The 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry was an active service unit formed by the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry during World War I. It was sent to garrison Egypt and then amalgamated with another dismounted cavalry unit to form an infantry battalion, the 25th (Montgomery & Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Serving in the 74th (Yeomanry) Division (the 'Broken Spur Division') it participated in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, including the capture of Beersheba and Jerusalem. Moving with the division to the Western Front it fought in the final campaign, including the desperate Battle of Épehy, until the Armistice. The regiment won two Victoria Crosses during its service. It was disbanded after the war.

Mobilisation

When war was declared on 4 August 1914, the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry of the Territorial Force (TF) mobilised at Brook Street drill hall, Welshpool, with Brevet Colonel Robert Williams-Wynn, DSO, in command. It joined the South Wales Mounted Brigade (SWMB) at Carmarthen and then went with it by train to Hereford.Frederick, pp. 43–4.James, pp. 24–5.James, pp. 35–6.John, pp. 17–8.Montgomeryshire Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail.

The part-time TF was intended to be a home defence force in wartime and its members could not be compelled to serve overseas. However, on 10 August 1914 the TF was invited to volunteer for overseas service. In the SWMB the Montgomeryshire and Glamorgan Yeomanry signed up en masse at Hereford, though the Pembroke Yeomanry were less enthusiastic. On 15 August the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring the 1st Line TF formations being sent overseas. Later, the 2nd Line was prepared for overseas service and a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line regiments.Becke, Pt 2a, p. 40.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.John, pp. 18–9.

1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry The 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry moved with the 1/1st SWMB to East Anglia and was stationed in Norfolk, at Thetford by 29 August, moving to Blickling shortly afterwards. The following month the brigade joined the 1st Mounted Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp 1–7.1st Mounted Division at Long, Long Trail. While training in In East Anglia the division at the same time formed part of the defence forces for the East Coast, and there were numerous false invasion alarms.John, pp. 20–3. By September 1915 the 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry was based at Holt. In October it moved to Cromer. In November the 1/1st SWMB was dismounted.John, p. 25.

Egypt The 1/1st SWMB embarked at Devonport on 4 March 1916 and sailed to Egypt in company with the 1/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade from 1st Mtd Division. They disembarked at Alexandria on 14–15 March and on 20 March the two brigades were merged to form the 4th Dismounted Brigade. At first this was placed in the Suez Canal defences under 53rd (Welsh) Division, with 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry at Beni Salama, but in April it came under the command of Western Frontier Force (WFF).John, p. 34.Dudley Ward, p. 20. Following the Senussi campaign of 1915, the WFF was left guarding Egypt's western and southern frontier against any further incursions. 4th Dismounted Brigade covered the Bahariya front with patrols and outposts, though any Senussi activity was further north, so the brigade saw no fighting.John, p. 36.

At the beginning of 1917 the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was preparing to advance across Sinai into Palestine and required additional infantry. The dismounted brigades on the western frontier began to move east. In January 1917 the dismounted yeomanry of 4th Dismounted Bde were permanently re-roled as infantry. The brigade became 231st Brigade, which joined 74th (Yeomanry) Division on its formation in March 1917.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 117–22.John, pp. 42–3.MacMunn & Falls, Vol I, p. 273; Appendix 3.74th (Y) Division at Long, Long Trail.Ward, pp. 25–8.

25th (Montgomery & Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Bn, Royal Welch Fusiliers

Cavalry regiments were smaller than infantry battalions, so the dismounted yeomanry regiments were paired to form effective battalions and these were affiliated to infantry regiments. On 4 March at Halmia, 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry amalgamated with 1/1st Welsh Horse Yeomanry to form 25th (Montgomery & Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF).Frederick, p. 304.James, p. 68.John, pp. 43–4.Royal Welch Fusiliers at Long, Long Trail. (The Welsh Horse Yeomanry was a war-formed regiment administered by the Montgomeryshire Territorial Association. 1/1st Welsh Horse Yeomanry had fought at Gallipoli.)James, p. 30.Welsh Horse Yeomanry at Long, Long Trail. 25th Royal Welch Fusiliers was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Kensington, CMG, DSO, a former officer in the 15th Hussars, who had been commanding the Welsh Horse Yeomanry.Dudley Ward, Appendix VII.Burke's: Kensington.

Palestine The division moved up into Palestine and after the failure of the First Battle of Gaza it began taking over the outpost line along the Wadi Ghuzzee on 7 April; 231st Bde took over at Khan Yunus on 11 April. 74th (Y) Division was in reserve for the Second Battle of Gaza beginning on 19 April, tasked with moving across the Wadi Ghuzzee following the divisions advancing on Gaza City. Soon after midnight 231st Bde moved down into the wadi, Lord Kensington complaining that troops from the attacking 52nd (Lowland) Division were occupying the same ground and did not move off until 04.15. However, this attack was also unsuccessful and although the division took a few casualties from enemy shellfire and aircraft attacks it was not engaged. The division dug in on its new positions on 20 April. Active operations shut down for several months during which the new division continued its organisation and training while carrying out a number of patrol actions. One night 25th RWF sent a party of two officers and 50 other ranks to raid the 'Cactus Garden' outside Gaza: finding about 80 Turks there the patrol dispersed them with bombs and bayonets and returned with prisoners, having suffered only two slight casualties.John, pp. 50–6.MacMunn & Falls, Vol I, pp. 328, 330, 335, 347, 355, 358.Dudley Ward, pp. 29–48.

Beersheba Sir Edmund Allenby took over command of the EEF in May and began thorough preparations before launching the next offensive (the Third Battle of Gaza) on 27 October. On 25 October 231st Bde Group was at Nakhrur; that night it marched to Abu Sita, leaving the camp standing and campfires burning. The following night it continued to Gamli, where 230th Bde took over the front line and the rest of the division formed up behind. While Turkish attention was fixed on Gaza City by a heavy bombardment from land and sea, XX Corps, including 74th (Y) Division led by 229th Bde, made a night approach march on 30/31 October to attack Beersheba on the Turks' landward flank. The other two brigades of the division then moved up. After crawling from wadi to wadi under accurate shrapnel and machine gun fire, 231st Bde was within of the Turkish main defences by 10.40; the artillery cut the barbed wire and the brigades attacked at 12.15 through the dust clouds of the bombardment. 24th (Denbighshire Yeomanry) and 25th Bns RWF leading 231st Bde on right and left respectively met stout resistance: Acting-Corporal John Collins of the 25th is recorded as having bayonetted 15 Turks in one outpost that fought to the last. He had already carried wounded back for aid, and later advanced with a Lewis gun section beyond the objective to cover its consolidation. Collins was a Second Boer War veteran of the Royal Horse Artillery who had joined the Welsh Horse Yeomanry at the beginning of World War I. For his actions at Beersheba he was later awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The two RWF battalions suffered nearly two-thirds of 74th (Y) Division's total casualties on the day, and also took three-quarters of its prisoners. The follow-up battalion, 24th (Pembroke & Glamorgan Yeomanry) Bn, Welsh Regiment then passed through and advanced into the Turkish positions. Meanwhile the Desert Mounted Corps swept round the flank and into Beersheba itself.Falls, Vol II, pp. 39, 44, 47–51, Sketches 1–3.John, pp. 61–3.Dudley Ward, pp. 63, 86–92.Dudley Ward, Appendix I.Royal Welch Fusiliers Victoria Crosses at Medals of the Regiments.

Sheria The Capture of Beersheba was a resounding success, and XX Corps pressed on northwards as the Turks fell back to the Sheria Position. 229th Brigade led 74th (Y) Division's pre-dawn attack on this position on 8 November, without preliminary bombardment or barrage. 231st Brigade was echeloned back to the right to protect the flank and then take the high ground. Afterwards it was given the task of capturing the station at Tel Sheria, but this could not be completed until the fire and explosions in the abandoned Turkish ammunition dump died down at 03.30 next morning. The Capture of the Sheria feature broke the Turkish left, and they began a rapid retreat.Falls, Vol II, pp. 92–100.Dudley Ward, pp. 96–102.

Jerusalem