Ragtime: Herts Yeomanry

Grandfathers in the Great War

The Gallipoli Association would like to thank David Edgar Booth for sending in a wonderful family story that charts for our readers the Hertfordshire Yeomanry at Gallipoli.

The story began in 2011 "when I went to the 90th birthday party of Baibe (Barwell William) Field (1921- 2013) at Warrengate Farm, Potters Bar. There pinned to the wall was Reg’s obituary. Dated 1961, it went on to state

‘The oldest tenant on the Gorhambury Estate (Butlers Farm) . . . A well-known farmer and sportsman in the county, he was a fine horseman, and in 1913 had outstanding success on his horse Ragtime IV. At a point-to-point . . . He won the farmers heavyweight steeplechase and then came second in the Yeomanry race later in the day . . . He was also a good shot . . . A trooper in the Herts Yeomanry, he served in Gallipoli.’

For me, this lit the blue touch paper of research to find out more as I had inherited his 1913 Enfield Point-to-Point cup from our step-Grandmother Millie about 30 years ago. Also I was beginning to use the Ancestry website, which had access to the National Archive war records. To back this up I read a few books on the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, Gallipoli and Suvla – cross referencing them with various other websites.

David Edgar Booth

To read the full story please CLICK HERE