The Hull Rifles, later the 4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, was a unit of Britain's
Volunteer Force
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
first raised in
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
in 1859. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
it served on the Western front, seeing a great deal of action at
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
, the Somme (where it was one of the first infantry units ever to cooperate with tanks),
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, and in the German spring offensive, when it was virtually destroyed. Its 2nd Line battalion garrisoned
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
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, subdivision_name =
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for much of the war. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the 4th Battalion was captured at the
Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...
, but its wartime duplicate unit fought on through the Western Desert,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
D Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
. The battalion served in the postwar Territorial Army until 1960, and its successors in today's
Army Reserve
A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
continue in Hull.
Volunteer Force
The enthusiasm for the
Volunteer movement
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in time of need. A public meeting to form an RVC in
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
(Hull) in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
was held in February 1859, but the proposal was defeated by an active minority on political grounds. However, another meeting held on 21 May resolved to raise the East Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers, and 10 independent company-sized RVCs were quickly formed, their officers receiving their commissions the following year. In March 1860 these were formed into two battalions: the 1st (Consolidated) Battalion, known as the 'Hull Rifles' comprised all the RVCs in Hull, while the 2nd (Administrative) Battalion incorporated those outside the town. The 1st (Consolidated) Bn was organised as follows:''Army List'', various dates.Frederick, p. 181.Norfolk, pp. 35–40, 56.Westlake, pp. 253–4.
* 1st Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 9 November 1859, became A Company
* 2nd Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 24 November 1859, became B Company
* 3rd Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 24 November 1859, became C Company
* 4th Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 5 January 1860, became D Company
* 7th Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 3 March 1860, became E Company
* 9th Yorkshire (East Riding) RVC, raised 12 May 1860, became F Company
The first commanding officer (CO) of the 1st (Consolidated) Battalion, appointed on 11 August 1860, was
Lieutenant-Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
beliefs. He had an interest in the Cyclops Foundry, the premises of which the unit used for drills. By the end of 1860 the battalion had eight companies. In 1864 the battalion opened a dedicated drill hall, named
Londesborough Barracks
Londesborough Barracks is a military installation in Kingston upon Hull, England.
History
The building was designed as the headquarters of the 1st Yorkshire (East Riding) Rifle Volunteer Corps and was completed in 1864. The barracks were name ...
Earl of Londesborough
Baron Londesborough, of Londesborough in the East Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1850 for the diplomat and Whig politician Lord Albert Denison. He was the third son of Henry Co ...
Cardwell Reforms
The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...
of 1872, Volunteers were grouped into county brigades with their local Regular and
Militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
battalions – Brigade No 6 (East Riding of Yorkshire) in Northern District with the 15th Foot for the two East Riding Battalions. The
Childers Reforms
The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms.
The reorganisation was ...
of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, when the 15th Foot became the
East Yorkshire Regiment
The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
and the Volunteers were formally affiliated to it. The Consolidated and Administrative battalions of East Yorkshire RVCs were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions (VBs) of the regiment on 1 May 1883.
While the sub-districts were referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system. From the 1870s to the 1890s the two East Yorkshire VBs organised their own annual training camps, usually at
Bridlington
Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...
. Higher formations for the Volunteers were lacking, but following the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 a comprehensive mobilisation scheme was introduced for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training. The two East Yorkshire VBs did not at first form part of the East Yorkshire Brigade, whose designated place of assembly was
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, but were attached to it by the end of the 1890s when its headquarters was at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
. By 1902 they were brigaded with the VBs of the
Green Howards
The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...
as the Yorkshire Brigade at
Richmond, Yorkshire
Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...
, and later formed the Humber Brigade based at Beverley, together with battalions from the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
and from
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
across the
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...
.
The late Victorian era saw a craze for cycling and the Volunteer Force took a leading role in developing the new bicycle for military use. In 1893 the two VBs raised a cyclist section that proved so popular that it was enlarged into a full company.
Hymers College
Hymers College is a co-educational independent day school in Kingston upon Hull, located on the site of the old Botanical Gardens. It is one of the leading schools in the East Riding of Yorkshire and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistres ...
in Hull formed a
Cadet Corps
A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...
in 1900, which was affiliated to the 1st VB until 1908, when it joined the junior division of the
Officer Training Corps
The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...
.
South Africa
After
Black Week
Black Week refers to the week of 10–17 December 1899 during the Second Boer War, when the British Army suffered three devastating defeats by the Boer Republics at the battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso. In total, 2,776 British s ...
in December 1899, the Volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the Regulars in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
. The
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
decided that one company 110 strong could be recruited from the volunteer battalions of any infantry regiment that had a regular battalion serving in South Africa. The two VBs accordingly raised a service company under Major Mortimer to serve with the 2nd Battalion. This earned both VBs the
Battle Honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...
(TF) under the
Haldane Reforms
The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...
The 4th East Yorkshires under the command of Lt-Col G.H. Shaw left Hull for their annual training on 26 July 1914. They went into camp at Deganwy in North Wales but on 3 August they were hurriedly called back to Hull and dismissed their homes to await mobilisation. War was declared on 4 August and the battalion mobilised next day at Londesborough Barracks, taking only 11 hours to complete the process. That night the battalion marched out to its designated war stations, occupying defensive positions in South
Holderness
Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...
. Its strength was 840 men, to which 150 members of the National Reserve were quickly added, equipped and clothed.James, p. 59.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service: 84 per cent of 4th East Yorkshires volunteered. On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix, and would be filled up with the recruits who were flooding in. Later 3rd Line units were formed to supply drafts to the others. However, the 4th East Yorkshires had to compete with other units being formed in Hull, particularly the ' Hull Pals', a full brigade of whom were raised for ' Kitchener's Army' by Lord Nunburnholme.
1/4th Battalion
The Northumbrian Division became part of
Central Force
In classical mechanics, a central force on an object is a force that is directed towards or away from a point called center of force.
: \vec = \mathbf(\mathbf) = \left\vert F( \mathbf ) \right\vert \hat
where \vec F is the force, F is a vecto ...
in Home Defence, tasked with manning the Tyne Defences, so after some days digging trenches in South Holderness 4th East Yorkshires moved to
Hummersknott
Hummersknott is an area in the western end of Darlington, County Durham England. It is a ward in the unitary authority of Darlington. It consists of mainly post-war houses, and is closely linked to Mowden. The population of the ward taken at ...
Park, near
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
to join the York & Durham Brigade. In mid-October it moved again, to
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. It was not until November that the Home Service and unfit men were separated into the 2/4th Battalion, and that battalion's staff returned to Londesborough Barracks to begin training the recruits.Wyrall, ''East Yorkshires'', p. 21.
While working on the Tyne Defences, the Northumbrian Division was also undergoing battle training. In April 1915 it was warned for overseas service with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and on 16 April its units began to entrain for the embarkation ports. 1/4th East Yorkshires landed at
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
the following day.
Second Battle of Ypres
The Northumbrian Division completed its concentration in the
Steenvoorde
Steenvoorde () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Once part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Low Countries, Steenvoorde was the site of the beginning of the Beeldenstorm, or " Iconoclastic Fury." Today the city is known for ...
area on 23 April, and went into action the very next day during the
Second Battle of Ypres
During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...
. The York and Durham Brigade went by motor bus to
Poperinghe
Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ; vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...
, where they debussed and marched to camp at Vlamertinghe. They were turned out at 01.00 on 24 April and marched to take over trenches astride the
Yser Canal
The Ieperlee (or ''Ypres-Ijzer Canal'') is a canalized river that rises in Heuvelland in the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows via the city of Ypres (Ieper) into the Yser at Fort Knokke.
The river is long. Its name is derived from ''ie ...
, where they came under shellfire at first light, 1/4th East Yorkshires losing their first casualties of the war. During the morning the battalion was shifted again, to a position near Potijze Château, where they dug in again. Meanwhile, the Canadian Division were coming under heavy pressure (the beginning of the
Battle of St Julien
During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...
). Finally, at 15.00 the tired battalion was ordered out to support a counter-attack by the Canadians and the 1/4th Green Howards of the York & Durham Bde (the Canadians were not informed of these two battalions' involvement). The battalion moved up into a small wood and waited alongside the Canadian artillery under shellfire while the attack developed. Shortly after 17.00 the battalion was ordered to attack towards St Julien and advanced in 'artillery formation', with two platoons of D Company in front, led by Lt-Col Shaw. On reaching Bridge House the battalion swung north towards St Julien; it now came under heavy rifle and machine gun fire and was swept by
Shrapnel shell
Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almo ...
s and heavy howitzer shells. Eye-witnesses described the tired and hungry battalion behaving 'as if they were doing an attack practice in peace'. At and again at the men opened rifle fire on the enemy, with little apparent effect. Coming upon a road the battalion could advance no further against the hostile fire, and took cover. Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw had been killed by a rifle bullet during the advance, and the CO of the Green Howards took over both battalions. The East Yorkshires were ordered to stay where they were until nightfall; they saw no sign of the Canadians who were supposed to be in St Julien, but their rifle fire combined with the Canadian artillery broke up a German attack from the village, and neither side held it at the end of the day. 1/4th East Yorkshires was permitted to withdraw after dark; in its first action the battalion had lost three officers and 12 other ranks killed, 66 wounded and 17 missing, of whom 10 were known to be wounded.
Next morning the 1/4th Bn took over some support trenches in the 'GHQ Line', where it was shelled all day, before being withdrawn during the night to march through the ruins of
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
to a rest camp west of the town. Two days later they went back into the line, supporting 4th Division in a succession of poor trenches under intermittent shellfire. The Battle of St Julien continued for several more days, with the
Ypres Salient
The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War.
Ypres district
Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...
becoming an increasingly dangerous position. On 2 and 3 May the Northumbrian Division was involved in a general withdrawal to a more defensible line. On 4 May the battalion settled into bivouacs near Steenvoorde, having suffered 33 killed and 58 wounded since 1 May.
1/4th East Yorkshires were at Steenvoorde in general reserve when the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge began on 8 May, but at 16.00 on 9 May motor buses arrived to take the battalion to Vlamertinghe, where three companies were hurriedly put into the line near the Yser Canal, with the other company in support. On 12 May Lt-Col H.R. Beddoes of the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers
The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas. The Regiment was created by the amalgamation of two Brit ...
arrived to take command of the battalion. On 14 May the division officially became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and the York and Durham Brigade became 150th (York and Durham) Brigade.
For the next 10 days the line was quiet but on 24 May the Germans launched another serious attack (the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge). 50th (N) Division had been split up to reinforce other formations and 1/4th East Yorkshires was assigned to 1st Cavalry Bde south of Hooge and the Menin Road. D Company on the right was attached to the
5th Dragoon Guards
The 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards was a British army cavalry regiment, officially formed in January 1686 as Shrewsbury's Regiment of Horse. Following a number of name changes, it became the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) ...
, B to the
Queen's Bays
The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse.
Renamed several t ...
and C to the
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
, with C in reserve in
Sanctuary Wood
Sanctuary Wood is an area east of Ypres, Belgium which was the site of fighting on the Ypres Salient in World War I.
Memorials
* Hill 62 Memorial
* Sanctuary Wood Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
* Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62
See al ...
. At 03.00 a massive
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
release allowed the Germans to break through the line held by 2nd Cavalry Bde and the rest of 150th Bde. Number 11 Platoon of C Company was hurried into the wreckage of Zouave Wood on the left, where
9th Lancers
The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...
held firm. During the day the rest of A and C Companies were moved left to consolidate this flank guard by digging a trench between the Lancers' fire (front) trench and support trench. By the end of the day that part of the line had quietened down and the cavalry had been relieved, leaving 1/4th East Yorkshires and 1/4th Green Howards in the line. When the battalion was relieved on 2/3 June its strength was down to 19 officers and 490 other ranks.
Over the following month 50th (N) Division was concentrated and took over its own section of the line south of Sanctuary Wood. By the end of July the division had moved to the
Armentières
Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud).
Geogra ...
sector (with 1/4th East Yorkshires billeted in the lunatic asylum). The division stayed in this quiet sector until mid-November, when it moved to
Merris
Merris () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
It is about west-northwest of Armentières, and about north of Béthune.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 648 communes of ...
. On 21 July Maj
Cyril Deverell
Field Marshal Sir Cyril John Deverell (9 November 1874 – 12 May 1947) was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, from 1936 to 1937. Prior to his becoming CIGS, ...
,
Brigade major
A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...
of 85th Bde, arrived as acting CO of 1/4th East Yorkshires, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in August; he left in October to command 20th Bde and was succeeded in November by Lt-Col W.T Wilkinson.
In December 1915 the division returned to the Ypres Salient, in the Hill 60–Mount Sorrel sector, in appalling conditions. In January 1916 the battalion machine-gun sections were withdrawn to form brigade machine gun companies of the
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...
, but Lewis guns began to be issued to the infantry battalions. There was almost constant low-level fighting: on 14 February the enemy began a heavy bombardment of 150th Bde's trenches opposite Hill 60 where 1/4th East Yorkshires held the left of the brigade's line, followed by blowing of mines. On 2 March an attack to recover The Bluff near Hill 60 was supported by intense fire from 50th (N) Division's line. 150th Brigade was relieved at the end of March 1916 and the division moved to the
Wytschaete
Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated r ...
sector. Here there were regular casualties from enemy shellfire and gas attacks, particularly on the night of 16/17 March when the battalion lost 89 casualties during a 2-minute cloud gas attack. Meanwhile, the division carried out a number of raids on enemy lines. The division was withdrawn from Wytschaete in August 1916 and sent to the Somme sector.
Somme
After training, 50th (N) Division moved into the line on 9/10 September ready to participate in the
Battle of Flers–Courcelette
The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War. ...
on 15 September; however, 1/4th East Yorkshires lost 11 killed and 51 wounded to enemy shellfire between 9 and 13 September. During the night of 14/15 September the battalion moved into Swansea Trench. The artillery had been bombarding the enemy lines for three days; at Zero hour the guns would commence firing a
Creeping barrage
In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
, which 150th Bde would follow. 1/4th East Yorkshires was the right-hand battalion of the brigade, tasked with seizing and holding the Starfish Line. The battalion formed up in four lines of three platoons from B, C and D Companies, while A Company provided carrying parties in the rear. The attack was preceded by two Mark I tanks, making their first appearance on the battlefield. The tanks, D24 and D25, crossed Swansea Trench at 06.03 and began making their forward through lanes left in the barrage. At 06.15 they crossed the rise over which the East Yorkshires were to attack, and at 06.20 (Zero) the battalion began its advance. D24 ('Male', equipped with two 6-pounder guns) straddled the first objective (Switch Trench) and subjected the defenders to
enfilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
fire, while D25 ('Female', with four
Vickers machine gun
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
s) moved on to do the same at Hook Trench, causing the Germans to flee. 150th Brigade sent many frightened prisoners back to the British lines without escort. 1/4th East Yorkshires reached Switch trench without difficulty in 10 minutes, and B and D Companies advanced to Hook Trench. The tanks moved on again at Zero + 40 minutes (07.00). D24 was then hit by two shells, one of which disabled a track, so the crew disembarked with their Hotchkiss light machine guns and joined the infantry. D25 continued to a sunken road, and after another pause resumed its advance along the edge of
Martinpuich
Martinpuich is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Martinpuich is situated south of Arras, near the junction of the D929 and the D6 roads.
Population
Places of interest
* The church ...
, silencing German machine guns, before returning to refuel. However, 149th (Northumberland) Bde to the right had been less successful, and with its flank exposed 1/4th East Yorkshires had been unable to get beyond Martin Trench, reporting the Starfish Line to be full of German troops. Next morning 150th Bde made another attempt on the Starfish Line, with B and D Companies attacking, but with their flank still open they were pinned down between Martin and Starfish, and the whole brigade was shelled all day. 1/4th East Yorkshires were withdrawn during the night of 16/17 September. The battalion had losses of 32 killed, 205 wounded and 13 missing, leaving a front line strength of just 14 officers and 373 other ranks. Even when the companies rejoined the rest of the battalion in the transport lines, it only amounted to 18 officers and 457 other ranks.
50th (N) Division made further piecemeal advances during the
Battle of Morval
The Battle of Morval, 25–28 September 1916, was an attack during the Battle of the Somme by the British Fourth Army (United Kingdom), Fourth Army on the villages of Morval, Pas-de-Calais, Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs, Lesbœufs held by th ...
(25–28 September), with 1/4th East Yorkshires in support for a night attack by 150th Bde on 26/27 September. The brigade was relieved on 28 September and was in reserve when 50th (N) Division made another setpiece attack at the Battle of the Transloy Ridges on 1 October, but 1/4th East Yorkshires were driven out of their trenches by German shellfire. In October the battalion was pulled out of the line for training, and then for work details under
9th (Scottish) Division
The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War.
A ...
, followed by a winter of trench-holding in dreadful conditions.
Arras
At the end of March 1917 50th (N) Division left the Somme and moved north to the
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
sector, where a new offensive was being planned. Part of the division was engaged in the
First Battle of the Scarpe
The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the Wes ...
, but 1/4th East Yorkshires did not go into the line until 15 April, when they moved up from Arras in support. The battalion led the division's attack at the Second Battle of the Scarpe, which began on 23 April. The 1/4th East Yorkshires and 1/4th Green Howards went forward at Zero hour (04.45) with 'great dash', supported by tanks of A Section, 10 Company, D Battalion, Tank Corps. The infantry got too close to their own barrage, which was creeping forward too slowly. Despite serious casualties, especially among officers, they captured the first objective (the Blue Line) on time, apart from the centre, where a party of the enemy held out in a copse on the Chérisy–
Guémappe
Guémappe () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
A small farming village situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D34 and the D38 roads.
History
First noted as ''Gammapiu ...
road. However, A Company took the copse by 08.00 with the help of tank D3, and dug in on its eastern side. A mixed party of D, A and B companies captured a battery of German 7.7 cm field guns near the copse. By now the battalion only had three officers and 200 men in the line, with their flanks 'in the air', and were almost surrounded when the German counter-attacks began. The battalion was forced back to its starting line, the captured guns lost, though they had already sent back some hundreds of German prisoners. The second tank (D4, 'Diana') covered the retirement with its 6-pdr guns until repeatedly hit by anti-tank rifles and set on fire. The objectives were retaken by a follow-up attack by 50th (N) Division later in the day. The battalion's losses in this action were 17 officers and 352 other ranks. The remnants marched back to Arras and reorganised as two companies.Wyrall, ''East Yorkshires'', pp. 246–7.
50th (N) Division was pulled back into reserve in May 1917, and then returned to trench-holding in June. 1/4th East Yorkshires absorbed reinforcements and resumed its four-company organisation. On 26/27 June it was in support for a minor attack, and C Company and a platoon of D Company took over the captured line at dusk on 27 June. However, the Germans put down a heavy bombardment at 07.00 the next morning, which continued all day until they counter-attacked at 16.30. By then C Company had lost 75 per cent of its men, and it and the D Company platoon were forced back. The line was strengthened by other troops, but 1/4th East Yorkshires had lost 106 officers and men, killed, wounded and missing. Although it was not involved in the early stages of the Flanders Offensive (the
Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
), there was active
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
along the division's front throughout the summer, with trench raiding and gas attacks. In October the division was relieved and after 10 days' training at
Achiet-le-Petit
Achiet-le-Petit () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
A farming village located 13 miles (21 km) south of Arras, at the D27 and D9 road junction.
History
* In 1700, Charles Jacques Adrien de Mullet, ...
it moved to the Ypres sector.
Passchendaele
The Ypres Offensive had become bogged down in mud, and the BEF was making desperate efforts to capture the drier Passchendaele Ridge before winter. A fresh attack (the
Second Battle of Passchendaele
The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, bet ...
) was launched on 26 October. 1/4th East Yorkshires was in reserve, but the attacking brigade of 50th (N) Division was unable to advance at all through the mud against concrete pillboxes. On thenight of 30/31 October 1/4th East Yorkshires made another attempt. The battalion formed up in front of the British line (merely a series of outposts in shell holes) ready to advance towards a notional semi-circular line some ahead running between 'Turenne Crossing' and 'Colombo House'. A and B Companies were to advance in the centre, with C and D Companies forming flank guards. The battalion advanced behind a barrage at 02.00, the centre companies immediately encountering fierce machine gun fire in the bright moonlight. A and B Companies were held up, but managed to establish a line of outposts some short of the objective. They held on until they were relieved at 08.00, returning to their camp at Marouin Farm, having lost 7 killed and 30 wounded in this minor affair. The battalion spent November providing working parties for road repair.
Spring Offensive
During the winter of 1917–18 50th (N) Division spent some time in the line, interspersed with training. By mid-March it had been transferred to GHQ Reserve in the Amiens area, 20–25 miles behind the lines. 1/4th East Yorkshires was still one-third under strength, but had been reinforced to 22 officers and 660 other ranks. The German spring offensive opened on 21 March 1918 (the Battle of St Quentin) and the division was urgently called forward to be deployed along the Rear Zone defences or 'Green Line'. There they attempted to improve the partially-dug trenches before the troops retreating from the German advance passed through them late on 22 March. That evening the 1/4th Green Howards were driven out of the Green Line, leaving 1/4th East Yorkshires in a precarious position with the enemy in their right rear. The attack ceased at nightfall and 150th Bde ordered the battalion to pull back to Vraignes. Later that night the decision was made to withdraw the whole division west of the Somme during the night, but these orders were late reaching the battalion, which had to fight a rearguard action the following morning as the enemy advanced with motor machine guns through the morning mist, B Company being cut off. The battalion retired through a heavy barrage and the survivors (14 officers and 332 other ranks) scrambled across the bridge at
Brie
Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...
just before it was blown up.
150th Brigade was next attached to
8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
* 8th Division (Australia)
* 8th Canadian Infantry Division
* 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China)
* 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...
to defend the Somme Crossings at Éterpigny. The exhausted men were sent cross-country with their Lewis guns, limbers and water carts to join 24th Bde. There was no fighting on this front on 24 March, and the battalion snatched some sleep in an abandoned Casualty Clearing Station, but the enemy were across the river at Épénancourt and 1/4th East Yorkshires and 1/4th Green Howards were detailed to drive them out at 05.00 next morning. The battalions marched through the night to Licourt to prepare for this attack, but it was called off when the enemy broke through near Licourt. 1/4th East Yorkshires launched A Company in a counter-attack carried out 'with great gallantry', but it was unsuccessful, and the two battalions fell back . At 20.30 on 25 March orders arrived to withdraw further to a line of trenches at Ablaincourt. A Company was still missing, and the whole of 150th Bde was so weak that it was formed into a composite battalion under the command of Lt-Col W.T. Wilkinson of 1/4th East Yorkshires.
On the morning of 26 March the Germans renewed their attacks, bringing on the
Battle of Rosières
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. 50th (N) Division was under instructions to fall back if attacked in strength, and orders for 150th Bde to retire arrived at 08.00, coinciding with the attack. But the formation to the right went back more quickly, leaving the flank open; this made the brigade's retirement difficult, and 1/4th East Yorkshires lost nearly the whole of C Company. Luckily, the enemy were feeling their way forward across difficult country and it was not until 22.00 that they attacked the East Yorkshires in their new positions. The attack was repulsed, but Lt-Col Wilkinson was wounded. The battalion remained in position on 27 March, while the detached A Company joined with some reinforcements to put in a 'brilliant' counter-attack. Another attack was driven off in the evening, then at dawn on 28 March 1/4th East Yorkshires was ordered to pull back into reserve. The retirement continued by bounds during the next two days, with long marches. By 30 March the 150th Bde Composite Battalion under Capt C.T.A. Pollock of 1/4th East Yorkshires, operating under 20th (Light) Division, was holding on in a wood on the
Moreuil
Moreuil () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Moreuil is situated on the D920 and D935 crossroads, some southeast of Amiens, on the banks of the river Avre. Moreuil station has rail connectio ...
Canadian Cavalry Brigade
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first commanding officer Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British regiments and an attached artillery battery. The Canadian u ...
captured Moreuil Wood, but the enemy still held Demiun. In the evening Pollock organised a counter-attack with support from a battery of field artillery and by some machine guns. Pollock and Captains Barr and Ruthven of 1/4th East Yorkshires led the attack, which cleared the woods at bayonet point, taking 73 German prisoners and re-establishing the line south of the River Luce. The composite battalion repulsed another counter-attack next morning, before falling back to Domart, where the remnants of 50th (N) Division were relieved and the retreat ended. Captain Pollock was killed in this final retirement, and the 1/4th East Lancashire marched out on 1 April with just three officers and 36 other ranks; 30 more who had been separated during the retreat caught up with them in camp.
Battle of Estaires
Out of the line the 50th (N) Division reorganised, absorbing large numbers of inexperienced reinforcements, and by 9 April 1/4th East Yorkshires had 16 officers and 639 other ranks under the command of Maj Jackson. The division was due to relieve the 2nd Portuguese Division in front of
Estaires
Estaires (; vls, Stegers) is a commune in the Nord department of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
The town gives its name to a type of chicken bred in the area: the Estaires chicken.
Geography
Estaires is located in French Fla ...
that night, but the second phase of the German Spring Offensive (
Operation Georgette
The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as O ...
) was launched at 07.00 (the
Battle of Estaires
The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as O ...
) and broke through the Portuguese positions. 50th (N) Division was 'stood to' as soon as the German bombardment began, and the battalion marched off to take up a defensive position at Trou Bayard, about north-east of Estaires; it was then moved up to hold the line of the
River Lys
The Lys () or Leie () is a river in France and Belgium, and a left-bank tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is .
Historically a very pollute ...
, losing one officer and 30 men from shellfire before it was in position. B Company under Capt Ruthven on the right covered the bridge at Nouveau Monde. The Germans advanced by rushes in an attempt to cross the bridge, but with 'excellent' fire control the rifles and machine guns of the East Yorkshires held them off until the divisional
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
could blow the bridge (the only one successfully blown along the brigade front). The battalion patrolled the river's edge during the night. At 07.00 next morning A and B Companies were relieved (two platoons of A Company went astray during this process), and dug in along the Estaires–Crois du Bac road to forma counter-attack force if required. About 12.00 Capt Ruthven noticed that there were no troops in the line in front of his position, and the Germans were advancing; 150th Bde had in fact been outflanked on both sides. Ruthven and two platoons of B Company held on to allow the remnants to withdraw; he was taken prisoner. Meanwhile, C and D Companies commanded by Capt Barr had at first formed a defensive flank until they were almost surrounded and were then pushed back inexorably. Contact was lost with Battalion HQ in a shellhole, which was captured. Two teams of Lewis gunners covered the retirement of C and D companies, and all of them were killed. During the night 150th Bde was ordered to take over even more of the line, with the remnants of 1/4th East Yorkshires in Trou Bayard. On 11 April they were attacked again until finally withdrawn behind the 4th Guards Bde, by which time they were down to three officers and 120 men. They suffered further casualties from shellfire while marching out on 13 April.
Battle of the Aisne
Once again the thinned ranks of the battalions were strengthened with a few inexperienced reinforcements: the 1/4th East Yorkshires was brought up to 26 officers and 691 men under Maj N.W. Stead. In late May 1918 50th Division was moved to a 'quiet' sector on the
Chemin des Dames
In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...
ridge to relieve French troops. The sector was indeed quiet, but intelligence warned of impending attack, and on 26 May the battalion was alerted. A Company held the front line on the extreme left of the divisional sector, with B Company in close support and the other two companies in brigade reserve. Enemy gas shelling of Battalion HQs began at midnight and shellfire increased until it reached a crescendo at 01.00 on 27 May. At 06.00 the German infantry launched the
Third Battle of the Aisne
The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...
. There was no direct attack on 150th Bde, but successful attacks on the neighbouring French division and the rest of 50th (N) Division left the brigade to be enveloped on both flanks by 06.30. All communications to Brigade HQ were cut by shellfire, and nothing more was heard from 1/4th East Yorkshires' HQ; most of the battalion was overwhelmed, and rearguard actions were fought by small parties who worked their way back to the bridge over the
River Aisne
The Aisne ( , , ) is a river in northeastern France. It is a left tributary of the Oise. It gave its name to the French department of Aisne. It was known in the Roman period as Axona.
The river rises in the forest of Argonne, at Remberco ...
at
Maizy
Maizy () is a commune in the Aisne department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Aisne department
The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne.
Th ...
. The battalion quartermaster attempted to hold the bridge with his men and the battalion transport details but was forced to withdraw. During 28–31 May the remnants of 50th (N) Division acted as a composite battalion (four officers and 105 other ranks from 1/4th East Yorkshires) under Lt-Col Stead. This served in 'Marshall's Force', holding the line while the German offensive was eventually stopped. Later this was increased to a brigade under the divisional commander (Maj-Gen H.C. Jackson) and known as 'Jackson's Force', which did some line-holding during June.
Demobilisation
As a result of the casualties, all of 50th (N) Divisions' battalions were reduced to cadres on 15 July 1918 and transferred to work on the
Lines of Communication
A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...
, with 1/4th East Yorkshires going to the
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
area. On 16 August 1918 the battalion transferred as a training cadre to 116th Bde in 39th Division at Cucq. 39th Division has also been shattered during the Spring Offensive, and its training cadres were being employed to prepare divisions of the
American Expeditionary Forces
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
for front line service. On 1 November 39 Division was ordered to demobilise the battalion training staffs, and 1/4th Battalion East Yorkshires completed this process on 7 November 1918.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 97, 100.39th Division at Long, Long Trail. /ref>
During its service, the battalion had lost 939 other ranks dead.Wyrall, ''East Yorkshires'', Appendix I.
2/4th Battalion
Having formed alongside the 1/4th Bn at Darlington and Newcastle, the recruits of the 2/4th East Yorkshires separated in November 1914 and returned to Hull for organisation and training. The trained men stayed at Newcastle as part of an emergency composite battalion of the York and Durham Brigade. In February 1915 the detachment with the 'York and Durham Battalion' concentrated with the rest of 2/4th Bn at Darlington, where it came under 2nd York and Durham Brigade in 2nd Northumberland Division (shortly to become 189th (2nd York and Durham) Brigade and
63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division
The 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 50th (Northumbri ...
respectively.Wyrall, ''East Yorkshires'', pp. 398–400/Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 49–54.63rd (2nd N) Division at Long, Long Trail. /ref>
In July 1915 the battalion moved to Benton Camp,
Cramlington
Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England,
6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...
. In October it went into
billet
A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier.
Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...
s in Newcastle for the winter, but was moved to
Retford
Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfie ...
in November. 63rd (2nd N) Division was broken up in July 1916 and 189th Bde moved to
Catterick Camp
Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 1 ...
.
Bermuda Garrison
In November 1916, 2/4th East Yorkshires embarked under the command of
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Imperial fortress
Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet.
His ...
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
of
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
. The ship had to return because of reports of German submarines, but sailed again under destroyer escort and reached Bermuda without incident. The battalion relieved a French-Canadian unit and settled down as part of the
Bermuda Garrison
The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved fr ...
to guard the
Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda
HMD Bermuda ( Her/His Majesty's Dockyard, Bermuda) was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. The Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride ...
. Apart from drills and sports there was little to do, though the battalion supplied a number of reinforcement drafts to the Western Front. Its casualties (24 other ranks died during the war) were mainly due to the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
pandemic. The battalion returned to the UK in 1919 for demobilisation, and 2/4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment was officially disbanded on 14 February 1920.
3/4th Battalion
The 3rd Line battalion was formed at Londesborough Barracks on 19 June 1915 from the recruits training for the 1/4th Bn; the CO (Maj A. Easton) and a nucleus of officers and NCOs were available from among those wounded at Second Ypres. The battalion soon reached an establishment of 800 and moved to a hutted camp at
South Dalton
South Dalton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the west of the B1248 road, and approximately north-east from the market town of Market Weighton and north-west from the market town of Beverley. Etton l ...
. It despatched its first reinforcement draft to the 1/4th Bn in August 1915. However, obtaining volunteers was becoming increasingly difficult: on the first anniversary of the outbreak of war the 3/4th Bn held a recruiting drive in Hull in an attempt to attract a further 400 men each for the 3/4th and 2/4th Bns. Conscription was introduced at the beginning of 1916. In addition to its training function, the 3/4th Bn had a role in the defence scheme for the Yorkshire coast as part of the Humber Garrison. It was redesignated the 4th (Reserve) Bn on 8 April 1916 and moved to a hutted camp at
Bedlington
Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 1 ...
, where it stayed until November. When the Northumbrian Reserve Brigade was formed at Catterick Reserve Centre, the battalion joined it, moving to
Hornsea
Hornsea is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The settlement dates to at least the early medieval period. The town was expanded in the Victorian era with the coming of the Hull and Hornsea Railway in 18 ...
in July 1917. At times the battalion was training as many as 3000 men for service overseas. Early in 1918 it received a large intake of boys, with the intention of converting it into a Young Soldiers' Battalion in the training organisation, but this was abandoned. After the Armistice the battalion – still 1800 strong – moved back to
Dalton Holme
Dalton Holme a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England. It is situated to the north-west from the market town of Beverley and covering an area of .
It is made up of two villages, South Dalton and Holme on the Wolds, which over ...
Camp at South Dalton to begin demobilisation. The unit was finally disbanded on 17 April 1919 at
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...
.
The remaining Home Service TF men had been separated from the 3rd Line battalions in May 1915 and formed into Provisional Battalions for home defence. The men of 4th East Yorkshires and 5th Durham Light Infantry (DLI) together formed 25th Provisional Battalion at York, where they were joined by the unfit men from the 2nd and 3rd Line TF battalions. The battalion served in home defence with 2nd Provisional Bde, which was billeted in and around Clacton and St Osyth in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
Military Service Act 1916
The Military Service Act 1916 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom during the First World War to impose conscription in Great Britain, but not in Ireland or any other country around the world.
The Act
The Bill which became ...
swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. The Provisional Brigades thus became anomalous, and on 1 January 1917 the remaining battalions became numbered battalions of their parent units: 25th Provisional Bn became 27th Battalion DLI and served until the end of the war with the role of physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas.
Interwar
The 4th East Yorkshires reformed on 7 February 1920 in the TF ( Territorial Army (TA) from 1921). The unit was once again in 150th (York & Durham) Bde of 50th (Northumbrian) Division. It had a number of
Cadet Corps
A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...
Pocklington School
Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from York and from Hull. ...
Cadet Corps
* St William's School Cadet Corps,
Market Weighton
Market Weighton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the main market towns in the East Yorkshire Wolds and lies midway between Hull and York, about from either one. According to the 2011 UK cen ...
The TA was doubled in size after the
Munich Crisis
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
, and the 4th East Yorkshires formed a duplicate battalion, designated the 5th Battalion. The first officers were commissioned into this battalion on 12 June 1939.
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
River Dyle
The Dyle (french: Dyle ; nl, Dijle ) is a river in central Belgium, left tributary of the Rupel. It is long. It flows through the Belgian provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Its source is in Houtain-le-Val, near Nivelles ...
. 50th (N) Division was in reserve for the divisions along the Dyle line by 15 May. However, the
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
had broken through the
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
to the east, forcing the BEF to withdraw again across a series of river lines. By the end of 19 May the whole force was back across the Escaut, with 50th (N) Division concentrating on Vimy Ridge above Arras and preparing to make a counter-attack on the German forces sweeping past towards the sea.Ellis, ''France & Flanders'', Chapter IV. /ref> The attack (the Battle of Arras) was made on 21 May, but 150th Bde was not involved, being sent to strengthen the garrison of Arras and to hold the line of the River Scarpe. It carried out a raid across the river during the day. As the Germans continued to move west, behind the BEF, Arras was becoming a dangerous salient, and 150th Bde came under attack on 23 May. It fought its way out of Arras via
Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
that night as the BEF scrambled to form a defensive ring round
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Ellis, ''France & Flanders'', Chapter XII. /ref> By now the decision had been made to evacuate the BEF through Dunkirk (
Operation Dynamo
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
), and 50th (N) Division held the line to allow this to proceed. All day on 29 May it was bombarded as it pulled back, still in contact with the enemy. The rest of II Corps was evacuated on the night of 31 May/1 June, while 50th (N) Division continued to hold the line. Finally, 150th Bde's turn came, and it was evacuated to England on 2 June.
50th (N) Division spent almost a year re-equipping and training in the UK, taking its place in the anti-invasion defences, before it was chosen for renewed overseas service.
Gazala
50th (N) Division sailed to reinforce Middle East Forces on 23 April 1941, landing in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
on 13 June. It was then sent to garrison
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, but 150th Bde was detached to
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force (WDF) was a British Army formation (military), formation active in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of the World War II, Second World War.
On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division (United ...
(WDF). However, the WDF's
Operation Battleaxe
Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a significa ...
had failed, 150th Bde was not immediately required, and in August it rejoined 50th (N) Division in Cyprus. In November the division moved by sea and road to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, but once again 150th Bde was detached to Egypt as an independent brigade group, arriving on 29 November and joining Eighth Army on 22 December.
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) ...
was just ending as the brigade arrived in the desert, and there was a lull of some months before active operations restarted. The rest of 50th (N) Division arrived in February, but all of its brigades were to operate as independent groups in the next phase of fighting (the
Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...
). When General
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
attacked on 26 May, 150th and 69th Bdes of 50th Division occupied widely spaced defensive 'boxes': there was a gap of between 150th Bde and the
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
box at Bir Hakeim to the south, and another of to 69th Bde to the north. While the northern boxes were pinned by direct attacks, the bulk of the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
armour swung round Bir Hakeim. The ensuing armoured fighting (the Battle of the Cauldron) therefore occurred to the east, behind 150th Bde's positions. By the evening of 28 May it was clear that 150th Bde was going to be attacked from this direction, and it prepared for all-round defence, reinforced by a few tanks. Early on 30 May elements of the ''
Afrika Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
'' attempted to break through the position but drew off after taking losses. Next day the Italian
Trieste Division
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
and German 90th Light Division attacked, but made little progress against a defence that they described as 'skilful and stubborn'. On 1 June Rommel reinforced the attackers with the 21st Panzer Division and more artillery, and the assault was resumed after heavy dive-bombing. Early in the afternoon 150th Bde was overcome by a series of concentric attacks, the brigadier as killed, and the survivors of 4th East Yorkshires became
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
.Playfair, Vol III, pp. 215–7, 223, 226–8.
The battalion was not reformed during the war, and was formally placed in suspended animation on 16 December 1942.
5th Battalion
The 5th Battalion East Yorkshires mobilised in 69th Brigade (the duplicate of 150th Bde), although it was administered by 50th (Northumbrian) Division until the new 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was formed in October 1939.Joslen, p. 299.Joslen, p. 62.
Dunkirk
23rd (N) Division was still incomplete in April 1940 when its infantry were sent to France for training and labour duties behind the BEF's lines. When the German breakthrough in May threatened the BEF's communications, the virtually untrained troops of 23rd (N) Division were moved up to defend the
Canal du Nord
The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the Canal latéral à l'Oise at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at Arleux. The French government, in partnership with coal-min ...
, strung out along a front, facing several advancing ''
Panzer
This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...
'' divisions. On 19 May the Germans reached the Canal du Nord in force, but the line had already been outflanked, and 23rd (N) Division was ordered to withdraw, 69th Bde to the Scarpe. The division's only other brigade was almost wiped out in the subsequent fighting, but 69th Bde found its way back to support
44th (Home Counties) Division
The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.
...
at
Hazebrouck
Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...
on 27 May. 69th Brigade was evacuated from Dunkirk on 31 May.
Western Desert
23rd (Northumbrian) Division was never reformed after Dunkirk, and 69th Bde was transferred to 50th (N) Division; thus 4th and 5th Bns East Yorkshires were serving together in the same division. 69th Brigade served with the division in Egypt, Cyprus and Iraq. When 150th Bde and 4th East Yorkshires were overrun at Gazala, the duplicate units were defending their own Box further north, from which they launched raids on the enemy supply convoys while the armoured battle continued in the Cauldron. By 14 June that battle had been lost, and 50th (N) Division was ordered to break out of its boxes the following night and withdraw to the Egyptian frontier. The preparations were masked by an afternoon dust storm, and then 'the break-out was made with great vigour'. For 69th Bde's box, 5th East Yorkshires was ordered to smash a gap in the encircling Italian positions and then hold it open while the brigade's column passed through. The operation was a complete success, the battalion making the gap and the column driving through the enemy fire and even over Italian positions on their way to the open desert beyond.
Once it reached the frontier, 50th (N) Division was positioned on the coast behind
Mersa Matruh
Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
to delay the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
advance. On the evening of 27 June the division was ordered to attack south towards an escarpment at Bir Sarahna to relieve the pressure on the 2nd New Zealand Division. While 151st Bde hit 'thin air', 69th Bde ran into stiff opposition, and failed to get on to the escarpment. By now, Eighth Army had been forced to resume its retreat, and the enemy had cut the coast road behind 50th (N) Division. The division held its ground during daylight on 28 June, then after dark its brigade columns burst out southwards for before turning east. Nearly all the columns ran into the enemy at some stage during the night, leading to what the ''Official History'' described as 'a spirited rough-and-tumble', but the division got through and set about reforming in the rear of the
El Alamein
El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...
position.
The Axis forces failed to break through Eighth Army's positions at the
First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marsha ...
, and Eighth Army began to counter-attack. The last of these attacks, Operation Manhood took place on 26/27 July. During the night the 1st South African Division was to make and mark a wide gap in the enemy's minefields south-east of Miteirya, then the 24th Australian Bde would capture the eastern end of the Miteiriya ridge and exploit north-west. Next 69th Bde would pass through 'South African gap' to Deir el Dhib, making, marking and protecting gaps in any further minefields to allow armoured brigades to pass through and raid the enemy's communications. 69th Brigade set off at 01:30 and got 5th East Yorkshires and 6th DLI through to take their objectives by about 08:00. However, the supporting anti-tank units became lost in the darkness or delayed by minefields, leaving the attackers isolated and exposed when daylight came. Reports on the minefield gaps were confused and conflicting, and the advance of the armoured brigades was delayed. The Germans then attacked and overran the two isolated battalions, who suffered 600 casualties. This ended the fighting in the Alamein line, and 5th East Yorkshires' active participation for some time.
Tunisia
Although the weakened 69th Bde was present at the
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...
, most of 50th (N) Division's fighting was done by 151st Bde. However, after the pursuit across North Africa to
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, 69th Bde was moved up to spearhead Eighth Army's operations against the
Mareth Line
The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into T ...
by capturing the outposts on the night of 16/17 March 1943. Supported by the whole divisional artillery the brigade took all its objectives, and next day the 5th East Yorkshires were pushed a further 2 miles taking the viewpoint of Mestaoua. The ''Official History'' notes 50th (N) Division's pleasure in getting its first good publicity since its dashing break-out from Gazala the year before. 151st Brigade led the division's attack on the main Mareth position on 20/21 March, but failed to gain a crossing of the Wadi Zigazou. It was reinforced by 5th East Yorkshires for a renewed attempt the following night, when the battalion took part of Ksiba Est, but it was not until 22/23 March that the division achieved a bridgehead. By then the rest of Eighth Army had begun a left hook round the Mareth Line that decided the battle.
5th East Yorkshires went into action again at the Battle of Wadi Akarit on 6 April. This involved a tricky approach march in the dark before the artillery barrage began. 7th Green Howards took their objective, an outpost on Point 85, but then they and 5th East Yorkshires could not get across the anti-tank ditch. A Company in the lead for 5th East Yorkshires was advancing over an exposed forward slope when it came under intense and accurate machine gun and mortar fire from well-concealed enemy strongpoints about away. The company withdrew behind the crest, leaving a number of wounded pinned down. Private Eric Anderson, a stretcher-bearer with the company, went out alone over the bullet-swept slope to rescue wounded men four times. He saved three men but on the fourth occasion he was hit and mortally wounded while administering first aid. He was awarded a posthumous
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for this action. Casualties mounted, both battalions were pinned down with their COs wounded. However, the 6th Green Howards and the supporting tank squadron of 4th County of London Yeomanry were able to cross behind the neighbouring brigade of
51st (Highland) Division
The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...
and cut behind the defenders. 5th East Yorkshires were then able to cross over and help the 4th Indian Division, rounding up many Italian prisoners.
50th (N) Division then held and patrolled the ground in front of Enfidaville while the rest of Eighth Army swung round and continued its advance towards
. The Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered on 13 May.
Sicily
50th (N) Division next began training for the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
(Operation Husky). On the morning of 10 July 151st Bde landed on Beaches 47 and 48 in 'Jig' Sector at Avola, quickly mopped up, and moved inland. 69th Brigade then landed as the follow-up wave over the same beaches and began advancing towards
Sortino
Sortino ( Sicilian: ''Sciurtinu'') is a town and '' comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily ( Italy). It is located in the Anapo river valley.
The Necropolis of Pantalica, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Syracuse and the Roc ...
. At one point an Italian counter-attack was led by five elderly
Renault R35
The Renault R35, an abbreviation of ''Char léger Modèle 1935 R'' or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War.
Designed from 1933 onwards and produced from 1936, the type was intended as an infantry support light tank, ...
tanks, one of which pursued the 5th East Yorkshires' CO, Lt-Col Robert James, along the road until it was knocked out by artillery. C Company of 5th East East Yorkshires was ambushed as it approached Sortino, but the battalion deployed and advanced up the steep slopes, completing the capture of the town and the high ground beyond during the night of 12/13 July. Within three days of the landing the whole of south-east Sicily was in Eighth Army's hands, and 50th (N) Division was sent to push on northwards to link up with 1st Parachute Bde, which had landed to seize Primosole Bridge on the road to
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
. 69th Brigade took
Lentini
Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy).
History
The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...
on 14 July, 5th East Yorkshires linking up with
No. 3 Commando
No. 3 Commando was a battalion-sized Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in July 1940 from volunteers for special service, it was the first such unit to carry the title of "Commando". Shortly afterwards the ...
, which had landed nearby and secured the bridge at Malati. From Lentini 69th Bde provided a firm flank while the rest of the division fought hard towards Primosole. Once the bridge had been reached, 69th Bde tried to push on, but the whole division became bogged down in its bridgehead. Catania was later outflanked, and 50th (N) Division followed the retreating Axis forces. 69th Brigade reached
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
on 17 August, the day Sicily was cleared of the enemy.
50th (N) Division was not employed in the invasion of the Italian mainland, and in October 1943 was shipped back to the UK to prepare for the invasion of Normandy (
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
). The division had been selected as an assault formation for D Day itself, and 69th Bde went to the
Combined Operations Training Centre
The Combined Operations Training Centre, also known as No.1 Combined Training Centre, Inveraray was a military installation on the banks of Loch Fyne near Inveraray in Scotland.
History
The centre was established in October 1940.
Each of the se ...
at
Inverary
Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of ...
. It then took part in exercises in
Studland Bay
Studland is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The village is located about north of the town of Swanage, over a steep chalk ridge, and south of the South East Dorset conurbation at Sandbanks, from which it i ...
in April and May 1944, before landing in Normandy in the first wave on
D Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
(6 June).
D Day
5th East Yorkshires landed on the left sector of King Beach in the
Gold Beach
Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...
assault area. As the assault landing craft passed the command ship an East Yorkshires' bugler sounded ''General Salute''. There were few casualties during the run-in to the shore, but after the naval bombardment lifted the line of grounded landing craft unloading onto the beach provided the enemy with easy targets. The brigade's landing was supported by the amphibious
DD tank
DD or Duplex Drive tanks, nicknamed " Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that w ...
s of 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, a battery of close support Centaur tanks of Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, 1st Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment firing from their landing craft (from which they struggled to land later), anti-mine Flail tanks of the Westminster Dragoons and Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, AVRE assault vehicles of 6th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers. The East Yorkshires landed near the outskirts of La Rivière and for a short time were pinned down under the sea wall by fire. A flail used its gun to silence an Flak 88, 88 mm gun in a concrete emplacement that had knocked out two AVREs, and the East Yorkshires captured the position, along with 45 prisoners. The squadron leader of the AVREs cleared a lane to La Rivière so that the DD tanks could get through, and he used his Petard mortar against enemy positions that were holding up 5th East Yorkshires. Nevertheless, it took several hours to clear the rest of the village, at a cost of six officers and 84 other ranks killed and wounded. Meanwhile, part of the battalion had gone on to capture the strongpoint at the lighthouse near Mont Fleury. This had been bombed from the air and put up little resistance, the infantry taking two guns and 30 prisoners. The battalion then moved on through Ver-sur-Mer, which 7th Green Howards (landing later in the morning) had found unoccupied. About 11.00, 151st Bde began landing over the beaches captured by 69th Bde, whose next task was to move through Crepon and across the Seulles, River Seulles to cut the Bayeux–Caen road beyond. However, 69th Bde now ran into serious opposition, with a battle group of the German 352nd Infantry Division counter-attacking towards Crepon. The battle group was effectively destroyed, and 50th (N) Division commenced 'mopping up' operations. 69th Brigade's advanced troops crossed the Seulles near Creully after fighting in which 4th/7th RDG lost four tanks. In the evening a concentration of German armoured vehicles was broken up by gunfire from HMS ''HMS Orion (85), Orion'', though some shells fell among the brigade's troops. By nightfall 69th Bde had passed through Saint-Gabriel-Brécy, St Gabriel and reached Coulombs, Calvados, Coulombs and Saint-Gabriel-Brécy, Brécy, some inland.
Normandy
In the days after 6 June 50th (N) Division pushed slowly forward into the Bocage country against increasingly strong German opposition. 69th Brigade advanced another 3–4 miles inland on 7 June, crossing the high ground and the Bayeux–Caen road, linked up with 3rd Canadian Division advancing from Juno Beach, and captured a fortified German radar station at Ducy-Sainte-Marguerite, Ducy-Ste-Marguerite. On 8 June, 8th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom), 8th Armoured Bde passed through 69th Bde to continue the advance towards Tilly-sur-Seulles. While the rest of 50th (N) Division assisted 7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom), 7th Armoured Division in its attempt to Battle of Villers-Bocage, take Villers-Bocage, 69th Brigade operated with the Canadians to prevent enemy infiltration between them. The division was relieved in the front line on 13 June, but were soon back in action, 69th Bde attacking towards Tilly-sur-Seulles once more on 15 June. All three battalions ran into heavy opposition and failed to make the planned advance. A counter-attack drove 5th East Yorkshires back on 18 June, but by 19 June 50th (N) Division had finally driven the Germans out of Tilly.
A period of static warfare then followed for 50th (N) Division until the German front began to break up at the end of July. The other brigades of 50th (N) Division began pushing forward on 30 July, then on 2 August 69th Bde attacked and captured a hill west of Villers Bocage against small-arms fire, afterwards capturing Tracy-Bocage on the high ground outside Villers-Bocage. The brigade was shelled in these positions for 24 hours before the Germans withdrew. The CO of 5th East Yorkshires, Lt-Col Robert James (Essex Regiment), who had commanded the battalion since Sicily and had won a Distinguished Service Order, DSO and two Medal bar, Bars, was killed on 3 August. 50th (N) Division was relieved for rest on 5 August for the first time since D Day, but it was back in the advance four days later. 151st Brigade led, then 69th Bde passed through and made slow progress against fierce German opposition and heavy calibre artillery. Next day 5th East Yorkshires was tasked with capturing St Pierre and Point 229. The forming up position was under direct enemy observation and heavy casualties were anticipated, but morning fog blanketed the operation and the battalion and its supporting tanks overran the enemy outpost line. However, when two companies tried to storm Pt 229 they were men by fire from ''Panzers'' along the crest, and were halted with heavy losses, finally digging in short of both objectives. The rest of the division completed the tasks over the next two days and advanced as far as Condé-sur-Noireau, Condé, cutting one of the enemy's main routes of retreat through the developing Falaise Pocket.
North West Europe
After Falaise, 50th (N) Division took part in XXX Corps (United Kingdom), XXX Corps' drive to the River Seine and its subsequent pursuit into Belgium, 'mopping up' behind the armoured spearheads. On 7 September the division was ordered to prepare to force a crossing of the Albert Canal. Only 69th Bde was immediately available: it moved to Hasselt to prepare, and on 8 September the Green Howards crossed near Geel. On the night of 9/10 September 5th East Yorkshires made a separate assault crossing west of the Green Howards to extend bridgehead. D and B companies crossed in their stormboats unobserved, but the other two companies came under heavy small arms fire. At 01.00 the battalion formed up and attacked Het-Punt, setting fire to the village, capturing Germans prisoners and freeing some Green Howards who had been captured. With 69th Bde firmly established, opposition faded away and prisoners and wounded could be ferried back. 151st Brigade then had a longer fight for Geel. Both brigades were relieved on 12 September after the Royal Engineers had bridged the canal.
XXX Corps then carried out the ground part of Operation Market Garden, attempting to thrust forward to the Nederrijn across a series of bridges captured by airborne forces. 50th (N) Division was a follow-up formation tasked with keeping the narrow 'corridor' open. The operation began on 18 September, and on 20 September 69th Bde was called forward towards Nijmegen. Progress was slow on the jammed road, and on 22 September a German counter-attack cut the road between Veghel and Uden, with 5th East Yorkshires north of the breach and the rest of the brigade to the south. It was not until the next day that the road was reopened and the reunited 69th Bde could move on to Nijmegen, where it relieved 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, 43rd (Wessex) Division and US paratroopers and took responsibility for defending the vital bridges over the Waal (river), River Waal. 5th East Yorkshires deployed across the river, skirmishing with parties of Germans and trying to capture the village of Bemmel, east of the road. The first attack, at 16.30 on 24 September by A B and D Companies supported by tanks of Guards Armoured Division and an artillery barrage, failed to break into the village, but C Company supported by tanks and a short barrage got in at dawn the next day. By 14.00 the vfilalge was firmly held and 80 prisoners had been taken. However, the battalion suffered days of heavy shellfire, and the failure of the operation to hold Arnhem bridge meant that German forces were free to counter-attack. 5th East Yorkshires drove off the first counter-attack on 30 September, but sustained attacks by infantry and tanks came in on 1 October. 5th East Yorkshires had been pulled back, but went into Bemmel again with a squadron of 13th/18th Royal Hussars to support the Green Howards who were hanging on in the village. The rest of 50th (N) Division arrived to relieve 69th Bde on 4 October.
The division now settled down to static warfare in the low-lying 'Island' between the Waal and the Nederrijn. Its battalions were now very weak in numbers – the whole of 21st Army Group was suffering a manpower crisis – and the War Office decided that it should be broken up to provide reinforcements for other formations. The division was withdrawn from the line on 29 November and moved back into Belgium where the units were reduced to cadres. The majority of the infantry were drafted into other units, and then the cadres returned to the UK, landing at Southampton on 14 December. On 16 December 50th (N) Division was reorganised as a reserve division, training recruits and men 'combed out' from the artillery and air force who would fight in the Rhine crossing in March 1945. 5th East Yorkshires passed into suspended animation on 30 July 1946.
Postwar
When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947 the 4th and 5th battalions reformed at Hull as an amalgamated 4th Bn, serving in the Yorkshire & Durham Brigade of 50th (Northumbrian) Division once more (though the Y&D brigade now took the number 151).East Yorkshires at British Army 1945 onwards. /ref>
On 15 December 1960 the battalion amalgamated with 5th Bn West Yorkshire Regiment at York to form 3rd Bn Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (POWRY) (the Regular battalions of the two regiments had already merged on 25 April 1958 to form the POWRY.). When the TA was reduced into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1967 the 3rd Bn POWRY merged into the 2nd Bn Yorkshire Volunteers, Yorkshire Volunteers (Yorkshire & Humberside) as B (POWRY) Company at Londesborough Barracks. In 1992 B Company absorbed E (Humber Regiment, Royal Artillery, Humber Artillery) Company and moved to Mona House, Hull. The Yorkshire Volunteers in turn merged into the East and West Riding Regiment in 1999, with Quebec (POWRY) Company based in Hull. Since 2006 the Hull company has been A (Prince of Wales's Own) Company as part of 4th Bn, Yorkshire Regiment.E&R Riding Rgt at Regiments.org. /ref>
Uniforms and insignia
The first meeting of the East Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers in Hull in 1859 decided that the uniform would be green. However, the Vice Lord Lieutenant objected, asserting that the Battle of Inkerman had shown that the grey worn by Russian troops was less visible at shorter distances than Rifle green. Reluctantly the units agreed to a uniform of 'Volunteer' grey with black braid and red Facing colour, facings and trouser stripe. The headgear was a grey Shako with black leather peak and top. The belts and pouch were black leather. In 1880 a scarlet tunic was adopted with white facings, blue trousers with red stripe, and white belts. The headgear was the Home Service helmet for officers, a Glengarry cap for other ranks. In 1885 the VBs were granted the right to wear the cap badge of the East Yorkshire Regiment. In 1906 the Volunteers adopted Khaki service dress.
Honorary Colonels
The following served as Honorary Colonel of the battalion and its predecessors:
* William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough, William Henry Forester Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough, appointed 24 April 1862 (transferred to 2nd VB 9 September 1893)
* Henry Harrison-Broadley, Member of Parliament, MP, appointed 25 October 1899
* Lt-Col Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, appointed 1 April 1913
* Maj-Gen F.S. Inglefield, Order of the Bath, CB, Distinguished Service Order, DSO, (Colonel (United Kingdom)#Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel of the East Yorkshire Regiment) appointed 30 September 1923
* Brevet (military), Brevet Col T.J. Merrill, Territorial Decoration, TD, appointed 24 April 1926
Footnotes
Notes
References
* B.S. Barnes, ''The Sign of the Double 'T' (The 50th Northumbrian Division – July 1943 to December 1944)'', Market Weighton: Sentinel Press, 2nd Edn 2008, .
* Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, .
* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .
* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .
* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .
* David Bilton, ''Hull in the Great War 1914–1919'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2015, .
* David Bilton, ''Hull Pals, 10th, 11th 12th and 13th Battalions East Yorkshire Regiment – A History of 92 Infantry Brigade, 31st Division'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2014, .
* Gregory Blaxland, ''Amiens: 1918'', London: Frederick Muller, 1968/Star, 1981, .
* Richard Doherty, ''Hobart's 79th Armoured Division at War: Invention, Innovation and Inspiration'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2011, .
* Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938.
* Brig-Gen Sir James Edward Edmonds, James E. Edmonds & Capt G.C. Wynne, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1915'', Vol I, London: Macmillan, 1927/Imperial War Museum & Battery Press, 1995, .
* Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1917'', Vol II, ''Messines and Third Ypres (Passchendaele)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1948/Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval and Military Press, 2009, .
Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1954/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, 978-1-85457-056-6. * Maj Lionel Ellis, L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, .
* Maj L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol II: ''The Defeat of Germany'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1968/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, .
* Capt Cyril Falls, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1917'', Vol I, ''The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Battle of Arras'', London: Macmillan, 1940/London: Imperial War Museum & Battery Press/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2009, .
* J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, .
* Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', Samson Books 1978/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, .
*
* James L. McWilliams & R. James Steel, ''Gas! The Battle for Ypres, 1915'', St Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell, 1985, .
* Capt Wilfred Miles, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1916'', Vol II, ''2nd July 1916 to the End of the Battles of the Somme'', London: Macmillan, 1938/Imperial War Museum & Battery Press, 1992, .
* Brig C.J.C. Molony,''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol V: ''The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and the Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1973/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, .
* Jerry Murland, ''Retreat and Rearguard Somme 1918: The Fifth Army Retreat'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2014, .
* R.W.S. Norfolk, ''Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Forces of the East Riding 1689–1908'', York: East Yorkshire Local History Society, 1965.
* Maj-Gen I.S.O. Playfair, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol III: ''(September 1941 to September 1942) British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960 /Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004,
* Maj-Gen I.S.O. Playfair & Brig C.J.C. Molony, "History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Mediterranean and Middle East'', Vol IV: ''The Destruction of the Axis forces in Africa'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1966/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004, .
* Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, .
* ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927.
* Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, .
* Everard Wyrall, ''The East Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War 1914–1918'', London: Harrison, 1928/Uckfield,Naval & Military, 2002, .
* Everard Wyrall, ''The Fiftieth Division 1914–1919'', 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military, nd, .
{{refend
* [http://www.orbat.info/history/historical/uk/ta47.html Graham Watson, ''The Territorial Army 1947'']
East Yorkshire Regiment
Rifle Volunteer Corps of the British Army
Military units and formations in Kingston upon Hull
Military units and formations in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Military units and formations established in 1859