Some notes penned by Reg Cundick, 8 May 1980:
The Yeomanry Cavalry of Wiltshire, formed in 1791 as a precaution against the possibility of French invasion, was the oldest of the yeomanry regiments in England.
In 1831 it was awarded the title “Royal” and became the Royal Wiltshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry, and was awarded the new title of Prince Of Wales Own Royal Regiment in 1865 when it had the honour of providing an escort to the Prince of Wales.
Queen Victoria authorized a table of precedence for yeomanry cavalry regiments in 1884 and, as the first regiment formed, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry headed the list.
Unlike the Wiltshire Regiment, its infantry counterpart as it were, it has no V.C.’s to its credit, though the Regimental Roll reads like a school register – the Thynnes, the Herberts, the Longs, the Fullers, the Awdrys and Palmers, among them all saw service. The continuity of names bears witness to the devotion to duty and public spiritness of the families who held lands in Wiltshire. There always seems to be a particular sense of friendship amongst its members in the Yeomanry, for not only did its officers serve together on the battlefields of South Africa, France, El Alamein, and Italy, they also hunted together in the Wiltshire fields in peace time.
The blast of trumpets and the dust of war has died away, leaving a fine record of service and achievement it would be hard to equal. The Regiment acquitted itself with honour and distinction in peace and war, and stands as a fine reminder of the Yeomen who have always served their country in days of trouble.
Horace William Cundick, my uncle, served with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry from after the First World War, until his death at Bath, in an accident, in the 1930s.
John Cundick, my brother, served R.E.M.E. L.A.D. (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, Light Aid Detachment) with the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry attaining the rank of Staff Sgt.