Wellington Mounted Rifles

Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment
Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment at Awapuni Racecourse 8 August 1914
Active	8 August 1914 – 30 June 1919
Country	New Zealand
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch	New Zealand Army
Role	Mounted Infantry
Size	Regiment
Part of	New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade 2nd Light Horse Brigade (ANZAC Mounted Division)
Nickname(s)	Well and Trulys Wellingtons Mounteds
March	D'ye ken John Peel
Engagements	First World War Gallipoli Campaign Sinai and Palestine Campaign Egyptian Revolution of 1919
Commanders
(1914–1917)	William Meldrum
(1917–1918)	James Whyte
(1918–1919)	Arthur Batchelor
Insignia
Pugaree flash worn on the hatband

First World War

The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment from New Zealand, raised for service during the First World War. It was assigned to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

The regiment, with an establishment of twenty-six officers, 523 other ranks and 600 horses, was formed from three squadrons belonging to pre war Territorial Force regiments; the Queen Alexandra's 2nd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles, the 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles and the 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles. It also included a small headquarters and, until 1916, a Maxim machine-gun section. The Maxim guns were withdrawn but the regiment's fire-power increased during the war, by the end of which each squadron had four Hotchkiss machine-guns, one per troop.

As mounted infantry, the regiment rode into battle on their horses, but were expected to dismount for battle, and then fight on foot. The regiment fought predominantly against the forces of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. In the Gallipoli Campaign between May and December 1915, they participated in the largest battle of that theatre at Chunuk Bair, and also in the fighting for Hill 60. Evacuated to Egypt, they then took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 1916 to 1918. The early battles there included those at Romani, Gaza and Beersheba. Later in the war they were part of the force that occupied the Jordan Valley, and took part in the raid on Amman and the raid on Es Salt. Their final war time operation was in connection with the capture of the Turkish Fourth Army. During the four years of war the regiment had 369 dead and 453 wounded, several of those wounded more than once. After the war, the regiment played a minor role in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, before being disbanded in June 1919.