The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of the County of London Yeomanry, the WDs fought in the Battle of Gallipoli and led British forces onto the beaches during the Normandy Invasion in 1944. The squadron most recently saw action on Operation Telic for which it was mobilised for the 2003 war in Iraq. Precursors The regiment was first recruited from wealthy merchants and bankers as the London and Westminster Light Horse in 1779. It was disbanded in 1783 but in 1793 the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, proposed that the English Counties form a force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the country. So the regiment was reformed again the following year. The regiment was renamed the Westminster Volunteer Cavalry in 1797. and barracks were built to accommodate the regiment in Gray's Inn Road in 1812. The regiment was disbanded again in 1829 and the barracks were decommissioned in 1830. Imperial Yeomanry Following a string of defeats during Black Week in early December 1899, the British government realised that it would need more troops than just the Regular Army to fight the Second Boer War. On 13 December, the decision to allow volunteer forces to serve in South Africa was made, and a Royal Warrant was issued on 24 December. This officially created the Imperial Yeomanry (IY). The force was organised as county service companies of approximately 115 men signed up for one year, and volunteers from the Yeomanry Cavalry and civilians (usually middle and upper class) quickly filled the new force, which was equipped to operate as Mounted infantry (see dragoon). Second and third contingents were sent out in the following years. One such unit was the 24th (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) Battalion, consisting of 94th, 95th, 96th and 97th (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) Companies raised in London for the second contingent on 30 March 1901. Later in 1901 the 28th (Westminster Dragoons) Battalion, was raised, with 127th–130th (Westminster Dragoons) Companies. In 1901, 16 new IY regiments raised from veterans of the first IY contingent returning from South Africa were added to the