THE WESTMINSTER DRAGOONS - 2ND COUNTY OF LONDON YEOMANRY.

This famous Yeomanry regiment can trace its history back to the Boer War. It was raised in 1901 and formed a part of the Imperial Yeomanry Brigade in South Africa.

The Westminster Dragoons spent most of the First World War as cavalry in the Middle East but in 1918 became 104 Battalion (Westminster Dragoons) Machine Gun Corps and ended the war on the Western Front.

When the British Army was reorganised after the war plans were made to raise eight armoured car companies of the Territorial Army for the Tank Corps. The 22nd Armoured Car Company was the Westminster Dragoons.

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For a while, following the outbreak of World War Two it was an Officer Cadet Training Unit but subsequently operated tanks in 42nd Armoured Division before being incorporated into 79th Armoured Division and trained on mine-clearing Flail tanks.

The Westminster Dragons landed on D-Day on Sword Beach and went right through the campaign in North West Europe.

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Westminster Dragoon flails approaching Le Havre.

Today the regiment retains its affiliation to the Royal Tank Regiment as W Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry. The Regiment's museum is temporarily closed.