Boer War. Raised by the part-time Hertfordshire Yeomanry and largely drawn from its ranks, the company was engaged at the Rhenoster River, in the Brandwater Basin, and in various small engagements round Krugersdorp. It was replaced by a new 42nd Company in 1901.

The 9th (Welsh) Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry was a unit of the British Imperial Yeomanry (IY) raised for service in the Second Boer War. Equipped as Mounted infantry, the battalion served in South Africa from April 1900 until the end of the war. Its companies took part in numerous anti-guerrilla 'drives' with mobile columns that eventually brought the war to an end.

The Battle of Faber's Put, also known as the Battle of Faber's Pass was fought during the Second Boer War on the night of May 29–30, 1900.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.