South Irish Horse

The South Irish Horse was a mounted regiment of the British Army associated with southern Ireland. It was created in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, perpetuating the 61st (South Irish Horse (Dublin)) Company of the Imperial Yeomanry that had served in the Second Boer War. The Imperial Yeomanry had been established during the Boer War to provide mounted infantry when the Regular Army required additional forces. Its companies generally carried rifles and operated as mounted infantry rather than as traditional sabre-equipped cavalry. The regiment was initially based at Limerick. The Marquess of Waterford became its first commanding officer in February 1902, although the end of the Boer War prevented his projected overseas service with the new regiment. In 1908, the Haldane reforms transferred most Imperial Yeomanry units into the Territorial Force. Irish circumstances were different: the South Irish Horse, the North Irish Horse and King Edward’s Horse entered the Special Reserve instead. The South Irish Horse therefore served as a reserve formation intended to reinforce the Regular Army rather than as a conventional Territorial Force home-defence regiment. By 1914 it had squadrons in Dublin, Limerick and Cork and was attached to the Regular Army’s 3rd Cavalry Brigade at the Curragh. The regiment mobilised at the outbreak of the First World War. Its B Squadron sailed from Dublin for France in August 1914 as part of the British Expeditionary Force and was committed during the First Battle of Ypres, including fighting near Hollebeke. Additional squadrons were subsequently assigned to divisions and corps cavalry formations. A Squadron served with the 21st Division before joining successive corps cavalry regiments; B Squadron served with the 2nd Division and later became associated with I Corps; C and E Squadrons also served with corps cavalry formations, while S and F Squadrons supplied further wartime formations. A reserve regiment was established at Cahir to train and reinforce personnel. The trench warfare of the Western Front reduced the operational value of mounted troops. In 1917 the regiment’s service squadrons were amalgamated, dismounted and retrained as infantry. The resulting 7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, joined the 16th (Irish) Division. It suffered severe losses during the German Spring Offensive of March 1918, particularly in the forward positions held during the initial breakthrough. After being reduced to a training cadre, it was rebuilt with drafts from other Irish regiments and transferred through several brigades and divisions. It took part in later operations including the capture of Wulverghem, the Fifth Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Courtrai. The South Irish Horse was one of six southern Irish regiments disbanded on 31 July 1922 after the establishment of the Irish Free State. Its institutional memory is preserved through First World War memorials in Dublin, Belgium and France, and through surviving records of its service, uniforms, insignia and battle honours. It is a historical military formation rather than a current commercial consumer brand.

The South Irish Horse emerged from Britain’s wartime expansion during the Second Boer War. Following the defeats known as Black Week in December 1899, the British government created the Imperial Yeomanry to provide additional mounted manpower. One of the new formations was the 61st (South Irish Horse (Dublin)) Company, raised in Dublin on 7 March 1900 and assigned to the 17th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry. The battalion travelled to Portuguese East Africa and then operated with the Rhodesian Field Force. The company’s service formed the lineage basis for a permanent Irish yeomanry regiment. In 1901, returning Imperial Yeomanry personnel helped provide cadres for new home-based formations. The 61st Company was perpetuated in the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, authorised in 1901 and gazetted on 7 January 1902. The new regiment was based initially at Limerick. The Marquess of Waterford was appointed commanding officer on 10 February 1902. The Treaty of Vereeniging ended the Boer War before the regiment could undertake the overseas role that had been contemplated for its commander. The 1907 reforms reorganised Britain’s reserve forces. Most Imperial Yeomanry units entered the Territorial Force, but Irish units did not follow that route. The South Irish Horse instead became part of the Special Reserve on 20 October 1908, alongside the North Irish Horse and King Edward’s Horse. Its headquarters were at Limerick before moving to Dublin, with squadrons at Dublin, Limerick and Cork. Before 1914 the regiment was attached to the Regular Army’s 3rd Cavalry Brigade at the Curragh. Lord Decies assumed command in January 1912 after Waterford’s death. At the beginning of the First World War, B Squadron was selected for the British Expeditionary Force and sailed from Dublin on 17 August 1914. It reached the Western Front during the opening phase of the war and two of its troops were used in the emergency defence of the line at Hollebeke during the First Battle of Ypres. Other South Irish Horse squadrons were assigned to the 21st, 16th (Irish), 39th and 32nd Divisions, and later to corps cavalry regiments. A reserve regiment at Cahir supplied reinforcements. The static conditions of trench warfare made cavalry employment increasingly impractical. In 1917, the service elements were consolidated and dismounted. They became the 7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, and joined the 16th (Irish) Division. During the German Spring Offensive beginning on 21 March 1918, the battalion sustained catastrophic losses in the forward zone. It was reduced to a training cadre in April, rebuilt during the summer with personnel from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Munster Fusiliers and Royal Irish Regiment, and reassigned to formations of the 30th Division. The reconstituted battalion served in the final campaigns of 1918, including operations around Wulverghem, Ypres and Courtrai. The political settlement that followed the Anglo-Irish conflict ended the regiment’s existence. The South Irish Horse was disbanded on 31 July 1922, one of six southern Irish regiments dissolved after the creation of the Irish Free State. Its wartime service is commemorated at the Irish National War Memorial Gardens in Dublin, the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines, the Menin Gate at Ypres and the Ulster Tower Memorial at Thiepval. The regiment’s ceremonial identity included green parade dress, scarlet detailing and a gilt shamrock badge.

• 1922

  Disbanded

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  The regiment was dissolved on 31 July following the establishment of the Irish Free State.

• 1917

  Converted into the 7th South Irish Horse Battalion

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  The regiment was amalgamated, dismounted and reorganised as an infantry battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment.

• 1914

  Deployed to the Western Front

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  B Squadron sailed from Dublin and served with the British Expeditionary Force during the opening battles in France and Belgium.

• 1908

  Transferred to the Special Reserve

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  The regiment entered the Special Reserve rather than the Territorial Force during the British reserve-force reforms.

• 1902

  South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry established

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  The regiment was authorised and gazetted as a permanent Imperial Yeomanry formation, initially based at Limerick.

• 1900

  61st South Irish Horse Company raised

  [1]South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org

  The 61st (South Irish Horse (Dublin)) Company of the Imperial Yeomanry was formed in Dublin for service in the Second Boer War.

A British Army mounted reserve regiment recruited in southern Ireland, initially organised as Imperial Yeomanry and later serving in the Special Reserve and on the Western Front.

• 1917

  Conversion from cavalry to infantryGeneration change

  Background

  Trench warfare had sharply limited the usefulness of mounted formations on the Western Front.

  Action taken

  The South Irish Horse squadrons were amalgamated, dismounted and retrained as the 7th (South Irish Horse) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.

  Aftermath

  The battalion fought as infantry through the 1918 German offensive and the final Allied campaigns.

  Source

• 1908

  Adoption of Special Reserve statusStrategy

  Background

  The Haldane reforms reorganised Britain’s reserve forces, but Irish Imperial Yeomanry units were not placed in the Territorial Force.

  Action taken

  The South Irish Horse transferred to the Special Reserve, becoming a reserve formation for the Regular Army.

  Aftermath

  The change shaped its pre-war organisation and wartime deployment structure.

  Source

1. 1South Irish Horseen.wikipedia.org