The Yorkshire Volunteers was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 the 4th Battalion, The

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

History

The regiment was formed as part of the response to the 1966 Defence Review. This review mandated a reduction in the size of the Territorial Army (TA). As a result, most of the Yorkshire battalions of TA infantry were merged into a single battalion of the new regiment. The battalions merged into the new regiment were: * 3rd Battalion, The

Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire 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 Ea ...

* 4th/5th Battalion 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 ...

* The

West Riding 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 ...

Battalion The

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

* The

Hallamshire Battalion The Hallamshire Battalion was an infantry battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment, part of the British Army in existence from 1859. History Formation and early history Formed in 1859 as The Hallamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps with its headquart ...

The

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...

Regimental headquarters were established at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, with

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, York and Halifax. In 1969 a fifth company was established in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

with the amalgamation into the regiment of The

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 ...

, The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Following the formation of the Leeds company, the five parent units were reduced to cadre strength and administered by the new regiment. Two years later the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were raised by the five infantry cadres and the three Yorkshire based TA

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

regiments. The Humber Regiment, Royal Artillery became A (Humber Artillery) Company, 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers; the West Riding Regiment, Royal Artillery became A Battery, 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers and the Sheffield Artillery Volunteers became B Battery of the same. Battalion headquarters for the newly formed battalions were at

and

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

respectively. On 1 January 1988 a 4th battalion was raised but this was short lived and in 1992 the 3rd and 4th Battalions were merged into the 3rd/4th Battalion with battalion headquarters in Sheffield. The 1990 defence review,

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

, decided to reintroduce the relationship between the TA battalions and the regular army regiments. Less than a year after the formation of the 3rd/4th Battalion, the entire regiment was broken up and each battalion became a battalion of the three Yorkshire infantry regiments. 1st Battalion became 4th/5th Battalion

(Yorkshire Volunteers); 2nd Battalion became 3rd Battalion The

(Yorkshire Volunteers); 3rd/4th Battalion became, 3rd Battalion The

(West Riding)(Yorkshire Volunteers). Each battalion retained the name Yorkshire Volunteers in its title. The disbandment ceremony took place in the presence of the Duchess of Kent, the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment, at Somme Barracks in Catterick on 25 April 1993.

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 1967 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 Regiments of Yorkshire Yorkshire Regiment Army Reserve (United Kingdom) 1967 establishments in England Yorkshire Volunteers