The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was created in 1958 by the amalgamation of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and the East Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of York's Own) (15th Foot). After 48 years service, the regiment was amalgamated again, this time with two other Yorkshire regiments. It became the 1st Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th, 33rd and 76th Foot), with the Green Howards (19th Foot) forming the 2nd Battalion and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (33rd/76th Foot) forming the 3rd Battalion on 6 June 2006. Following further merges, in 2012, the battalion was redesignated as the new 2nd Battalion (2Yorks) .

Formation and name

The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was formed on 25 April 1958 by the amalgamation of The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) (15th Foot).

History

The first overseas posting for the regiment was from September 1958 to June 1959 in the Colony of Aden (present day, part of Yemen), followed by a posting to

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from June 1959 to June 1961. While at Gibraltar a detachment was sent to Libya between October 1960 and November 1960. The battalion served in Wuppertal, West Germany from 1961 to 1964, Berlin 1964-1965, then again in Aden from September 1965 until September 1966. The regiment returned to England in 1966 and was based in Colchester. In 1967, operational elements were deployed to Cornwall to help with the environmental clean-up after the ''Torrey Canyon'' oil spill. An emergency deployment back to Aden in June following the mutinies by the South Arabian Federation Army and Yemen Federal Police. Aden saw the deaths in action of two soldiers from the regiment, Pte F langrick and Sgt WS Saville, as well as the awards of one Military Cross, one Military Medal, and a Mention In Despatches. The battalion returned to Colchester in late 1967. In April 1969, the battalion was deployed to Northern Ireland, as part of the UK Government's response to terrorist attacks on the Government infrastructure in the province. The regiment's presence and constant patrolling of vital points initially stabilised the situation in their operational area of

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. On 12 July, sectarian violence led to a rapid redeployment to Derry. Decisive action by the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

again calmed the situation down and the battalion moved into a fixed tactical base at Magilligan's Point, north of

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census ...

on the shores of

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...

. On 12 August, the violence erupted in a concerted campaign, which, after nearly three days of street battles, saw the

(RUC) totally exhausted. On 14 August 1969, the regiment took over responsibility for the security of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. From February 1970 to October 1972, the battalion was based in Cyprus, then returned to the UK, for another tour in Northern Ireland, until November 1973. From November 1973 until May 1974, the regiment was stationed in Dover, Kent. From 1974 to 1978, the regiment was stationed in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

(formerly in West Germany), as part of the 7th Armoured Brigade. The battalion completed another four month emergency tour in Derry during 1975. During this tour, 18-year-old Pte David Wray was shot and killed by a sniper whilst on a foot patrol in the Creggan housing estate. From 1978 to 1983, the regiment served as part of the Allied Mobile Force. In May 1983, the battalion started a two-year tour as part of the Berlin Brigade, where in 1984 it was presented with new regimental

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

. In April 1985, the battalion redeployed to Abercorn Barracks, Ballykinler, Northern Ireland and was heavily committed in domestic duties, maintaining law and order, particularly in the terrorist plagued countryside of

South Armagh South Armagh may refer to: *The southern part of County Armagh * South Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) *South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency) *Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional ...

. In May 1987, the battalion moved to Catterick, North Yorkshire, to join 24 Infantry Brigade. Equipped with

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

armoured personnel carriers, this was the battalion's first tour in Yorkshire since their antecedent regiments amalgamation. In 1988, the battalion re-roled as an airmobile unit in line with 24 Infantry Brigade's conversion to 24 Airmobile Brigade. In August 1990, the battalion moved to Osnabrück in West Germany to take up a Mechanised Infantry role as part of 12 Armoured Brigade. During the First Gulf War, or Operation Granby (later known as Desert storm), the battalion deployed formed units that included a Milan Section and a Mortar section to the 1st battalion of the Staffordshire Regiment, many men deployed on an individual basis reinforcing units. Some 149 personnel of all ranks were deployed to the gulf. During Winter 1991, the battalion was once again in Northern Ireland, as the west Belfast roulement battalion. As a result of the 1992 Strategic Defence Review, the then government of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

decided to bring Territorial Army (TA) and Regular Army units closer together; as a result, the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Volunteers became 3rd Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Yorkshire Volunteers). The 3rd Battalion was based at York. 3PWO lasted until 1998. In 1993, the regiment deployed to

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

as part of UNPFOR, with companies in

Gornji Vakuf Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje ( sr-cyrl, Горњи Вакуф-Ускопље) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Etymology Although settlements i ...

and Vitez. They picked up the unofficial nickname of "ShootBat" due to the 'robustness' of the battalion's actions. In 1994, the battalion moved to the

British Army Training Unit Suffield The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is a British Army unit located at the vast training area of Canadian Forces Base Suffield near Suffield, Alberta, Canada. BATUS is the British Army's largest armoured training facility, and it can ...

, Canada followed by a move to Warminster as the Infantry Demonstration Battalion at the Land Warfare Centre. 1997 saw the battalion stationed in Chester with deployments to Ulster, Sierra Leone (Operation Basilica) support to

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

during the foot and mouth outbreak. Training exercises took troops to Kenya, Jamaica, Italy and Oman. By 2001-2003, 1PWO was in Omagh followed by a move to Catterick Garrison as an

Air Assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

Battalion, with deployments to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, as part of SFOR and a training exercise to Belize in 2005. The regiment amalgamated with its sister battalions of The Green Howards and The Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form The Yorkshire Regiment on 6 June 2006.

Battalions

The battalions of which the regiment controlled included: * Band of the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (1958–1994), became part of The Waterloo Band of the King's Division in 1994 * Regulars ** 1st Battalion (1958–2006), former

The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, on ...

, became 1st Btn,

The Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

* Volunteers, (TA 1958–1967 then 1975–2006) ** 3rd Battalion (1960–1967), reduced to HQ Co and A Co of the

Yorkshire Volunteers The Yorkshire Volunteers was an infantry regiment of the British Territorial Army. The regiment was raised on 1 April 1967 and disbanded on 25 April 1993. Following subsequent amalgamations and reorganisations the regiment is represented by th ...

and The Prince of Wales's Own Yorkshire Territorials **

Leeds Rifles The Leeds Rifles was a unit of the 19th century Volunteer Force of the British Army that went on to serve under several different guises in the World Wars of the 20th century. In World War I both battalions served as infantry on the Western Fron ...

(1961–1967), reduced to A Company in

and The Leeds Rifles Territorials ** 1st Battalion,

(1967–1993), became 3rd (Yorkshire Volunteers) Btn ** 3rd (

) Battalion (1993–1999), became Quebec and Imphal Companies in the East and West Riding Regiment ** The East and West Riding Regiment (1999–2006), became 4th (Volunteer) Battalion,

** TA of the Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment *** 5th Battalion (1958–1960) became B, C, and D Companies in 3rd Btn *** 7th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion (1958–1961), became independent in 1961 ** TA of The Duke of York's Own East Yorkshire Regiment *** 4th Battalion (1958–1960), became A Company in 3rd Btn * Territorials, (TA 1967–1975) ** The Prince of Wales's Own Yorkshire Territorials (1967–1971, became HQ and A Cos in 1st Btn,

and B Co in 2nd Btn,

Regimental museum

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

Colonels-in-Chief

* 1958–?1965: Hon. Gen. Princess Mary, The Princess Royal, CI, GCVO, GBE, RRC, TD * 1985–?2006: Hon. Maj-Gen. Katharine, The Duchess of Kent, GCVO

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: *1958–1960: Brig. Robert John Springhall, CB, OBE *1960–1970: Brig. Gerald Hilary Cree, CBE, DSO *1970–1979: Brig. William Stanley Gibson Armour, MBE *1979–1986: Brig. Henry Michael Tillotson, CBE *1986–1996: Maj-Gen. Anthony Bernard Crowfoot, CBE *1996–2001: Maj-Gen. Edward Horace Alexander Beckett, CB, MBE *2001–2006: Maj-Gen. Alastair David Arton Duncan, DSO, OBE *''2006: Regiment merged with the Green Howards and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form the Yorkshire Regiment''

Commanding Officers

Commanding Officers have included: * 1958–1960:

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 colone ...

Boris R. D. Garside * 1960–1962: Lt Col William S. G. Armour * 1962–1965: Lt Col Peter E. Taylor * 1965–1967: Lt Col T. Roy Birkett * 1967–1969: Lt Col William A. E. Todd * 1969–1971: Lt Col Henry M. Tillotson * 1971–1973: Lt Col David W. Hanson * 1973–1976: Lt Col Anthony Bernard Crowfoot * 1976–1978: Lt Col Edwin Horace Alexander Beckett * 1 * *978–1981: Lt Col Frederick John Filor * 1981–1983: Lt Col Peter E. Woolley * 1983–1986: Lt Col Rory H. J. Forsyth * 1986–1988: Lt Col Duncan A. H. Green * 1988–1990: Lt Col John C. L. King * 1990–1993: Lt Col Alastair David Arton Duncan * 1993–1997: Lt Col Charles G. Le Brun * 1997–1999: Lt Col Graham John Binns * 1999–2001: Lt Col David A. Hill * 2001–2004: Lt Col Stephen Padgett * 2004–2006: Lt Col Peter S. Germain

Alliances & Affiliations

Alliances the regiment maintained were: * – Les Voltigeurs de Québec (1958–2006) * –1st ( Carleton and York) Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (1958–2006) * – The Royal Montreal Regiment (1958–2006) * – The Waikato Regiment, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (1958–19xx) * – The Falkland Islands Defence Force (1958–2006) The regiment also maintained a number of cadet affiliations: * (North and West) Army Cadet Forces, affiliations with the detachments in:

Acomb Acomb may refer to: *Acomb, Northumberland Acomb is a village in the south of Northumberland, England. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,184 increasing to 1,268 at the 2011 Census. It is situated to the north of Hexham,Castleford, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Lumley, Selby, and Woodlesford * Humberside and Yorkshire Army Cadet Forces, affiliation with the detachments in: Londesborough, Sutton, Bransholme, Beverley Town, Beverly Grammar School, Bridlington, Cottingham, Pocklington, and Goole. The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire Association

References

Bibliography

External links

The Yorkshire Regiment MOD website

{{DEFAULTSORT:The Prince Of Wales's Own Regiment Of Yorkshire Battalions of the British Army Infantry regiments of the British Army Regiments of Yorkshire Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 2006 1958 establishments in England