YEOMAN SERVICE A Short History of the Kent Yeomanry 1939-1945

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, the 97th (Kent Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery was immediately mobilised – It moved immediately to France as part of the British Expeditionery Force and in 1940 was evacuated from Dunkirk with the rest of the British Army. In 1941 the regiment was sent to Iraq with the 10th Indian Division. The division went into the Western Desert, where it suffered badly in the retreat of Alam El Haifa, and the 7th Armoured Division at El Alemein. It remained in the desert until the capture of Tobruk and Adem. After garrison duty in Cyprus, Palestine and Syria the Kent Yeomanry moved to Italy in March 1944. They served in Italy for the remaining duration of the war advancing up the North West of Italy and ending in the Adriatic coast near Trieste.
The Second Line regiment 143rd (Kent Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery spent the first two years of the war in Iceland. On it’s return to the UK in 1941 the regiment joined the 49th Division and served throughout France and particularly Normandy. The regiment gave support during the D Day landings at Caen, Le Havre and Turnhaut Canal. They spent the Winter of 1944-45 by the River Maas on the Dutch German border. Their final action was at Arnhem in April 1945.