| 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1755 to 1881 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1755–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1881) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Size | Onebattalion (two battalions 1804–1814) |
| Garrison/HQ | Pontefract Barracks,West Riding of Yorkshire |
| Nickname | "The Stormers" |
| Motto | Cede Nullis (Yield to None) |
| March | Quick:Jockey to the Fair; Slow:The Keel Row |
| Engagements | Seven Years' War French Revolutionary Wars Kandyan Wars Napoleonic Wars Second Anglo-Burmese War Indian Rebellion Ambela Campaign Second Anglo-Afghan War |
The51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot was aBritish Armyline infantryregiment, raised in 1755. Under theChilders Reforms it amalgamated with the105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) to form theKing's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1881.[1][2]
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The regiment was formed by Lieutenant GeneralRobert Napier as the53rd (Napier's) Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in theSeven Years' War.[3] The regiment started out inExeter but was transferred toLeeds later in the same year. In the space of one month, 800 men had volunteered to serve for three years or as long as the country needed them to.[4] It was re-ranked as the51st (Brudenell's) Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing50th and51st regiments, in 1757.[5] The regiment's first action was when it embarked on ships and took part in theRaid on Rochefort in September 1757 during theSeven Years' War.[6]
The regiment embarked forGermany in 1758 and saw action at theBattle of Minden in August 1759, theBattle of Corbach in July 1760 and theBattle of Warburg later that month as well as theBattle of Kloster Kampen in October 1760, theBattle of Villinghausen in July 1761 and theBattle of Wilhelmsthal in June 1762.[7] After returning home in spring 1763, the regiment was posted for garrison duty inIreland later in the year.[6] It embarked forMenorca in 1771 but was captured by a French invading force in January 1782 and only released five months later.[6] It adopted a county designation and became the51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment in August 1782.[8]
The regiment embarked forGibraltar in 1792 for service in theFrench Revolutionary Wars, under the command of Lieutenant ColonelJohn Moore, and took part in thesiege of Toulon in autumn 1793 and thesiege of Calvi in July 1794.[6]
In early 1800 theEast IndiamanEarl Cornwallis, transported the regiment toCeylon, where it saw action in theKandyan Wars.[9] After returning home in 1807, it embarked forPortugal in October 1808 for service in thePeninsular War and saw action at theBattle of Corunna in January 1809 before being evacuated from the Peninsula.[6] It became alight infantry regiment as the51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) in May 1809.[10] It then embarked for theNetherlands in summer 1809 and saw action in the disastrousWalcheren Campaign.[6]
The regiment returned to the Portugal in 1811 and took part in theBattle of Fuentes de Oñoro in May 1811, thesecond siege of Badajoz in summer 1811 and thesiege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812.[6] At Badajoz Ensign Joseph Dyas, a junior officer in the regiment, distinguished himself by twice leading the storming party on the San Cristobal Fort.[11] The regiment went on to fight at theBattle of Salamanca in July 1812, thesiege of Burgos in September 1812 and theBattle of Vitoria in June 1813.[6] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at theBattle of the Pyrenees in July 1813, theBattle of Nivelle in November 1813 and theBattle of the Nive in December 1813 as well as theBattle of Orthez in February 1814.[6] It then returned to England in June 1814.[6] FollowingNapoleon's escape fromElba in February 1815, it embarked forOstend in March 1815 and fought at theBattle of Waterloo in June 1815.[9] At Waterloo the regiment prevented 100 Frenchcuirassiers from escaping the field of battle.[12]
The regiment travelled toAustralia in detachments as escorts to prisoners in 1837 and then moved on toIndia in 1846.[6] From there it was deployed toBurma and saw action atPegu in 1852 during theSecond Anglo-Burmese War.[6] Although it returned to England in 1854, it was deployed to India again in 1857 to help suppress theIndian Rebellion and was still in India for theAmbela Campaign in 1863.[6] It was also from India that it was deployed toAfghanistan in autumn 1878 and saw action at theBattle of Ali Masjid in November 1878 during theSecond Anglo-Afghan War.[6]
As part of theCardwell Reforms of the 1870s, where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 51st was linked with the105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry), and assigned to district no. 8 atPontefract Barracks in theWest Riding of Yorkshire.[13] On 1 July 1881 theChilders Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) to form theKing's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.[14]
Battle honours gained by the regiment were:[10]
Colonels of the regiment were:[10]