| Unit Name: | Queen's Own Yeomanry |
| Dates: | 1971–present |
| Allegiance: |  United Kingdom |
| Type: | Yeomanry |
| Command Structure: | Royal Armoured Corps |
| Role: | Light Cavalry Regiment |
| Size: | Regiment 368 personnel[1] |
| Garrison: | Regimental Headquarters - Fenham Barracks, Newcastle upon Tyne A Squadron - York B squadron - Wigan C Squadron - Chester D Squadron - Newcastle |
| Commander1: | Lt Col Neil Potter |
| Commander1 Label: | Commanding Officer |
| Ceremonial Chief: | Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh |
| Ceremonial Chief Label: | Royal Honorary Colonel |
| Colours: | Prussian Blue & Cavalry Gold |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Tactical Recognition Flash |
| March: | D'ye Ken John Peel |
The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is one of the Army Reserve light armoured reconnaissance regiments.[2]
The Queens Own Yeomanry was initially formed on 1 April 1971 as the 2nd Armoured Car Regiment from five of the yeomanry units across the North and Middle of England and South West Scotland.[3] During the Cold War The Queen's Own Yeomanry was a British Army of the Rhine Regiment with an Armoured Reconnaissance role in Germany. With the Strategic Defence Review in 1999 the geographical locations of the regiment changed to encompass East Scotland and Northern Ireland.[4] Soldiers from the regiment have served both in Iraq and Afghanistan.[5]
Under Army 2020, three squadrons transferred to the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and it gained two squadrons from the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry. The unit is paired with the Light Dragoons and uses the Jackal 1.[6] [7] [8]
The regiment recruits its soldiers mainly from the following counties: Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, County Durham, Lancashire, Cheshire, Northumberland and Merseyside.[9]
The Regiment is part of 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and consists of four squadrons:[10]
For the purposes of parading, the Regiments of the British Army are listed according to an order of precedence. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being the most senior.
The Guidon, which is awarded by The Queen, is a flag of crimson silk damask embroidered and fringed with gold with the Regimental Battle Honours emblazoned upon it and the Regimental emblem embroidered in the centre. On 22 September 2007 Prince Charles, in his capacity as Royal Honorary Colonel of The Queen's Own Yeomanry, presented a new Guidon to the Regiment in an hour-long ceremony in the grounds of Alnwick Castle. This was the first Guidon the QOY has received since its formation.[11]
In late 2013, with the phasing out of CVR(T) across the British Army, the regiment was re-equipped with the Land Rover Defender-based RWMIK, a light armoured vehicle, equipped with the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and the Browning .50 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), as well as individual BOWMAN digital battlefield communications systems and specialised surveillance optics, including thermal imaging.[12] In 2018 the regiment re-equipped with Jackal 1's to harmonise vehicles with its sister regiment, The Light Dragoons.[8]
The whole Regiment wears a variation of the running fox cap badge of the old East Riding Yeomanry. However, each of the Squadrons wears its own collar badges and buttons.
The Regimental Stable Belt or shoulder flashes are worn to show a soldier or officer is serving with the QOY in various forms of dress. The colour of both is Prussian blue with two horizontal stripes of cavalry gold (yellow): [13]
| 1956 Post-War Mergers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own) | Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry | Y Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | A Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | ||
| Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons | |||||
| East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry | |||||
| Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry | D Squadron, Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry | B Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | |||
| Cheshire Yeomanry (Earl of Chester's) | C Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | C Squadron, Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry | C Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | ||
| Northumberland Hussars | HQ Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | D Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | C&S Squadron, Queen's Own Yeomanry | ||
The regiment has received the Freedom of several locations throughout its history; these include: