Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) Miniatures

As you might expect, I do have a few miniatures of the Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers). Actually these are all 54mm "Toy Soldiers" which I had hand-painted. They were obtained from 4 Mil Models of Huddersfield.

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) WW1 Service Uniform

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) WW1 Service Uniform

1 YEOY03 Trooper, Hampshire Yeomanry sword at slope

1 YEOY03 Trooper, Hampshire Yeomanry sword at slope

1 YEOY03 Trooper, Hampshire Yeomanry sword at slope

1 YEOY03 Trooper, Hampshire Yeomanry sword at slope

1 YEOY03 Trooper, Hampshire Yeomanry sword at slope

2 YEOY03T Trumpeter, Hampshire Yeomanry, playing bugle

2 YEOY03T Trumpeter, Hampshire Yeomanry, playing bugle

2 YEOY03T Trumpeter, Hampshire Yeomanry, playing bugle

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

My maternal Grandfather, Leslie Claude Snelling (b. 5 June 1892; d. 3 October 1960), was Private 904, Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers). This is dedicated to Private 904 Snelling.

Leslie volunteered, as a good Hampshire man, for the local Yeomanry, that is, the local mounted militia. I'm fairly sure this was a tradition within the Snelling family. He was an active yeoman cavalryman before the outbreak of WW1 and of course mobilized with his Regiment on August 4th, 1914 when War was declared. 

Here he is as a well-dressed young gentleman in civilian life.

Leslie Claude Snelling

This pre-1914 photograph shows Leslie's platoon in the beautiful dress blues of the Regiment, obviously on maneuvers.

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) Dress Uniform

Leslie was a handsome, sensitive young man as you can see in this close-up. He did not strike me, even when I knew him as mature man in his 60's, as a militarist or even warrior. He seemed like a remarkably gentle and gentile man. He was however very proud of his service to King and Country. I was very fortunate to be just old enough to hear some of his stories. Although he died before my eight birthday, I was deeply impressed by Grandad's wartime recollections and can trace my lifelong interest in military history to his storytelling.

Leslie Claude Snelling, Private 904, Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

Leslie Claude Snelling, Private 904, Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

Here is brief history of Leslie's Regiment and his part in the Great War of 1914-18.

Origins

During the Revolutionary and early Napoleonic Wars, between 1794 and 1803, volunteer cavalry units such as the North Hampshire Yeomanry Cavalry (1794), the New Forest Volunteer Cavalry, the Fawley Light Dragoons and the Southampton Cavalry were raised in southern England as independent yeomanry units.   

In 1834, they amalgamated as the North Hampshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry. The title "North" was dropped by 1848. The Regiment adopted the title Carabiniers in 1884.

In 1908, after the formation of The Territorial Force, the Regiment became known as the Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) with detachments in Winchester, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Southampton.

The Victorian uniform was modeled on the regular, Imperial Army, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers).  The steel helmet with white plume, blue uniform, etc are virtually identical. The main difference is the colour of the metal, steel for the Yeomanry, brass for the 6DG.

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

Officer of the Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) Officer 1885

Helmet, Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) 

Guidon, Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) 

Hampshire Yeomanry, 1895

Hampshire Yeomanry, 1898

Anglo-Boer War (11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902)

The Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) raised the 41st Company, 12th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry for service in South Africa in 1900. In 1902 the Battalion transferred to the 41st Company, 4th Battalion. The Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) also raised the 50th Company, 17th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry. The battle honour "South Africa" was awarded.

Imperial Yeomanry

World War One, the Great War (28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918)

The Hampshire Carabiniers won the following battle honours during WWI: 

'France and Flanders, 1916-17, 1918' 'Italy, 1917-18'.

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) goes to War
Courtesy Phil Curme of www.walkingthebattlefields.com

1/1st Hampshire Yeomanry, Territorial Force

Mobilized 4 August 1914 at Winchester as part of the 1st South-Western Mounted Brigade. Later in August it was deployed on Portsmouth Defences. In Oct 1914 the regiment was with its Brigade in the Forest Row area and at Eastbourne. In March 1916 the regiment split up and became Divisional Cavalry. The history of the Regiment from this point is the history of each of the component squadrons. I suspect Private Snelling was attached to A Squadron because his family lived in Portsmouth. 

A Squadron, Portsmouth

Attached to 58th Division (2/1st London) as Divisional Cavalry 

A Squadron joined the 58th (2/1st London) Division at Ipswich on 21 March 1916. In July 1916 it moved with Division to the Sutton Veny area. A Squadron moved independently to La Havre, France, on 20 January 1917, rejoining 58th Division, IX Corps, on 25 January 1917 at Bailleul. 

Attached to IX Corps as Corps Cavalry Regiment to 25 July 1917. 

25 August 1917 Regiment dismounted and went to be trained as infantry. I remember the sorrow with which Leslie remembered and recounted this awful event for a cavalryman.

27 September 1917 (2nd Portsmouth) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment amalgamated with the dismounted 1/1st Hampshire Yeomanry and were renamed 15th (Hampshire Yeomanry) Battalion, at Caestre. Leslie Snelling henceforth became Soldier Number: 204949, Hampshire Regiment.

In November as part of 41st Division, 122nd Brigade, the 15th was ordered to Italy to join the Italian Expeditionary Force (IEF), moving by train to Mantua. The Division took the front line near the River Piave, north west of Treviso. 

1918

In February the 41st Division returned to France and left Campo San Piero, travelling by train to concentrate near Doullens and Mondicourt. The Division took part in the following battles:

The Battle of St Quentin (21-23 March) 

The Battle of Bapaume (24–25 March)

The First Battle of Arras (28 March)

The Battles of the Lys (9-29 April)

The Advance in Flanders

The Fifth Battle of Ypres (28 September - 2 October)

The Battle of Courtrai (14 October-22 October)

The action of Ooteghem (25 October)

The forward units of the Division were at Nederbrakel, Tenbosch and on the line of the River Dender near Grammont at the time of the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Selected to join the Army of Occupation, the Division began to move on 18 December, going via Enghien - Hal - Braine 'Alleud - Sombreffe - Temploux - north of Namur and Huy. On 6 January the move was completed by train and on 12 January the Division took over the left section of the Cologne bridgehead.

Demobilisation began on 15 March 1919. The 41st Division was retitled as the London Division. I believe Leslie stayed with the Regiment throughout the War,  patrolling in England, moving to France and Italy, and probably participating in the Occupation. Family memory suggests he never rose beyond the rank of Corporal.

My brother Clive has kindly collaborated with my mother, Leslie's daughter, Muriel June Davis nee Snelling, to add the following personal details of Leslie's service:

"Ok read it in full - enjoyed it especially the pictures - obviously lost some of the personal touch as you didn't know exactly which Battalions Grandad Snelling served with so difficult to chart his individual progress over the four years. You obviously had to cover all the Hampshire Yeomanry movements which by its nature is a bit dry - never knew about the service in Italy. Mum spoke mostly of his time in Flanders where he was gassed - suffering badly with migranes for the rest of his life. One advance over the top he got stranded in a shell hole with his friend - they were in no man's land and under heavy artillery fire. His friend stated his intention to move forward to another hole and before Grandad could move to join him he took a direct hit and was blown to pieces - when Grandad did try to advance he was shot in the leg by a German sniper - his puttees kept his leg together and helped stem the bleeding- unable to move he waited for nightfall to crawl back to his own lines eventually toppling back into his own trench line he had left some 20 hours previously - he was hospitalised in England and later rejoined his Batallion - I don't know where - his brother Reggie was of course killed by shell fire And his body was never recovered - just part of the awful carnage and misery on the Western front. There are memorials to some of the men and officers of the Hampshire Yeomanry on the Menem Gate at Ypres - this memorial denotes their bodies were never found. Last post is sounded every day at the Gate at 8pm - very moving ongoing tribute and certainly brought a tear to my eyes when I was there. "

Thanks Clive and Mum!

The War history of the other component squadrons is given below.

RHQ, Winchester

B Squadron, Winchester

Attached to  60th Division (2/2nd London) as Divisional Cavalry.

Regimental HQ and B Squadron joined 60th (2/2nd London) Division at Warminster on 26 April 1916. 

14 June 1916 sent advance parties to Le Havre and Boulogne to prepare for the Division to cross to France. The crossing was completed by 29 June 1916 and the Division concentrated in XVII Corps area. Left 60th Division on 8 July 1916. 

RHQ Attached to IX Corps Cavalry
 and 
B Squadron attached to XVII Corps Cavalry. 

Both rejoined Regiment on 25 January 1917.

C Squadron, Southampton

Attached to  61st Division (2nd South Midland) as Divisional Cavalry.

C Squadron joined 61st (2nd South Midland) Division at Ludgershall on 18 March 1916. Left the Division 7 June 1916. Rejoined Regiment 17 June 1916.

D Squadron, Bournemouth

Attached to 1st South Western Mounted Brigade, a Territorial Force brigade already in existence at the outbreak of the war. At the outbreak of the war it was based at Salisbury. The brigade appears to have broken up in 1915 and the Headquarters staff may have been used to form the 2/1st South Western Mounted Brigade.

2/1st Hampshire Yeomanry, Territorial Force

Formed at Winchester in Oct 1914. Joined the 2/1st South Western Mounted Brigade.

The 2/1st Hampshire Yeomanry moved to Ireland and converted to a cyclist unit in 1916.

3/1st Hampshire Yeomanry, Territorial Force

Formed 1915. Joined the 11th Reserve Cavalry Regiment.

3/1st Hampshire Yeomanry stayed in the United Kingdom and converted to infantry at the same time as the first regiment.



Leslie Snelling's military service did not end in 1918. Like many of his generation, he served again from 1939 to 1945 to protect the Homeland as a Home Guardsman, the proverbial "Dad's Army". Here he is with his eldest son, my Uncle David, who himself served as an officer in the Royal Air Force.

Home Guardsman Snelling, "still doing his bit"

1/144th Sopwith Camel Lt Breadner No 3 Naval Sqn 2

 In addition to my Deperdussin TT, I also purchased from Michal Benes on
eBay this Sopwith Camel of Lt Breadner, No 3 Naval Sqn. It is a beautiful SRAM plastic model, very finely detailed and expertly finished by Michal. His work is astounding.

More Shapeways 1/144th 3D prints

Here are a few more of my Shapeways 3D prints. I need to become much more proficient at sharp transitional edges but these are just my first attempts. The F.E. 2b model by designer colinwe is very nice. It will look better when it gets its pilot and Lewis gunner/observer.

F.E.2b

The F.B.5 model by Kampfflieger is a very delicate piece and I should have ordered it in Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD). It was also very difficult to paint but I wanted to see what I could do with it. It needs a lot of cleaning up still.

F.B.5

The Fokker E.III also needs to be printed in FUD. Its a simple model, by Kampfflieger, very similar to the Wings of Glory model by Ares. The engine detail and cowling is a bit crude in WSF.

Fokker E.III

Having experimented now with a few models, I am most pleased with the Handley Page 0/400. It is of a size that the print does it justice. Any scouts will be ordered in FUD in future. I feel more confident now in taking on the SE5a. Given how rare and expensive these are from Wings of War, this seems like the perfect subject for a squadron. 1-144 Direct makes all the decals you will need. 

Handley Page 0/400

Here is my very first attempt to complete a Shapeways 1/144th scale model of a Handley Page 0/400 bomber. This 3D print is by the Shapeways contract designer "Kampfflieger". It was purchased in the material described as "White Strong & Flexible" or WSF, that is, white nylon plastic with a matte finish and slight grainy feel. There are better, more expensive materials in which to print, but for $28.27 I thought this was a good first purchase.

As is written about a lot in the Wings of Glory Aerodrome:

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/content.php

...this WSF material is grainy and absorbs a lot of paint. I did try to follow the advise of the experts and seal the WSF before priming, but I did not seal well enough. However, with enough paint and varnish, I think the finish is acceptable and no worse than the models produced by Ares for Wings of Glory. Since Ares does not produce any British heavy bombers, the Shapeways solution is ideal for someone who does not want to assemble a metal, plastic or resin kit. The Shapeways print is ready to go, apart from detaching the propellors from the model.

The decals come from eBay merchant, 1-144 Direct:

http://stores.ebay.com/1-144-Direct?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

The decals were designed specifically for this model. This was my first time attaching decals but with the help of Micro Set setting solution and Micro Sol setting solution, and a few viewings of the many helpful YouTube videos on the subject, I was able to get the decals in place and molded to the model as promised by Micro Sol. Matt and Rob from 1-144 direct were very helpful with the decals and provide a wide range and great service.

The model is lacking the crew which are on order from Shapeways. The designer Reduced Aircraft Factory has pilots and observers in Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD), described as "Matte translucent plastic that showcases fine and intricate details". I will probably use more FUD in future and in fact ordered some SE5a scouts in this material.

"Wings of War: Flight of the Giants Expansion" contains cards and rules for the heavy bomber forces of several WW1 nations, including the HP 0/400. Bomber bases are available from the Aerodrome store, although they are currently backordered.

Kampfflieger's 1/144 scale model of the Handley Page 0/400 in WSF print

You may notice I'm using a bomber base from the Wings of Glory Gotha model until the actual bases arrive. I must also admit that the "runes" following the "E" plane designation may not be accurate for this model but were supplied on the decal sheet and I thought looked rather good.

So there you have it. I must say I really enjoyed researching this project and completing the model. I hope to become more proficient but it was a very satisfying hobby experience. I 'm convinced that 3D printing is a great way to go for 1/144th scale models.

1/144th Deperdussin TT

Deperdussin TT

I have just ordered this custom built 1/144th scale model from Michal Beneš from the Czech Republic of an early WW1 French Deperdussin TT scout. Michael supplies SRAM 1/144th scale models through his eBay shop and converts some of the models himself with amazing attention to detail. This model is hand-rigged with thin wire. Amazing. The model may be too delicate for our Wings of Glory games, but I wanted to see what could be done with a model this small by an expert.