The Volunteer Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps of the British Army

The Volunteers from 1859 to 1880

In the years 1859-1861 the volunteer movement created many Rifle and Artillery Volunteers Corps all over Britain. Some of the Rifle Corps were raised as Mounted Rifle Corps. Later also, more cavalry like, Light Horse Corps. As the latter had more prestige some of the Mounted Rifle units converted to Light Horse.

Counties got a precedence and a number in the sequence of the date of acceptance of the first corps in a county. Thus there were different numberings for Mounted Rifles and Light Horse. The corps were numbered inside each county in the sequence they were accepted. Below are two tables, one for each of the categories, but many units are represented in both.

Interest waned and by 1881 most corps had gone. Only the Fife and the Forfar Light Horse made it into a new area as Imperial Yeomanry.