North Irish Horse

North Irish Horse
File:North Irish Horse.jpg The Crest of the North Irish Horse
Active	1902 - Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army
Type	Royal Armoured Corps
Role	TA Reserve
Size	One Squadron
Garrison/HQ	RHQ = Newcastle (as part of Qoy)
Nickname(s)	The Horse
Motto(s)	Quis Separabit (Who shall separate us) (Latin)
March	Garryowen
Anniversaries	Hitler Line, 24th May
Engagements	Somme, Ypres, Hitler Line, Iraq, Afghanistan
Commanders
Ceremonial chief	Col. D.M. Christie, TD
Insignia
Tartan	Saffron (pipes)

The North Irish Horse is a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War.

King Edward VII approved the formation of the North of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry and the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry in 1901. Recruiting for the North of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry began in 1903, with four squadrons raised: RHQ and ‘A’ Squadron in Belfast, ‘B’ Squadron in Derry, ‘C’ Squadron in Enniskillen and ‘D’ Squadron in Dundalk. They became a special reserve regiment in 1908 and the name changed to the North Irish Horse following the formation of the Territorial Force. In 1914 the North Irish Horse and its sister regiment the South Irish Horse were the first non-regular troops to land in France and be in action in the First World War.

The 'one-man regiment' of the 1930s converted to tanks early in the Second World War. In 1943, a troop of Churchills climbed the Djebel Ang to support the Irish Brigade. The unit supported the Canadians at the battle of the Hitler Line in Italy, May 1944.

The unit survives in the modern Territorial Army as B Squadron(North Irish Horse) Queen's Own Yeomanry. Where personal have been deployed to Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanastan.

Attached to

• British 34th Army Tank Brigade — 1 December 1941–3 September 1942
• British 25th Army Tank Brigade — 3 September 1942–3 December 1944
• British 21st Army Tank Brigade — 4 December 1944–10 June 1945
• British 21st Armoured Brigade — 11 June 1945–31 August 1945

External links

• "North Irish Horse". Orders of Battle.com.
• "North Irish Horse". North Irish Horse Regimental Association.
• http://www.northirishhorse.net WW2 Veteran Gerry Chester's personal NIH site.