View source for Queen's Own Yeomanry

{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Queen's Own Yeomanry
| image                         = Queen's Own Yeomanry cap badge.png
| image_size                    = 
| caption                       = Cap badge
| dates                         = 1971–present
| allegiance                    = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch                        = {{army|United Kingdom}}
| type                          = [[Yeomanry]]
| command_structure             = [[Royal Armoured Corps]]
| role                          = Light cavalry
| size                          = [[Regiment]]<br/>368 personnel<ref>{{cite web|url=https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2018-11-22/194616|title=Army – Question for Ministry of Defence|page=1|access-date=14 December 2020}}</ref>
| garrison                      = Regimental Headquarters - [[Fenham Barracks]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]]<br>A Squadron - [[York]]<br>B Squadron - [[Wigan]]<br>C Squadron - [[Chester]]<br>D Squadron - [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]
| commander1                    = Lt Col Charles Mackain-Bremner
| commander1_label              = Commanding Officer
| ceremonial_chief              = [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh]]
| ceremonial_chief_label        = Royal Honorary Colonel
| colonel_of_the_regiment       = Major-General S. J. M. Graham, CB, VD<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=64628|page=503|date=14 January 2025|supp=y}}</ref>
| colonel_of_the_regiment_label = Honorary Colonel
| motto                         = 
| colours                       = Prussian Blue & Cavalry Gold
| identification_symbol_2       = 
| identification_symbol         = [[Image:Queen's Own Yeomanry TRF.svg|100px]]
| identification_symbol_label   = Tactical Recognition Flash
| march                         = ''D'ye Ken John Peel''
| mascot                        = 
| battles                       = 
| anniversaries                 = 
}}

The '''Queen's Own Yeomanry''' (QOY) is a reserve light cavalry reconnaissance regiment of the [[British Army]]. The regiment is part of the [[19th Brigade (United Kingdom)|19th Brigade]], which was reactivated in 2022. The regimental headquarters is at [[Fenham Barracks|Fenham Barracks, Newcastle]], with squadrons in [[York]], [[Wigan]], [[Chester]] and [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]].

==History==
The Queens Own Yeomanry was initially formed on 1 April 1971 as the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment from five of the yeomanry units across the North and Middle of England and South West Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/a-royal-thumbs-up-ayr-newlyweds-meet-prince-charles-on-their-big-day.1399129984|title=A royal thumbs up: Ayr newlyweds meet Prince Charles on their big day|newspaper=Evening Times|date=3 May 2014|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref>  During the [[Cold War]] The Queen's Own Yeomanry was a [[British Army of the Rhine]] Regiment with an Armoured Reconnaissance role in Germany. With the Strategic Defence Review in 1999 the geographical locations of the regiment changed to encompass East Scotland and Northern Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/territorial-army-yeomanry-rtr/queen-s-own-yeomanry.html|title=Queen's Own Yeomanry|publisher=British Army units 1945 on|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref>  Soldiers from the regiment have served both in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lowlandrfca.org.uk/VRF_Units/QueensOwnYeomanry_ASquadron.aspx|title=A Squadron Queen's Own Yeomanry|access-date=4 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043001/http://www.lowlandrfca.org.uk/VRF_Units/QueensOwnYeomanry_ASquadron.aspx|archive-date=24 October 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Under [[Army 2020]], three squadrons transferred to the [[Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry]] and it gained two squadrons from the [[Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry]]. The unit is paired with the Light Dragoons and uses the [[Jackal (vehicle)|Jackal]].<ref name=changes>{{cite web|url=http://www.serfca.org/Portals/0/Images/f/SUMMARY%20OF%20A2020%20RESERVE%20STRUCTURE%20AND%20BASING%20CHANGES.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810031303/http://www.serfca.org/Portals/0/Images/f/SUMMARY%20OF%20A2020%20RESERVE%20STRUCTURE%20AND%20BASING%20CHANGES.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 August 2013|title=Summary of Army 2020 Reserve Structure and Basing Changes, pages 1 and 2|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref><ref>[http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Army2020_Report.pdf Army 2020 Report] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610215557/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Army2020_Report.pdf |date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=croatia>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2019/09/qoy-ex-sava-star/|title=Queen's Own Yeomanry deploy on exercise to Croatia|date=18 September 2019|publisher=Ministry of Defence}}</ref>

==Recruitment==
The regiment recruits its soldiers mainly from the following counties: [[Yorkshire]], [[Tyne and Wear]], [[County Durham]], [[Lancashire]], [[Cheshire]], [[Northumberland]] and [[Merseyside]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-armoured-corps/queens-own-yeomanry/|title=Queen's Own Yeomanry|website=www.army.mod.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-12-20}}</ref>

==Organisation==
The Queen's Own Yeomanry is part of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]] and consists of four squadrons:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mod.uk/armoured/regiments/28680.aspx|title=Queen's Own Yeomanry: contact details|publisher=Ministry of Defence|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref>
* A ([[Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry|Yorkshire Yeomanry]]) Squadron
* B ([[Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry|The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry]]) Squadron
* C ([[Cheshire Yeomanry|Cheshire Yeomanry (The Earl of Chester's)]]) Squadron<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 63516
| date = 2 November 2021
| page = 19472
| supp = y
}}</ref>
* D ([[Northumberland Hussars]]) Squadron
The regiment is under the command of [[19th Brigade (United Kingdom)|19th Brigade]], within [[1st (UK) Division]], and is paired with the [[Light Dragoons]], both operating the [[Jackal (vehicle)|Jackal]] vehicle.

==Order of precedence==
For the purposes of parading, the Regiments of the British Army are listed according to an order of precedence. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being the most senior.

{{S-start}}
{{Order of precedence |
  before= [[Royal Wessex Yeomanry]]|
  title=  [[British Army Order of Precedence|British Army <br>Order of Precedence]]|
  after=  [[Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry|Scottish & North Irish Yeomanry]]
}}
{{S-end}}

==Guidon==
[[Image:guidonQOY.jpg|thumb|left|QOY Guidon with Guard of Honour for TA 100 Celebrations]]

The Guidon, which is awarded by The Queen, is a flag of crimson silk damask embroidered and fringed with gold with the Regimental Battle Honours emblazoned upon it and the Regimental emblem embroidered in the centre. On 22 September 2007 [[Prince Charles]], in his capacity as Royal Honorary Colonel of The Queen's Own Yeomanry, presented a new [[Guidon (Commonwealth)|Guidon]] to the Regiment in an hour-long ceremony in the grounds of [[Alnwick Castle]]. This was the first Guidon the QOY has received since its formation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Prince+is+king+of+castle+with+soldiers.-a0169010613|title=Prince is king of castle with soldiers|date=24 September 2007|publisher=The Journal|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref>

==Armoured Vehicles==
In late 2013, with the phasing out of CVR(T) across the British Army, the regiment was re-equipped with the Land Rover Defender-based RWMIK, a light armoured vehicle, equipped with the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and the Browning .50 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), as well as individual BOWMAN digital battlefield communications systems and specialised surveillance optics, including thermal imaging.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mod.uk/armoured/regiments/26881.aspx|title=Queen's Own Yeomanry|publisher=Ministry of Defence|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref> In 2018 the regiment re-equipped with Jackal 1's to harmonise vehicles with its sister regiment, The Light Dragoons.<ref name=croatia/>

==Uniform==

===Badges===

The whole Regiment wears a variation of the running fox [[cap badge]] of the old East Riding Yeomanry. However, each of the Squadrons wears its own collar badges and buttons.

===Stable Belt and Shoulder Flash===
The Regimental [[Stable Belt]] or shoulder flashes are worn to show a soldier or officer is serving with the QOY in various forms of dress. The colour of both is [[Prussian blue]] with two horizontal stripes of cavalry gold (yellow):&nbsp;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stablebelts.co.uk/sussexyeomgirdle.html|title=Sussex Yeomanry|publisher=Stable Belts|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref>

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==Lineage==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 1908 [[Haldane Reforms]] !! 1956 Post-War Mergers !! 1966 [[1966 Defence White Paper|Defence White Paper]] !! 1990 [[Options for Change]]  !! 1999 [[Strategic Defence Review (1998)|Strategic Defence Review]]  !! 2015 [[Army 2020]] 
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[Yorkshire Hussars]] (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own)
| rowspan="3" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry]]
| rowspan="3" colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Y Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
| rowspan="3" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | A Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons]]
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | [[East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry]]
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | [[Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry]]
| rowspan="1" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | D Squadron, [[Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry]]
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | B Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[Cheshire Yeomanry (Earl of Chester's)]]
| rowspan="1" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | C Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | C Squadron, [[Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry]]
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | C Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
|-
| rowspan="1" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | [[Northumberland Hussars]]
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | HQ Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
| rowspan="1" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | D Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
| rowspan="1" colspan="1" style="text-align: center;" | C&S Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry
|-
|}

==Freedoms==
The regiment has received the [[Freedom of the City|Freedom]] of several locations throughout its history; these include:
* {{flagicon|England}} '''1971''': [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] (Originally Granted to the [[Northumberland Hussars]] on '''8 January 1969''').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-15227272|title=Prince Charles takes salute in Newcastle veterans parade|date=8 October 2011|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/sites/default/files/wwwfileroot/your-council-and-democracy/councillors-mps-and-democracy/honorary_freemen_of_the_city_from_1886-1976.pdf|title=Honorary Freemen of the City from 1886 – 1976|publisher=City of Newcastle|access-date=2 May 2019}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|England}} '''3 December 2009''': [[York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/4768151.york-soldiers-to-be-honoured/|title=York soldiers to be honoured|website=York Press|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Scotland}} '''3 May 2014''': [[South Ayrshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://royalcentral.co.uk/uk/charlesandcamilla/the-prince-of-wales-to-take-salute-at-honorary-freedom-of-south-ayrshire-ceremony-2-29338|title=The Prince of Wales to take salute at Honorary Freedom of South Ayrshire ceremony|first=Cindy|last=Stockman|date=30 April 2014|access-date=2 May 2019|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502125120/http://royalcentral.co.uk/uk/charlesandcamilla/the-prince-of-wales-to-take-salute-at-honorary-freedom-of-south-ayrshire-ceremony-2-29338|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{Flagicon|England}} '''12 October 2019''': On 12 October 2019, C (The Duke of Chester's Cheshire Hussars (Yeomanry)) Squadron was granted the [[freedom of the city]] of [[Chester]] following the 225th anniversary of the yeomanry and 80th anniversary of the [[Royal Armoured Corps]].  The squadron was last awarded the honour in 1996 and their bi-centenary in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/road-closures-you-need-aware-17068804|title=Road closures for parade in Chester city centre this weekend|last=Sherlock|first=Gemma|date=2019-10-11|website=chesterchronicle|access-date=2019-10-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-welcome-cheshire-yeomanry-freedom-17016129|title=Chester to welcome Cheshire Yeomanry for Freedom of the City march|last=Green|first=Michael|date=2019-10-02|website=chesterchronicle|access-date=2019-10-12}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-armoured-corps/queens-own-yeomanry/ Official site]

{{Royal Armoured Corps}}
{{British Army navbox}}

[[Category:Yeomanry regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Scottish regiments]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1971]]
[[Category:Cavalry regiments of the British Army]]
[[Category:Royal Armoured Corps]]