 The units which would become the regiment were first raised in 1819, as independent troops of yeomanry around Lanarkshire.The five existing troops were regimented in 1848 as the Upper Ward and Airdrie Corps of Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry, later retitled as the Lanarkshire Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry.The Yeomanry was not intended to serve overseas, but due to the string of defeats during Black Week in December 1899, the British government realized they were going to need more troops than just the regular army.