1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment

The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence review. The regiment's recruitment area covers the ceremonial counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire; areas near Barnsley are recruitment area for the Rifles.

Formation

The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry. It was formed from the merger of three regular battalions, plus a reserve battalion:

*1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (previously: 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire)
*2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) (previously: 1st Battalion, Green Howards)
*3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's) (previously: 1st Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)
*4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (previously: Prince of Wales's Own company of The East and West Riding Regiment, Green Howards company from the Tyne-Tees Regiment and two companies of The Duke of Wellington's Regiment from The East and West Riding Regiment), all formerly titled and known as The Yorkshire Volunteers.

The regiment was officially formed on 6 June 2006. The reserve " Territorial Army" (as it was then known) battalion re-badged in TA Centres on the same day, but later paraded publicly to re-badge on 10 June 2006 in the Museum Gardens, York. That same afternoon, representatives of the affiliated Army Cadet Forces and Combined Cadet Forces detachments (approx 50) re-badged in Imphal Barracks, York.

The Duke of York was appointed as Colonel-in-Chief and the 8th Duke of Wellington as Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, by the Queen.

The four battalions of the regiment were presented with new Queens and Regimental Colours at a parade in Imphal Barracks, York, to replace the antecedent regiments' former colours, on 18 June 2010. The 'honorary' set of colours carried by the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) was paraded by the battalion. The new colours of all four battalions were later paraded through the streets of York from Cliffords Tower to York Minster.

As part of the Army 2020 reorganisation, in July 2012 an announcement was made that the Yorkshire Regiment would be reduced to two regular battalions, with the 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) disbanded and its soldiers dispersed to the remainder of the regiment on completion of their Cyprus tour in the autumn of 2013.

However, on 25 January 2013 the Colonel of the Regiment, Major General Graham Binns, announced instead a change in the order of battle: the 2nd Battalion was merged into the 1st and 3rd Battalions; the 1st Battalion was then renumbered as the 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion was renumbered as the 1st Battalion. He also announced that they would dispense with the antecedent regiments' historical titles.

On 13 January 2022, the Duke of York returned his military affiliation with the regiment to the Queen.

History

Iraq 2006–2007

The deployment of 1 YORKS (Prince of Wales's Own) Battle Group to Basra, Iraq in November 2006 was the first major operational deployment for the Yorkshire Regiment. A Company, under command of Major Richard Hall were based initially in Basra Palace with responsibility from Abu Al Kasib to the whole Al-Faw Peninsula, before moving to Shaibah Logistics Base and being charged with handing over security responsibilities of the base to the Iraqi Army. B Company, under command of Major Dan Bradbury, were based in Shiaba Logistics Base and had responsibility for Az Zubayr, whilst C Company were detached to 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in the COB. During Op Telic 9 Private Luke Simpson of A Company, from Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, was killed, becoming the regiment's first operational fatality. Two members of the 1st Battalion, Major Ian Crowley of C Company, of Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire and Captain Ibrar Ali of A Company, were awarded the Military Cross.

Afghanistan 2007–2008

The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) of the regiment were deployed to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in September, 2007 in an ' Operational Mentoring and Liaison' role with the Afghan National Army. Whilst there they took part in the Battle of Musa Qala during which Sgt Lee Johnson was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, in the lead up to the operation to retake the town from the Taliban forces, after his Vector armoured vehicle ran over a landmine. Sgt Johnson had previously received a MID for assisting his company commander, Major Jake Little, in extracting soldiers who were surrounded by Taliban fighters. Major Little was later awarded a Military Cross for his "inspirational leadership" to extract his men. Acting Sergeant John Cockburn was also awarded a Military Cross for his actions in the same tour of duty.

The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) returned to their barracks in Weeton, Lancashire during April, 2008 and were presented with their service medals at a parade there on 30 April 2008 by Major General Andrew Farquhar, Honorary Colonel of the Battalion, along with Brigadier Andrew Mackay, of 52 Infantry Brigade, and Brigadier Mike Griffiths, of 42 (North West) Brigade.

Kosovo 2008–2009

B Company Group of 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) deployed for six-months on Op OCULUS(K) as the last UK Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Task Force (ISR TF). They presided over the immediate aftermath of the Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Iraq 2008–2009

In November 2008, elements of the 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own) redeployed to Iraq on Op Telic 13. In May 2009, 'A Company' of the 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) handed over their Iraq British military HQ protection duties, in Baghdad, to Alma Company of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's). Alma Company were subsequently amongst the last British soldiers to leave Iraq at the end of July 2009.

Afghanistan 2009–2010

Over 130 members of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) deployed in July 2009 as Battle Casualty Replacements to various other British regiments in Helmand Province. Burma Company of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) deployed to Afghanistan in August 2009 and were then followed by members of Corunna Company. 18-year-old Pte Jonathon Young, of Burma Company, was killed by an Improvised explosive device in Sangin, on Thursday 20 August, three weeks after arriving in Afghanistan. A serjeant, from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, 29-year-old Serjeant Paul McAleese, was killed when he went to the assistance of Pte Young.

On 1 February 2010, 22-year-old Corporal Liam Riley, of Sheffield, and 27-year-old Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, of Golcar in Huddersfield were killed by separate IED's, Malgir, near Gereshk in Helmand Province, whilst on base security foot patrols. Both soldiers, from Corunna Company of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's), were attached to the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, as Battle Casualty Replacements. Prince Harry had trained with Cpl Riley at Suffield in Canada and paid tribute to him in a news release.

The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards), plus 60 members of the 4th Battalion, deployed with 11th Light Brigade in September 2009 for a seven-month posting in Op Herrick XI as the OMLT Battle Group. Their actions featured in a series of Newsnight programmes shown both during the deployment and after their return, which focused on OMLT 2 in Sangin under Major Rob Palfrey. Two members of the Battalion were awarded the Military Cross, Lieutenant Colin Lunn of Doncaster, and Acting Corporal Andrew Wardle of Hetton-le-Hole in Sunderland. In addition, Sergeant John Swithenbank and Corporal John Hardman received the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

On 23 June 2010, 26-year-old Lance Corporal David Ramsden of Otley, who was serving with the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, was killed. The NCO from 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) was serving as part of the Police Advisory Team which was tasked to respond to an incident at a checkpoint near Gereshk in Helmand Province, when the Ridgeback armoured vehicle he was travelling in rolled into a waterway. He was killed alongside colleagues Colour Sergeant Martyn Simon Horton, Private Douglas Niall Halliday and Private Alex Isaac.

Afghanistan 2011–2012

In October 2011, 500 members of the 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) were deployed to Helmand province in Afghanistan for a six-month tour in support of the 20th Armoured Brigade, their first deployment to Afghanistan as a complete battalion. The battalion was split up for the deployment, with A Company working with 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, B and C Companies with the Danish Army, and the Brigade Headquarters providing staff for Headquarters Task Force Helmand. 1 YORKS soldiers formed the Brigade Reconnaissance Force with members of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. Soldiers from 1st Battalion were reported to have been involved in 'high tempo' patrol operations alongside the Afghanistan police force. B Company serving as part of the Danish Battle Group in the Nahr-e Saraj (North) area of operations, patrolled aggressively into several contested areas. On 1 December 2011 the Battalion was involved in a dawn raid on a suspected IED factory. On 1 January 2012 Private John King was killed in an explosion while on a foot patrol in Nahr-e Saraj, on 27 January Lance Corporal Gajbahadur Gurung of the Royal Gurkha Rifles was killed while serving with 1 YORKS in the Nahr-e Saraj district.

On 6 March 2012, six members of Corunna company, 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) were killed in the Lashkar Gah Durai region after their Warrior Armoured vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

On 29 April 2012, the 3 YORKS Battle Group took over responsibility of Nahr-e Saraj (South), Helmand province from the 5th Battalion, the Rifles. On the 3 June 2012 Private Gregg Thomas Stone of Burma Company, 3 YORKS was killed in Nahr-e Saraj during an operation to apprehend a group of insurgents who had abducted a member of the Afghan Police. On 15 September 2012, Sergeant Gareth Thursby and Private Thomas Wroe of the 3rd Battalion were killed in Nahr-e Saraj by a rogue Afghan police officer.

Kenya 2013

In February 2013, 16 soldiers serving with the reconnaissance platoon of 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own), staged a mutiny whilst on a training exercise in Kenya. Led by Corporal Anthony Brown, they staged a sit down strike in front of 1,000 people. Each soldier refused to stand up when individually commanded to do so. As they went through their drills, a ringleader shouted 'sit down' and the dissenters dropped to ground. Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored. The soldiers had clashed with their newly appointed commanding officers whom they accused of excessive drinking, complaining they were "being led by muppets". At courts martial, in December 2013, the soldiers pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful command. Cpl Brown was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment and a dishonourable discharge. The prosecutor, Col. Clive Whitwham, said: 'There was a feeling they were not being appreciated, that they were not being well managed. 'The platoon was said to have worked well in Afghanistan. There was said to have been a perception that they had got a little too big for their boots.'
The soldiers defence Jonathan Lynch, said: 'This is not a case of inflated egos but a case of mismanagement.' Two lance corporals were reduced to the rank of private, with 60 days imprisonment and the Private soldiers were each given 40 days imprisonment.

Regimental Battalion changes, July 2013

The 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) laid up its Regulation Colours on 20 July 2013, at Halifax Minster, following a series of 'Freedom Parades' during the preceding week. On 25 July there was a parade at the 3rd Battalion barracks, in Warminster, the Colonel in Chief, the Duke of York, exchanged the Colours between the Battalions.

Iraq 2014

In October 2014 the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that a team of about a dozen soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment's 2nd Battalion were training Kurdish forces in Iraq fighting Islamic State militants to use UK-supplied heavy machine guns.

Experimental unit

Following the Army 2020 Refine, 2 YORKS was converted to a 'Enhanced Light Force Battalion', part of a 120 million pound three-year programme. The battalion will help spearhead the British Army's transformation into the 'Future Soldier' programme relating to the Light Infantry. 1 YORKS continues to convert to the Boxer MIV, and then form part of the new 'Experimentation Battlegroup'.

Current battalion roles

1st Battalion

The 1st Battalion (abbreviated 1 ), is based at Catterick Garrison. The battalion is a light mechanised infantry battalion deployed as part of 7th Infantry Brigade.

2nd Battalion

The 2nd Battalion (2 ), is based in Episkopi, Cyprus. The battalion is an 'Enhanced Light Role Infantry battalion' deployed as part of 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East.

4th Battalion

The 4th Battalion (4 ), is the Army Reserve battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. The battalion headquarters is in Worsley Barracks, York and forms part of 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East. The battalion operates from Army Reserve Centres across the regimental footprint with companies dispersed in Barnsley, Beverley, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Sheffield and York.

Regimental museum

The York Army Museum (for the Royal Dragoon Guards, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Regiment) is based at the Tower Street drill hall in York.

Yorkshire Regiment beer

On St George's Day 23 April 2008, Paul and Phil Lee, the owners of the Cropton Brewery & New Inn, released a new beer called Yorkshire Warrior. The beer, which is only available in eight North Yorkshire pubs, was produced to celebrate the proud achievements of the regiment and to commemorate the sacrifices the soldiers and families of the regiment have endured.

York Medal

Each year, the regiment awards the York Medal to the individual who has contributed the most to the aims of the regiment over the course of the previous year, with notable recipients including Captain Tom Moore.

Freedom awards

Freedoms awarded to the Yorkshire Regiment (including those carried through from the antecedent regiments) include the following:
*Cities: Bradford, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, York and Wakefield.
*Towns and districts: Barnsley, Beverley (East Riding of Yorkshire), Bridlington (East Riding of Yorkshire), Halifax (Calderdale), Harrogate, Huddersfield (Kirklees), Keighley, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond, Rotherham, Scarborough, Skipton (Craven District), Stockton on Tees and Warminster.

The regiment also holds the distinction of having the freedom of Erquinghem-Lys, France, which was passed on from the freedom awarded to the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) in November 2005. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) were also awarded the Freedom of Mossley, on 8 July 1967.

On 3 August 2009, Rotherham, South Yorkshire became the first town to bestow the 'Freedom of the Borough' on the Yorkshire Regiment. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. At a ceremony outside the Town Hall the regiment paraded two guards of soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq, and the colours of the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), led by the Kings Division Band, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vallings, the Battalion commanding officer. The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali, on behalf of the Borough, presented the Freedom Scroll to Colonel Simon Newton, who accepted the honour for the Regiment.

On 8 September 2013 the regiment was given the Freedom of Barnoldswick, Lancashire during a rededication ceremony of the town's war memorial, when 46 new names from the two world wars were added.

The regiment was awarded the Freedom of Warminster, Wiltshire on its return from Afghanistan following their homecoming parade on 30 November 2012.

Battle honours

Including those inherited from preceding units:
*Nine Years' War
: Namur 1695
* War of the Spanish Succession
: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenaarde, Malplaquet
* War of the Austrian Succession
: Louisburg, Dettingen
* Seven Years' War
:Quebec 1759, Martinique 1762, Havannah
*American War of Independence
:St Lucia 1778, Martinique 1794 and 1809
* War of the First Coalition
: Tournay, Belle Isle
* Second Anglo-Maratha War
:Hindoostan, Mysore, Ally Ghur, Delhi 1803, Leswaree, Deig
* Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
: Seringapatam
* Napoleonic Wars
: Corunna, Nive, Peninsula, Guadaloupe 1810, Waterloo
*Jat War 1825–26
: Siege of Bhurtpore 1825-26 (Bharatpur)
* Crimean War
:Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Abyssinia
* New Zealand Wars
:New Zealand,
* Second Anglo-Afghan War
: Tirah, Afghanistan 1879–80
* Second Boer War
: Relief of Ladysmith, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeburg, South Africa 1900–02
* First World War
:Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Battle of the Marne 1914 and 1918, Aisne 1914

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