The Last Cavalryman

Memoirs of a British Dragoon 1927-1944

Roger Holgate

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781036130206
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

In 1927, mounted cavalry was still a powerful and effective force in the mountains and plains of Northern India, where it policed and protected the border of the British Empire. When, in 1939, the world was engulfed in the flames of a second world war, horsed transport was still vital to the success of all armies involved, but the rapid advance of military technology meant that the men of the British Cavalry would have to learn new skills if they were to be effective against the steel monsters that were starting to dominate the battlefield.

From Yorkshire to the Northwest Frontier of India, from France to Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Italy, THE LAST CAVALRYMAN recounts the experiences of an ordinary man who along with so many others, was thrown into the turmoil of an extraordinary time. Although he also served as a hussar, and an infantryman, he was always proud to be a member of The Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons, and this is his story.

Richly illustrated with photographs, maps, and military documents, the memoirs of Quartermaster Sergeant Harry Holgate provide a vivid and fascinating insight into the changing role of a British cavalryman from 1927 to 1944. His letters home offer an intimate glimpse of a time when warfare was changing out of all recognition, and when the cost of defeat would be unimaginable.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Maps
• Preface
• Prologue
• Session 1 The Hussars
• Session 2 Cavalry Training
• Session 3 Afridi Campaign
• Session 4 Sheep’s Eyeballs and a Scuttled Ship
• Session 5 Ghandi, an Air Crash, and the Punkah Wallah
• Session 6 On the Road to Damascus
• Session 7 Peace and War
• Session 8 The Last Cavalryman
• Session 9 A Mysterious Compound and the Ford 6-Tonners
• Session 10 Secrets and Lies
• Session 11 El Alamein
• Session 12 A Chat with the Enemy
• Session 13 The Casualty Clearing Station
• Session 14 Wide-eyed and Almost Legless
• Session 15 Via Dolorosa
• Session 16 Hear All, See All, Say Nowt
• Session 17 The Left Hook
• Session 18 A Wildcat and a Stranded Whale
• Session 19 Artillery Spotter for the Yanks, and the Bouncing Betties
• Session 20 The Anzio Runs and Other Eruptions
• Session 21 The Caesar Line, a Trip to Rome, and a Pig
• Session 22 Florence, Morpeth, and Home
• Appendix I Message from Commander of British Eighth Army
• Appendix II Message from General H R Alexander to Commanding Officer Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons
• Appendix III Army Form of Attestation
• Appendix IV Certificate of Service
• Appendix V Certificate of Transfer to Army Reserve
• Appendix VI Certificate of Discharge
• Appendix VII Educational Attainments, Trade Qualifications, Medals
• Appendix VIII Soldier’s Service Book
• Appendix IX Newspaper Article 28th July 1941
• Appendix X Record of Service
• Appendix XI Standing Orders for Drivers
• Appendix XII Character Reference
• Appendix XIII World War Two Identification Tags
• Appendix XIV Service Medals
• Appendix XV Dried flowers postcard to Julie, sent from Uncle Addy, Jerusalem, November 1942
• Glossary
• Remembrance