'D' for D squadron?? Yorkshire Dragoons

[3dg]

Hello all, I have a photograph of my Great Grandfather as a staff Sergant Major in the Yorkshire Dragoons. I know the SSM's wore the badges and insignia of the Yeomanry regiments they were with. He wears the black rose and crown cap badge, but on his shoulder strap is the letter D, in brass, the photo was taken in 1913 and I know he was SSM of D Squadron then. Has anyone seen this practice before? Your help, as always is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time

[manchesters]

Hello,

I have never heard it before for a Yeomanry Regiment.
Is there any other shoulder title on his shoulder?

regards

[GriffMJ]

I would say the "D" was just for "Dragoons"...... Squadron allocation was not relevant.

[3dg]

No other title, I thought they wore the TY and curved Yorkshire Dragoons. Even if there is a Y hiding behind it over never heard of a 2 part Y D shoulder title, strange one

[manchesters]

Could you post the photo please so we can see it in context.
It may help.

regards

[3dg]

I will try over the next few days

[GriffMJ]

Officially the Leicestershire Yeomanry were meant to have Y/LEICESTER post 1916 (wool/cloth)...... but I have images of them wearing L/Y/C in brass letters from 1916 to 1920.

So it could be that the YD did their own thing as well.

[davidwyke]

It would certainly be interesting to see the photo, as already requested above.

Yorkshire Dragoons S/T's from 1908 were "T/Y/(curved) Yorkshire Dragoons" as you mentioned. Usually, but not always, one piece. I would have thought that this would have been worn in 1913. Perhaps someone knows better though!

Although I don't think it's shown in Westlake, they also wore a "YD" S/T but I've always thought that these were introduced much later, post WW2 at least, maybe early 1950's and only worn for a few years. Perhaps they were also worn at an earlier period although it's strange that the 1908 pattern S/T's would have already been changed by 1913

Incidentally, was your G-Grandfather "D" Sqdn Squadron Sergeant Major at the time (rather than a Staff Sgt Maj?)

David

[3dg]

D Squadron made a cabinet for him with a brass plaque on it saying staff sergeant major april 1914 when he became acting RSM. I've just realised you can see the photo still on Google images type in Yorkshire dragoons its the 36th image, 5 soldiers on a post card, I won this post card on eBay the other day, it was a one in a million chance that I found it and it has a picture of him on it. Could not be live my luck. He's the one on the left

[54Bty]

If it is the card of 3 in SD and 2 in blues, then it does look like a large 'D'. However it is not in the centre so there could be a 'Y' before it.

Marc

[davidwyke]

Originally Posted by 3dg

D Squadron made a cabinet for him with a brass plaque on it saying staff sergeant major april 1914 when he became acting RSM. I've just realised you can see the photo still on Google images type in Yorkshire dragoons its the 36th image, 5 soldiers on a post card, I won this post card on eBay the other day, it was a one in a million chance that I found it and it has a picture of him on it. Could not be live my luck. He's the one on the left

Found him! Can't really add much to my previous post except the "D" looks larger than on the (later) "YD" S/T's.

David

[3dg]

It must be a large Y D, the smaller Y D metioned in the book has bars across top and bottom. Thank you all for your responses on this, its all greatly appreciated. So this is a new title not seen before, that's interesting.

[davidwyke]

Just to look at this little mystery from a slightly different angle.

Given that your g-grandfather was A/RSM by 1914, he presumably had quite a few years service in.

The T/Y/Yorkshire Dragoons S/T's were definitely introduced in 1908 and I think they would have been worn until at least 1920.

Most Yeomanry Regts wore metal S/T's on service dress pre 1908 but I don't know what YD wore, if anything.

So, perhaps he was still wearing a pre 1908 S/T and had never changed to the "new" S/T for some reason.

The fact that it seems to be two separate letters tends to suggest it might be quite early. The only problem is that if the S/T dated pre 1908 it would be more likely to be "YDIY" but not all Yeo Regts included the "IY" designation on S/T's.

David

[3dg]

Thank you for your reply, he became a permanent staff instructor in 1910, so not pre 1908

[3dg]

I know its all speculation but maybe its because he's a regular army soldier(his line regiment being the 3rd Dragoon Guards) maybe all the permanent staff wore this title. I suppose without further photographic evidence we'll never know