| East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge | |
| Active | 1685–1958 |
| Country |  Kingdom of England (1685–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1958) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Size | 1–2Regular battalions 1Militia Battalion 2Territorial battalions Up to 16 Hostilities-only battalions |
| RHQ | Victoria Barracks, Beverley |
| Nicknames | The Snappers[1] The Poona Guards[2] |
| Anniversaries | Quebec (13 September) |
TheEast Yorkshire Regiment was aline infantryregiment of theBritish Army, first raised in 1685 asSir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being amalgamated with theWest Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) in 1958, to form thePrince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Subsequently, the regiment amalgamated with theGreen Howards and theDuke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) to form theYorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) on 6 June 2006.
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Raised in 1685 in Nottingham bySir William Clifton, 3rd Baronet,[3] the regiment was originally, like many British infantry regiments, known by the name of its currentColonel.[4] It took part in theBattle of Killiecrankie in July 1689[5] and theBattle of Cromdale in April 1690 during theJacobite rising of 1689 to 1692.[5]
The regiment embarked forFlanders in spring 1694 for service in theNine Years' War and took part in the capture ofHuy in autumn 1694,[6] the attack ofFort Knokke in June 1695[6] and theSiege of Namur in summer 1695[7] before returning home in 1697.[8]
The regiment was sent toHolland in 1701 for service in theWar of the Spanish Succession and fought at the siege ofKaiserswerth in 1702,[9] the siege ofVenlo later that year[10] and theBattle of Blenheim in August 1704.[11] It went on to fight at theBattle of Ramillies in May 1706,[12] theBattle of Oudenarde in July 1708[13] and theBattle of Malplaquet in September 1709.[14] It returned to England in 1714.[15] It was sent toScotland and took part in theBattle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 duringJacobite rising.[16]
The regiment was deployed toSouth America, where it took part in theBattle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741 during theWar of Jenkins' Ear.[17] It also saw action at theBattle of Culloden in April 1746 during the nextJacobite rising.[18] In 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the15th Regiment of Foot.[4]
The regiment went on to take part inthe capture ofÎle-d'Aix in 1757[19] and, having sailed forNorth America in 1758,[19] fought at theBattle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during theSeven Years' War.[20] In 1782 the regiment became the15th (The Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot.[4]
The regiment was sent to North America again in spring 1776 for service in theAmerican Revolutionary War. It saw action at theBattle of Long Island in August 1776, theBattle of White Plains in October 1776 and theBattle of Fort Washington in November 1776.[21] It also took part in theBattle of Brandywine in September 1777,[22] theBattle of Germantown in October[23] and theBattle of White Marsh in December 1777.[23]
The regiment was deployed to theWest Indies in 1795 for service in theFrench Revolutionary Wars and fought at attacks onMartinique andGuadeloupe[24] before returning to England in 1796.[25] The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1805[26] for service in theNapoleonic Wars and took part in theinvasion of Martinique in January 1809 and theinvasion of Guadeloupe in January 1810.[27]
The regiment spent most of the 19th century on garrison duty, both at home and throughout theEmpire. The 1st Battalion was shipped toNew Brunswick in 1862 at the time of theTrent Affair, when Britain and theUnited States came close to war. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by theCardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot atVictoria Barracks, Beverley from 1873, or by theChilders reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.[28] Under the reforms the regiment becameThe East Yorkshire Regiment on 1 July 1881.[29] The 1st battalion was stationed atGibraltar in 1885, moved to the West Indies in 1886, then toSouth Africa in 1888 and toEgypt in 1893. From 1895 the battalion was stationed inBritish India, where they had various postings, including atBelgaum andFort St. George inMadras Presidency until late 1902 when it was posted toShwebo in Burma.[30]
The 2nd Battalion was stationed in British India from 1875 to February 1888, and fought in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War (1879–80). After six months inAden that year, the battalion was back in England until November 1894, when it was stationed in Ireland.[31] TheSecond 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 SSNile fromSouthampton in March 1900, and arrived in South Africa the following month.[32][33] The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, returning home in late 1902 when they were stationed atAldershot.[34]
The 3rd (Militia) battalion, formed from theEast 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.[35] About 560 officers and men returned to Southampton on the SSGreek in early October 1902, following the end of the war, when the battalion was disembodied at Beverley.[36]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force and the latter theSpecial Reserve;[37] the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions.[38][4]
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The 1st Battalion landed atSaint-Nazaire as part of the18th Brigade in the6th Division in September 1914 for service on theWestern Front.[39] The 2nd Battalion landed atLe Havre as part of the83rd Brigade in the28th Division in January 1915 also for service on the Western Front before moving toSalonika in October 1915 for service on theMacedonian front.[39]
The1/4th Battalion landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of theYork and Durham Brigade in theNorthumbrian Division in April 1915 for service on the Western Front. The2/4th Battalion served in thegarrison of theImperial fortresscolony ofBermuda (where the Right Wing, 15th Regiment of Foot had been stationed from 1819 to 1821, and the 1st Battalion, 15th Regiment of Foot had been stationed from 1868 to 1870) from November, 1916, through the end of the war,[40][41][42][43] and the3/4th Battalion remained at home and trained reinforcements.[39] The5th (Cyclist) Battalion served on coastal defence duties for the whole war.[44]
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed atSuvla Bay inGallipoli as the pioneer battalion for the11th (Northern) Division in August 1915; the battalion was evacuated in January 1916 and then landed atMarseille in July 1916 for service on the Western Front.[39] The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of50th Brigade in the17th (Northern) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[39] The8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the62nd Brigade in the21st Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front, later serving with3rd Division. The 9th (Reserve) Battalion remained at home supplying drafts to the New Army battalions serving overseas.[39]
The10th,11th,12th and13th (Service) Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering inKingston upon Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions and were known as theHull Pals, nicknamed the 'Hull Commercials', 'Hull Tradesmen', 'Hull Sportsmen' and 'T'others' respectively. They formed92nd Brigade in31st Division, landed inEgypt in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 also for service on the Western Front. Their depot companies became the14th (Reserve) and15th (Reserve) Battalions.[39][45][46]
There were also a 1st Garrison Battalion that served inIndia and a 2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion.[39]
In 1935, the regiment was renamedThe East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), after its Colonel-in-Chief.[4]
The 1st Battalion was serving inBritish India on the outbreak of war in 1939 and did not see active service until 1942. In 1944, the Battalion was based inBethamangala as part of the150th Indian Infantry Brigade, where it was reorganised and trained in jungle warfare at the Jungle Warfare Training Center, Gudalur, in theMysore jungle and then played its part in theBurma Campaign.[47] It moved into Burma, crossing theChindwin River atKalewa and theIrrawaddy River at Sameikkon in April 1945 and joined the99th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the17th Indian Division atMeiktila after the siege by the Japanese had been broken.[48]
The 2nd Battalion served with the8th Infantry Brigade (which included the 1stSuffolks and 1stSouth Lancs), attached to the3rd Infantry Division throughout the whole war. At the time, the 3rd Division was commanded byMajor-GeneralBernard Montgomery, who would later command the Anglo-Canadian21st Army Group. The battalion and division were sent to France in late 1939 as part of theBritish Expeditionary Force and remained there until May 1940 when they fought in theBattle of France and wereevacuated at Dunkirk. After Dunkirk, the battalion and division spent many years on home defence anticipating aGerman 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.[47]
The4th Battalion was a 1st LineTerritorial Army unit serving in the150th Infantry Brigade in the50th (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 theMiddle East. It was captured at theBattle of Gazala.[49]
The5th Battalion was formed in June 1939 as a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 4th Battalion. It served with the69th Infantry Brigade in the23rd (Northumbrian) Division and was evacuated from Dunkirk. It later served with 50th (Northumbrian) Division through theWestern Desert,Tunisian andSicily campaigns before landing in the first wave onGold Beach onD Day and then fighting throughNormandy andNorth West Europe.[50]
In theSecond 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.[51][52]
The 7th Battalion was formed in 1940 and assigned to 203 Infantry Brigade.[53] 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.[54]
The 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in May 1940.[55] In October, it was redesignated as the 8th battalion and assigned to 217 Infantry Brigade.[56][57] In November 1941, the battalion was transferred to 224 Infantry Brigade, which was disbanded the following month. The battalion was then converted to115 LAA Regiment, RA and assigned to the46th Infantry Division, with which it served in North Africa, Italy and Palestine.[58][59]
The regiment was inMandatory Palestine during theZionist insurgency and then took part in theMalayan Emergency in 1953–56 before returning toGermany as part of theBritish Army of the Rhine. In 1958, it was amalgamated with The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own), to form thePrince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire.[4]
The regimental collection is held by the York Army Museum which is based at theTower Street drill hall inYork.[60]
TheLondon and North Eastern Railway named one of its V2 locomotives, No. 4780 (later No 809 and then British Railways 60809) as The Snapper. The East Yorkshire Regiment. The Duke of York's Own[61]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[4]
The following members of the regiment were awarded theVictoria Cross:
Colonels of the regiment included:[4]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) The depot was the 5th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 15th Regimental District depot thereafterYesterday morning at noon, His Honour the Officer Administering the Government, CoL H. B. DesVoeux, C.M.G. attended at the Council Chamber and received the Honourable Members of the Legislative Council, and the members of the Honourable House of Assembly.
A guard of honour was furnished by the 2/4 Batn. E. York Regiment, consisting of 50 rank and file and a Subaltern under the command of Capt. Hannaford.
The Council Chamber was filled with officers of the Navy and Army, together with a large number of civilians. Admiral Morgan Singer attended with his Staff. The Captain in Charge, Capt. Fanshawe, the Captain and Officers of H.M.S. Cambrian, and a number of naval officers on the station. Amongst the military we noticed, Colonel Lockhart, Col. Berger, Major Fairfield and a large number of the officers of the E. Yorks Regt.
Much Speculation was caused when the Caraquet came alongside yesterday.
Who were the officers? Had the new regiment arrived? Was a new military scheme in contemplation?
But it transpired that the War Office in England had remembered the East Yorks were about to depart, and had sent out the following officers for the nice little trip.
Lieuts. Maw, J. A. Hogg, Wilson, R. Roe, and E. H. Hardy.
