South West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry
Later to become 1st West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry
The Yeomanry Cavalry was the mounted section of the British Volunteer Corps. Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry Units were formed in the 1790’s in response to the invasion threat from Napolean’s Revolutionary France. The units were originally used to support the civil authority to quell political and social disturbances. Police Forces took over this role in the mid 19th century.
Typically the Yeomanry Cavalry would be organised as follows;
Commanding Officer ……… Lord Wharncliffe
Officers ……….. recruited from landed gentry and nobility
Sergeants, cornets, veterinary surgeons and troops …… recruited from local landowners, farmers and tradesmen.
The local troops under the command of Lord Wharncliffe were Barnsley, Barnsdale, Doncaster, Kiveton, Pontefract, Rotherham, Sheffield (2), Wakefield and Wath.
At home the Yeomanry were part-time soldiers while their full time counterparts were fighting in wars abroad. Yeomanry were mounted troops armed with pistols, swords and carbines (a long gun with a shortened barrel).
The word yeomanry originally meant “a moderately prosperous independent farmer”. As tenant farmers at Old Moor several generations of the Brooke family had close ties to the regiment. Both George and Joseph served as cornet in the Wath Troop in the first half of the 19th century. Cornet was the lowest grade of commissioned officer in the British Cavalry Troop. In 1877 trooper James Brooke was awarded a prize sword for “Best Swordsman”. This sword together with a Regimental diary from the South West Yorkshire Yeomanry Cavalry are proud possessions held by the Brooke family. Transcripts of this diary and a family diary have been made available to be viewed on this site.
Old Moor Farm 