3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)

3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)
Badge and service cap as worn at the outbreak of World War II
Active	23 July 1901 – 1 May 1961
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Yeomanry (World War I) Royal Armoured Corps (World War II)
Size	Three Regiments (World War I) Two Regiments (World War II)
Engagements	World War I Gallipoli 1915 Egypt 1915–16 Macedonia 1916–17 Palestine 1917–18 France and Flanders 1918 World War II North Africa 1941–43 Sicily 1943 Italy 1943 North-West Europe 1944–45
Commanders
Notable commanders	William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow

World War I

World War II

The 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1901 from Second Boer War veterans of the Imperial Yeomanry. During the First World War it served dismounted at Gallipoli, was remounted to serve in Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine, before being converted to machine gunners for service on the Western Front. 2nd and 3rd Line units remained in the United Kingdom throughout.

Between the wars, it was converted to an Armoured Car Company before being expanded back to regimental size and forming a duplicate regiment, the 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters). Both regiments served throughout the North African Campaign (notably at El Alamein), before moving on to Sicily (3rd CLY) and Italy. Both regiments returned to the United Kingdom in time to prepare for the opening of the Second Front.

Due to losses, and a shortage of replacement personnel and equipment, the regiments were amalgamated in August 1944 as 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters). The regiment went on to serve throughout the North-West Europe Campaign, ending the war in Germany.

Post-war, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) reformed as a Territorial Army armoured regiment in 1947. In 1961 the regiment merged with the Kent Yeomanry to form the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry.