East Yorkshire Regiment

Soldier of 15th regiment, 1742

John Theophilus Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd son of the 1st Earl of Moira, in the uniform of the 15th Regiment of Foot (1776) with a flintlock gun.

Raised in 1685 in Nottingham by Sir William Clifton, 3rd Baronet,[1] the regiment was originally, like many British infantry regiments, known by the name of its current Colonel.[2] It took part in the Battle of Killiecrankie in July 1689[3] and the Battle of Cromdale in April 1690 during the Jacobite rising of 1689 to 1692.[3]

The regiment embarked for Flanders in spring 1694 for service in the Nine Years' War and took part in the capture of Huy in autumn 1694,[4] the attack of Fort Knokke in June 1695[4] and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695[5] before returning home in 1697.[6]

The regiment was sent to Holland in 1701 for service in the War of the Spanish Succession and fought at the siege of Kaiserswerth in 1702,[7] the siege of Venlo later that year[8] and the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704.[9] It went on to fight at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706,[10] the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708[11] and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709.[12] It returned to England in 1714.[13] It was sent to Scotland and took part in the Battle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 during Jacobite rising.[14]

The regiment was deployed to South America, where it took part in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741 during the War of Jenkins' Ear.[15] It also saw action at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the next Jacobite rising.[16] In 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the 15th Regiment of Foot.[2]

The regiment went on to take part in the capture of Île-d'Aix in 1757[17] and, having sailed for North America in 1758,[17] fought at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the Seven Years' War.[18] In 1782 the regiment became the 15th (The Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot.[2]

The regiment was sent to North America again in spring 1776 for service in the American Revolutionary War. It saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776.[19] It also took part in the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777,[20] the Battle of Germantown in October 1777[21] and the Battle of White Marsh in December 1777.[21]

The regiment was deployed to the West Indies in 1795 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars and fought at attacks on Martinique and Guadeloupe[22] before returning to England in 1796.[23] The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1805[24] for service in the Napoleonic Wars and took part in the invasion of Martinique in January 1809 and the invasion of Guadeloupe in January 1810.[25]

The regiment spent most of the 19th century on garrison duty, both at home and throughout the Empire. The 1st Battalion was shipped to New Brunswick in 1862 at the time of the Trent Affair, when Britain and the United States came close to war. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Victoria Barracks, Beverley from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.[26] Under the reforms the regiment became The East Yorkshire Regiment on 1 July 1881.[27] The 1st battalion was stationed at Gibraltar in 1885, moved to the West Indies in 1886, then to South Africa in 1888 and to Egypt in 1893. From 1895 the battalion was stationed in British India, where they had various postings, including at Belgaum and Fort St. George in Madras Presidency until late 1902 when it was posted to Shwebo in Burma.[28]

The 2nd Battalion was stationed in British India from 1875 to February 1888, and fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1879–80). After six months in Aden that year, the battalion was back in England until November 1894, when it was stationed in Ireland.[29] The Second Boer War started in South Africa in October 1899. After a series of defeats in the early months of the war, the British government sent large number of troops there as reinforcements in early 1900, including the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire. 870 officers and men embarked on the SS Nile from Southampton in March 1900, and arrived in South Africa the following month.[30][31]

The 3rd (Militia) battalion, formed from the East York Militia in 1881, was a reserve battalion. It was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in December that year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War.[32] About 560 officers and men returned to Southampton on the SS Greek in early October 1902, following the end of the war, when the battalion was disembodied at Beverley.[33]

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[34] the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions.[35][2]

The 1st Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of the 18th Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front.[36] The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 83rd Brigade in the 28th Division in January 1915 also for service on the Western Front before moving to Salonika in October 1915 for service on the Macedonian front.[36]

The 1/4th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the York and Durham Brigade in the Northumbrian Division in April 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 2/4th Battalion served in the Bermuda Garrison and the 3/4th Battalion remained at home and trained reinforcements.[36] The 5th (Cyclist) Battalion served on coastal defence duties for the whole war.[37]

The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli as the pioneer battalion for the 11th (Northern) Division in August 1915; the battalion was evacuated in January 1916 and then landed at Marseille in July 1916 for service on the Western Front.[36] The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of 50th Brigade in the 17th (Northern) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[36] The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 62nd Brigade in the 21st Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front, later serving with 3rd Division. The 9th (Reserve) Battalion remained at home supplying drafts to the New Army battalions serving overseas.[36]

The 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th (Service) Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering in Kingston upon Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions and were known as the Hull Pals, nicknamed the 'Hull Commercials', 'Hull Tradesmen', 'Hull Sportsmen' and 'T'others' respectively. They formed 92nd Brigade in 31st Division, landed in Egypt in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 also for service on the Western Front. Their depot companies became the 14th (Reserve) and 15th (Reserve) Battalions.[36][38][39]

There were also a 1st Garrison Battalion that served in India and a 2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion.[36]

In 1935, the regiment was renamed The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), after its Colonel-in-Chief.[2]

The 1st Battalion was serving in British India on the outbreak of war in 1939 and did not see active service until 1942. In 1944, the Battalion was based in Bethamangala as part of the 150th Indian Infantry Brigade, where it was reorganised and trained in jungle warfare at the Jungle Warfare Training Center, Gudalur, in the Mysore jungle and then played its part in the Burma Campaign.[40] It moved into Burma, crossing the Chindwin River at Kalewa and the Irrawaddy River at Sameikkon in April 1945 and joined the 99th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 17th Indian Division at Meiktila after the siege by the Japanese had been broken.[41]

The 2nd Battalion served with the 8th Infantry Brigade (which included the 1st Suffolks and 1st South Lancs), attached to the 3rd Infantry Division throughout the whole war. At the time, the 3rd Division was commanded by Major-General Bernard Montgomery, who would later command the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group. The battalion and division were sent to France in late 1939 as part of the British Expeditionary Force and remained there until May 1940 when they fought in the Battle of France and were evacuated at Dunkirk. After Dunkirk, the battalion and division spent many years on home defence anticipating a German invasion of England. After late 1942, when the threat of invasion had receded, they then started training for offensive operations and, in mid-1944, invaded Normandy, France.[40]

Men of the 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment take cover behind a bank as an enemy shell explodes nearby, Normandy, France, 19 July 1944.

The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit serving in the 150th Infantry Brigade in the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and, like the 2nd Battalion, served in France 1940, were evacuated at Dunkirk to England and remained in the United Kingdom with the division until mid-1941 when it was sent to the Middle East. It was captured at the Battle of Gazala.[42]

The 5th Battalion was formed in June 1939 as a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 4th Battalion. It served with the 69th Infantry Brigade in the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division and was evacuated from Dunkirk. It later served with 50th (Northumbrian) Division through the Western Desert, Tunisian and Sicily campaigns before landing in the first wave on Gold Beach on D Day and then fighting through Normandy and North West Europe.[43]

In the Second World War, three hostilities-only battalions were raised. The 6th (Home Defence) Battalion, which was formed in November 1939, was redesignated as the 30th Battalion in December 1941 and disbanded in September 1943.[44][45]

The 7th Battalion was formed in 1940 and assigned to 203 Infantry Brigade.[46] The battalion was transferred to 73 Infantry Brigade in July 1941 and to 162 Infantry Brigade in September 1942. It was disbanded in October 1944, having never left the UK.[47]

The 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in May 1940.[48] In October, it was redesignated as the 8th battalion and assigned to 217 Infantry Brigade.[49][50] In November 1941, the battalion was transferred to 224 Infantry Brigade, which was disbanded the following month. The battalion was then converted to 115 LAA Regiment, RA and assigned to the 46th (West Riding) Infantry Division, with which it served in North Africa, Italy and Palestine.[51][52]

Men of the 2nd Battalion, The East Yorkshire Regiment in a Universal Carrier on field exercise in Palestine

The regiment was in Mandatory Palestine during the Zionist insurgency and then took part in the Malayan Emergency in 1953–56 before returning to Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine. In 1958, it was amalgamated with The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own), to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire.[2]

• 1756–1768: F.M. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, KB
• 1768–1775: Lt-Gen. Sir Charles Hotham-Thompson, 8th Baronet, KB
• 1775–1778: Lt-Gen. Richard Lambart, 6th Earl of Cavan
• 1778–1792: Gen. Sir William Fawcett, KB

• 1792–1794: Gen. James Inglis Hamilton
• 1794–1814: Gen. Henry Watson Powell
• 1814–1846: Gen. Sir Moore Disney, KCB
• 1846–1850: Gen. Sir Phineas Riall, KCH
• 1850–1851: Maj-Gen. Sir Henry Watson, CB
• 1851–1861: Gen. Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, GCB, GCMG
• 1861–1868: Lt-Gen. William Booth
• 1868–1877: Gen. Thomas Armstrong Drought
• 1877–1888: Gen. Sir William Montagu Scott McMurdo, GCB

• 1888–1889: Gen. Edward George Wynyard
• 1889–1890: Gen. John Hope Wingfield
• 1890–1891: Gen. Robert Bruce
• 1891–1897: Gen. Edward Westby Donovan
• 1897–1901: Lt-Gen. William Hardy, CB
• 1901–1920: Maj-Gen. Sir Coleridge Grove, KCB
• 1920–1925: Maj-Gen. Francis Seymour Inglefield, CB, DSO
• 1925–1930: Maj-Gen. Sir Gerald Farrell Boyd, KCB, CMG, DSO, DCM
• 1930–1933: Brig-Gen. Henry Haggard
• 1933–1940: Brig-Gen. John Louis Justice Clarke, CMG
• 1940–1948: Lt-Gen. Sir Desmond Francis Anderson, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO
• 1948–1958: Brig. Robert John Springhall, CB, OBE (to Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire)
• 1958: Regiment merged with West Yorkshire Regiment to form Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire