Ayrshire Yeomanry RA

[lettman]

When the Ayrshire Yeomanry was turned into 151st and 152nd Field Regts RA in WW2, did they retain their 'winged lion' cap badge?

[tynesideirish]

Yes indeed they did, and an AYRSHIRE YEOMANRY title White on Red. They did however wear RA collar badges.

[54Bty]

They only wore the Yeomanry cloth designation when the CO was a Yeoman, when he was a Gunner it came off, therefore pressstuds and a loop were added so that they could be put on and taken off without damage.

[lettman]

Thanks, guys -- very knowledgeable and helpful!

[rubicon]

Hello,

Here is a cap badge found by metal detector in a Normandy field near Caen occupied in July 1944 by the 151st Field Regiment RA.

The cap badge is the big "OF" pattern.

By the way, does anyone know what is the difference between the small and the big "OF" patterns? Cheers. J-F

[Alan O]

The small 'of' are the last version worn by the unit before amalgamation and were the design used for the anodised version.

Alan

[hagwalther]

Originally Posted by Alan Owen

The small 'of' are the last version worn by the unit before amalgamation and were the design used for the anodised version.

Alan

I agree so if collectors of A/A have an anodised example of this badge there is no need to source out any other varients.

Regards,

Chris

[lettman]

Originally Posted by Alan Owen

The small 'of' are the last version worn by the unit before amalgamation and were the design used for the anodised version.

Alan

Here's an example of the small 'OF' version in GM; according to K&K it was sealed on 5 December 1951. The a/a version wasn't sealed until 30 April 1965, so the GM badge probably had a reasonable lifespan of its own.

[Alan O]

The JRGaunt London Ltd mark is a rare one and only found on a few badges that I know of circa 1968-70.

Alan

[lettman]

Originally Posted by Alan Owen

The JRGaunt London Ltd mark is a rare one and only found on a few badges that I know of circa 1968-70.

Alan

Interesting! I did wonder about that mark. Your suggested dating implies that the GM version had an even longer life, Alan.

[Alan O]

http://www2.army.mod.uk/qoy/a_squadron/history.htm

The Ayrshire yeomanry continued in various guises for some time after that. If you search for Ayrshire on the forum then you will find an RAC thread that mentions the brief re-use of metal badges in the 1990s while they were a sqn in the Scottish Yeomanry.

Alan

[lettman]

That's also interesting and useful, because I was hoping to use my GM badge as part of a possible Scottish Yeomanry display. Thanks yet again, Alan.

[54Bty]

Originally Posted by Alan Owen

http://www2.army.mod.uk/qoy/a_squadron/history.htm

The Ayrshire yeomanry continued in various guises for some time after that. If you search for Ayrshire on the forum then you will find an RAC thread that mentions the brief re-use of metal badges in the 1990s while they were a sqn in the Scottish Yeomanry.

Alan

The nonepolishable new metal badge (a sort of staybright) for the Ayrshire Yeomanry Squadron worn when they were part of the Scottish Yeomanry.

[lettman]

The Scottish Yeomanry was formed in 1992 with squadrons made up of the Lothians and Border, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and QOR Glasgow, and Fife & Forfar/Scottish Horse. It had its own cap badge but the squadrons wore their particular regt'l collar badges. It was disbanded in 1999, with the Ayrshire Yeo going into the QO Yeomanry.

[TrooperHW]

Hi, I thought the original question asked by Lettman was an interesting one. Is there a list of the yeomanry regiments that retained their own cap badges when they converted to Royal Artillery?