Middlesex Yeomanry

Middlesex Yeomanry
Sign at the headquarters of 47 (Middlesex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron in Uxbridge
Size	Squadron
Battle honours	South Africa 1900-1901 The Great War 1914-1918 Macedonia 1916 -17 Gallipoli 1915 El Mughar Sharon Suvla Egypt 1915 -16 Nebi Samwil Damascus Scimitar Hill Gaza Megiddo Palestine 1917 - 18

The 47 (Middlesex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron is a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Territorial Army.

During the Napoleonic Wars the Gentlemen of Uxbridge sought permission from the Government to form a Military Association to maintain law and order when the Regular Forces were sent to the coast to protect the country against invasion by the French. A Cavalry Troop was raised in 1797 and titled the 'Uxbridge Volunteer Cavalry' and its first Captain Commandant was Christopher Baynes Esq' (later Sir Christopher),

The role of the Uxbridge Volunteer Cavalry was to act as armed police and support the Civil Powers in maintaining law and order in the local parishes.

A second troop was raised in 1798 with the change of title to 'Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry'. Captain-Commandant Christopher Baynes was appointed Major-Commandant and the UYC was given a wider sphere of operation. The volunteers provided their own clothes and horses, and received no payment if called out to quell a disturbance,

At the end of the war with France the number of Yeomanry units was reduced and it was not until 1830 that the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry was reformed to maintain the peace during a period of extreme poverty, when rioters terrorised the inhabitants and destroyed machinery which was being introduced into the agriculture and cotton industries.

The uniform worn by the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry was of the Light Dragoon pattern with a broad-topped shako of dark green, ornamented with a brass Maltese Cross with the Arms of the County of Middlesex placed in the centre, and the motto adopted was 'Pro Aris et Focis', which can be loosely interpreted as 'For Hearth and Home'.

In 1856 the badge was changed to a gilt metal six-pointed star, surmounted by the Royal Crown, and a circle bearing the regimental motto 'Pro Aris et Focis' enclosing the Royal Cypher 'VR',

There were variations to the uniform until 1871 when the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry was ordered to raise a fourth troop and to change its title to 'Middlesex Yeomanry Cavalry'. The Commanding Officer adopted the Hussar uniform, keeping the green Hussar tunic with black collars and cuffs; yellow Hussar lace on the collars, cuffs, and back, with three across the breast. Blue black overalls with double red Hussar stripes; a Hussar busby with dark green bag, and a red-under-green brush, with yellow lines, trimmings and bosses,

In April 1884 the Queen graciously honoured the Regiment with the title 'Middlesex (Duke of Cambridge's) Yeomanry Cavalry'.