Yorkshire Mounted Brigade
The Yorkshire Mounted Brigade was a formation of Britain's part-time Territorial Force organised in 1908. Mobilised on the outbreak of World War I, its regiments had been posted away by 1915 so it was broken up. It never saw active service.
Precursor formation
From April 1893 the Army List began showing the Yeomanry Cavalry regiments grouped into brigades for collective training. They were commanded by the senior regimental commanding officer but they did have a Regular Army brigade-major. 13th Yeomanry Brigade, consisting of the Yeomanry regiments in Yorkshire, was organised as follows:- Brigade Headquarters at 20 New Walk, York
- Yorkshire Hussars (Princess of Wales's Own) at York
- Yorkshire Dragoons (Queen's Own) at Doncaster
- 2nd West Yorkshire (Prince of Wales's Own) at Halifax – disbanded March 1894
Formation
Under the terms of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, the Yeomanry Cavalry regiments were subsumed into the Territorial Force in 1908 and were formed into mounted brigades. Each consisted of three yeomanry regiments, a horse artillery battery and ammunition column, a transport and supply column and a field ambulance.As the name suggests, the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade comprised the Yeomanry regiments from the three Ridings of Yorkshire. The Northumberland Hussars were attached for training in peacetime.
World War I
The brigade was embodied on 4 August 1914 and apparently remained in Yorkshire. The regiments left the brigade for other formations in 1915 and it ceased to exist.- The Yorkshire Hussars was split up as divisional cavalry in April 1915:
- The Yorkshire Dragoons was split up as divisional cavalry in June 1915:
- The East Riding Yeomanry left the brigade in early 1915 and was attached to 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division near Newcastle. In May 1915 it joined the North Midland Mounted Brigade of 1st Mounted Division in Norfolk replacing the Welsh Horse Yeomanry. On 27 October 1915, it embarked at Southampton for Salonika but was re-routed to Egypt. It took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign up to April 1918 when it amalgamated with the Lincolnshire Yeomanry to form 'D' Battalion Machine Gun Corps and left for the Western Front in France. It ended the war as 102nd Battalion, MGC.
- The Northumberland Hussars joined the 7th Division in September 1914 and proceeded to the Western Front. It served as divisional cavalry before reforming as XIII Corps Cavalry Regiment. Thereafter, it acted as VIII, III and XII Corps Cavalry Regiment to the end of the war.
- West Riding Royal Horse Artillery joined the Hampshire and Essex RHA in V Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (T.F.) on formation on 13 January 1916 at Leicester; it was re-equipped with four 18 pounders before departing for Egypt in February 1916. It arrived at Port Said on 2 March and joined 52nd (Lowland) Division at El Qantara on 17 March in the Suez Canal Defences. The battery served with 52nd Division before being broken up on 30 December: one section joined the Hampshire RHA and the other section joined the Essex RHA to bring them up to six 18 pounders each.