The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal Devon Yeomanry.
History
Formation and early history
Under threat of invasion by the French Revolutionary government from 1793, and with insufficient military forces to repulse such an attack, the British government under William Pitt the Younger decided in 1794 to increase 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". The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was first raised in 1798 as independent troops, one of the main organisers of which process was Col. John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle (1751–1842), of Stevenstone near Great Torrington, Devon. In 1803 it was regimented as the North Devonshire Mounted Rifles.
North Devon Regiment of Local Militia
Col. Henry II Beavis (1736–1813), of Yeotown in the parish of Goodleigh, North Devon, was appointed on 5 July 1803 by the King as Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant (of 441 men) of the "Barnstaple Volunteer Infantry". He was the son of Henry I Beavis, Mayor of Barnstaple in 1738 and 1751, whose portrait survives in Barnstaple Guildhall. He died on 7 December 1813, and his small mural monument survives in Pilton Church inscribed as follows: Sacred to the memory of Josiah Crane Esq., Captain and Adjutant of the North Devon Regiment of Local Militia. Colonel Henry Beavis, Commandant, who departed this life 7th December 1813 aged 77 years. This monument is erected by his brother officers as a small token of their respect and esteem.
Despite the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Yeomanry was retained by the government "for Military Service in aid of the Civil Power" in the absence of organised police forces. For example, in 1816, a mob forced its way into Bideford prison to try to release their ringleaders. Members of the Regiment were mustered and patrolled the town all night; several rioters were arrested and escorted to Exeter. The unwillingness of the government to pay for the Yeomanry led to many corps being disbanded in 1827–28. Twenty-two corps were authorised to continue officially, and another sixteen were allowed to continue to serve without pay. Serving without pay from 1828 to 1831, the Regiment was never disbanded.
The regiment was renamed as the North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry and in 1856 as the Royal North Devonshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1868, the regiment was the Royal North Devon Hussars with Headquarters at Barnstaple. On 1 April 1893, the troops were reorganised in squadrons.
Second Boer War
Due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army, thus issuing a Royal Warrant on 24 December 1899 to allow volunteer forces to serve in the Second Boer War. This warrant officially created the Imperial Yeomanry. The Royal Warrant asked standing Yeomanry regiments to provide service companies of approximately 115 men each. In addition to this, many British citizens (usually mid-upper class) volunteered to join the new regiment.
The Royal North Devon Hussars and the Royal 1st Devonshire Yeomanry Cavalry co-sponsored the 27th (Devonshire) Company of the 7th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry which arrived in South Africa on 23 March 1900.
On 17 April 1901, the regiment was renamed as the Royal North Devonshire Imperial Yeomanry and reorganised in four squadrons and a machine gun section. On 1 April 1908, the regiment was renamed for the final time as the Royal North Devon Yeomanry and transferred to the Territorial Force, trained and equipped as hussars. The regiment was based at Bear Street in Barnstaple at this time.
Its organisation was:
It was ranked as 30th (of 55) in the order of precedence of the Yeomanry Regiments in the Army List of 1914.