Royal Wessex Yeomanry
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry is a British Army Reserve armoured regiment that provides trained Challenger 2 replacement crews and armoured reinforcement to regular Army units.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a British Army Reserve regiment within the Royal Armoured Corps. It is headquartered at Bovington Camp in Dorset and forms part of the Army's armoured force structure. Its principal military function is to provide trained personnel capable of reinforcing the United Kingdom's regular armoured regiments, particularly by supplying replacement Challenger 2 main battle tank crews and other specialist armoured personnel. The regiment is therefore not primarily an independent tank formation intended to deploy as a complete armoured regiment; instead, it provides resilience and trained manpower to the regular armoured force. The regiment was formed as the Wessex Yeomanry on 1 April 1971 by bringing together cadres associated with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Royal Devon Yeomanry. It received the royal title in 1979 and later incorporated the Dorset Yeomanry following reorganisation in July 1999. Although the modern regiment dates from 1971, its constituent traditions reach further back. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry traces its origins to 4 June 1794, when local landowners meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes resolved to raise independent yeomanry troops for Wiltshire. During the 1980s, the unit moved from an infantry designation toward a reconnaissance role within the United Kingdom's home-defence structure. Its responsibilities changed substantially after later defence reviews. Before the Army 2020 reforms, the regiment trained Challenger 2 turret-crew replacements, supplied armoured replacements through its Dorset-linked squadron, and provided officers and senior non-commissioned officers for operational watchkeeping and liaison duties. Since 2013, its central role has been that of the United Kingdom's only armoured reinforcement regiment, supporting the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars and Royal Tank Regiment. The regiment consists of squadrons that preserve the names and traditions of antecedent yeomanry formations. These include A (Dorset Yeomanry) Squadron, B (Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry) Squadron, C (Royal Gloucestershire Hussars) Squadron and D (Royal Devon Yeomanry) Squadron, with organisational changes under the Future Soldier programme, including the amalgamation of C and Y Squadrons. B Squadron is senior despite not being designated A Squadron because a separate Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry squadron existed within the Royal Yeomanry and could have caused confusion. RWxY recruits nationally but has strong traditional links with Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Shropshire and Wiltshire, as well as neighbouring counties including Cornwall, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Somerset. Its members train at locations including Bovington, Salisbury Plain and, for some activities, German training areas. The regiment maintains affiliations with the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars, Royal Tank Regiment and HMS Portland. Its identity combines modern reserve-armoured responsibilities with the ceremonial, county and regimental traditions inherited from its predecessor units. The Duke of Edinburgh is identified as its Royal Honorary Colonel in the cited reference material.
History
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry's modern institutional history begins on 1 April 1971, when the Wessex Yeomanry was created by re-raising cadres connected with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Royal Devon Yeomanry. The regiment inherited a composite identity rather than the continuous title of a single predecessor. Its most senior historical strand is the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, whose lineage reaches back to 4 June 1794, when a group of Wiltshire country gentlemen meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes agreed to raise ten independent troops of yeomanry. On 8 June 1979, the Wessex Yeomanry was granted the royal title and became the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. During the 1980s it was redesignated from an infantry formation as a reconnaissance regiment and became part of the Military Home Defence Reconnaissance structure. A further major reorganisation followed the Strategic Defence Review. In July 1999, the regiment merged with the Dorset Yeomanry and was reorganised around the traditions of its constituent county and yeomanry formations. Before implementation of the Army 2020 plan, the regiment had three principal responsibilities. B, C and D Squadrons trained Challenger 2 main battle tank turret-crew replacements. A Squadron provided armour replacements, while all four squadrons supplied officers and senior non-commissioned officers for operational watchkeeping and liaison assignments. These functions reflected the distinctive role of a reserve unit supporting regular formations rather than operating solely as a self-contained regiment. From 2013, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry became the United Kingdom's only Armoured Reinforcement Regiment. Its mission was to provide armoured resilience to the three remaining regular Army armoured regiments: the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars and Royal Tank Regiment. All five squadrons trained Challenger 2 crewmen according to the cited account. The regiment conducted Challenger 2 driver training at Bovington, Sennelager in Germany and Salisbury Plain Training Area, and undertook live firing at Lulworth and Castlemartin ranges. The unit has retained strong links with the communities and formations from which its squadrons descend. Squadron titles preserve the names of the Dorset Yeomanry, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Royal Devon Yeomanry. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry squadron is senior in the regiment's internal order because its antecedent regiment was raised in 1794. It was not designated A Squadron because a Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry squadron already existed in the Royal Yeomanry, creating a potential naming conflict. In summer 2014, that squadron transferred to the Royal Wessex Yeomanry and became Y Squadron; later Future Soldier changes amalgamated C and Y Squadrons into a single C Squadron. The regiment marked the fortieth anniversary of its 1971 formation in 2011. The Earl of Wessex, then identified as Regimental Colonel in the cited material, visited the regiment, met personnel and families, and took part in a private guided tour of the neighbouring Tank Museum. In 2014, the squadrons adopted a common cap badge featuring the white dragon of England, replacing the earlier practice under which each squadron wore the badge of its antecedent regiment. The regiment's tactical recognition flash also evolved: its design drew on the broken-spur insignia associated with the 74th (Yeomanry) Division, while a 2016 change replaced the scarlet elements with blue and changed the broken spur to a complete spur. Under the Future Soldier reforms, the regiment came under the command of 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team. The cited current description places it within 3rd (UK) Division and describes it as a reserve armoured regiment of four squadrons. It continues to recruit throughout the United Kingdom while retaining traditional recruitment links with Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Shropshire and Wiltshire and nearby counties. Its affiliations include the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars, Royal Tank Regiment and HMS Portland.
- 2016
Tactical recognition flash redesigned
[2]The tactical recognition flash changed its colour scheme from scarlet to blue and replaced the broken spur with a complete spur.
- 2014
Unified cap badge adopted
[2]All squadrons adopted a common cap badge featuring the white dragon of England.
- 2013
Armoured reinforcement role formalised
[2]The Royal Wessex Yeomanry became the United Kingdom's only Armoured Reinforcement Regiment, supporting the regular Army's three remaining armoured regiments.
- 1999
Dorset Yeomanry merger
[2]The regiment merged with the Dorset Yeomanry and underwent reorganisation following the Strategic Defence Review.
- 1979
Royal title granted
[2]The regiment received the royal title and became the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.
- 1971
Wessex Yeomanry formed
[2]The Wessex Yeomanry was formed from cadres associated with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Royal Devon Yeomanry.
- 1794
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry lineage established
[2]A meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes led to the raising of ten independent yeomanry troops for Wiltshire, establishing the oldest major lineage later represented within the regiment.
Products and positioning
A specialist Army Reserve armoured reinforcement regiment combining modern Challenger 2 crew training with the historic county traditions of several British yeomanry formations.
Military training and operational reinforcement · 2013
Challenger 2 crew replacement training
The regiment's principal specialist capability is training Army Reserve personnel as replacement crewmen for Challenger 2 main battle tanks. Training has included driver instruction at Bovington, Sennelager in Germany and Salisbury Plain, together with live firing at Lulworth and Castlemartin ranges. The output supports the regular armoured regiments rather than representing a commercial product.
Military operational support
Armoured personnel reinforcement
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry provides trained armoured personnel and replacement capacity to the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars and Royal Tank Regiment. It also supplies officers and senior non-commissioned officers for operational watchkeeping and liaison duties, reflecting its role as a reserve reinforcement formation.
Brand decisions
2020
Future Soldier organisational changesStrategyBackground
The Future Soldier programme reorganised elements of the Army Reserve and the wider armoured force.
Action taken
C and Y Squadrons were amalgamated into a single C Squadron, and the regiment came under the command of 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team.
Aftermath
The regiment continued as a reserve armoured formation within 3rd (UK) Division while retaining the traditions of its antecedent yeomanry units.
2013
Adoption of the Armoured Reinforcement Regiment roleStrategyBackground
Changes to the British Army's force structure required a reserve formation able to provide trained armoured replacements and Challenger 2 crew resilience for the remaining regular armoured regiments.
Action taken
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry was designated the United Kingdom's only Armoured Reinforcement Regiment and aligned its training around support to the Queen's Royal Hussars, King's Royal Hussars and Royal Tank Regiment.
Aftermath
The regiment's identity became centred on specialist armoured reinforcement rather than its earlier reconnaissance and home-defence roles.
Sources2 sources
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