| King's Own Light Infantry (South Yorkshire Regiment) King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (51st and 105th) | |
|---|---|
 The 'French' Horn and White Rose of the KOYLI | |
| Active | 1881–1968 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Light infantry |
| Part of | Light Infantry Brigade (1948–68) |
| Garrison/HQ | Pontefract Barracks,Pontefract, West Yorkshire |
| Nickname | 'The Koylis' |
| Patron | George IV (who conferred the 'Royal' title in 1821) |
| Motto | Cede Nullis (Yield to none) |
| Colors | Dark Green, Royal Blue and Off-White |
| March | Quick: "Jockey to the Fair", Double: "The Keel Row", Slow: "Minden March" |
| Anniversaries | Minden Day (1 August) |
| Engagements | The Seven Years' War, The Peninsular War, Waterloo, The Boer War, World War I, World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-In-Chief | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Maj-Gen. C J Deedes OBE MC (1966–68) |
| Notable commanders | SirJohn Moore (1790–95) |
TheKing's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was alightinfantryregiment of theBritish Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with theSomerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, theKing's Shropshire Light Infantry and theDurham Light Infantry to formThe Light Infantry, which in turn was merged with theDevonshire and Dorset Regiment, theRoyal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and theRoyal Green Jackets to becomeThe Rifles in 2007.
The53rd Regiment of Foot was raised inLeeds in 1755 and renumbered the51st in January 1757. In 1782, in common with other regiments of the line, the 51st was given a "county" designation, becoming the51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding) Regiment of Foot. The title ofLight Infantry was given in honour of its former commander GeneralSir John Moore in 1809, and in 1821 the regiment was given royal status whenKing's Own was added to its title, becoming the51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding, The King's Own Light Infantry) Regiment.[1]
The2nd Madras European Light Infantry was raised by theEast India Company in 1839. In 1861 East India Company forces were absorbed into the British Army, and the regiment became the105th (Madras Light Infantry) Regiment.[1] The 105th Regiment moved toPontefract Barracks to co-locate with the 51st Regiment in 1879.[2]
In 1881, after theCardwell andChilders Reforms, regimental numbers were abolished. The 51st King's Own Light Infantry became the 1st Battalion,King's Own Light Infantry (South Yorkshire Regiment) and the 105th became its 2nd Battalion.[3] The Childers Reforms also combinedMilitia andrifle volunteer units into the regiments formed in 1881. Accordingly, the 1st West Yorks Rifles Militia became the 3rd Militia Battalion,[4] while the 3rd Administrative Battalion West Riding of Yorkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps became the 1st Volunteer Battalion.[5] In 1897, the regimental title was changed to theKing's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry).[6]
The 1st battalion was stationed atLimerick from 1899 until they in September 1902 transferred toAldershot.[7]
The 2nd battalion (105th) was stationed atMalta in 1884, moved toBritish India in 1887, then toMauritius in February 1899.[8] Following the outbreak of theSecond Boer War in October 1899, the battalion transferred toSouth Africa, where it fought at theBattle of Modder River in November 1899.[9] The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended in June 1902 with thePeace of Vereeniging. In October that year 790 officers and men of the battalion left Point Natal on the SSStaffordshire bound for Malta, where they were then stationed.[10]
During 1912, one battalion of the Regiment was stationed in Hong Kong. On 15 March 1912, a ceremony was held for the departure from the Colony of the Governor,Sir Frederick Lugard and it was reported that a guard of honour and a military band was provided by men of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.[11] The regiment was on parade oppositeBlake Pier.[12]
With the creation of theTerritorial Force in 1908, the 1st Volunteer Battalion was reorganised as the 4th Battalion at Bank Street inWakefield (since demolished)[5] and a 5th Battalion was also raised at Frenchgate inDoncaster (since demolished),[13] while the 3rd Battalion was transferred to the Special Reserve.[4]
The 1st Battalion landed atLe Havre as part of the83rd Brigade in the28th Division in January 1915 for service on theWestern Front; it moved toSalonika in October 1915 and then landed atTaranto in Italy in July 1918.[14] The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the13th Brigade in the5th Division in August 1914 also for service on the Western Front;[14] the 2nd Battalion saw action at theBattle of Le Cateau later that month when it took some 600 casualties.[15]
The 1/4th and1/5th Battalions landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of the3rd West Riding Brigade in theWest Riding Division in April 1915 for service on the Western Front.[14] The 2/4th and2/5th Battalions landed at Le Havre as part of the187th Brigade in the62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in January 1917 also for service on the Western Front.[14] Lt-ColOliver Watson commanding 5th KOYLI was awarded theVictoria Cross (VC) posthumously for his actions atRossignol Wood on 27 March 1918,[16] and SergeantLaurence Calvert of the same battalion was awarded the VC for actions at theBattle of Havrincourt (2 September 1918).[17] CorporalErnest Hayes, who was awarded threeMilitary Medals in 1918 for acts of bravery on the Western Front, served with the 2/4th Battalion.[18]
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the43rd Brigade in the14th (Light) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.[14]CaptainB. H. Liddell Hart, who went on to be prolific military writer, served with the 6th Battalion.[19] The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the61st Brigade in the20th (Light) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[14] The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the70th Brigade in the23rd Division in August 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.[14]
The 9th and 10th (Service) Battalions landed in France as part of the64th Brigade in the21st Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[14]Stuart Cloete, aSouth African novelist, served with the 9th Battalion at theBattle of the Somme in autumn 1916.[20] The 12th (Service) Battalion (Miners) (Pioneers) landed in Egypt as pioneer battalion for the31st Division in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.[14]
In 1921, the regiment became theKing's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.[21]
During theSecond World War, the battalions served in all three fronts (Europe, North Africa and Asia-Pacific).[22]
The 1st Battalion, aRegular Army unit, was serving with the15th Infantry Brigade, alongside the 1st Battalion,Green Howards and the1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, and was sent to France in 1939, as part of5th Infantry Division. In April 1940, with the brigade, the battalion was sent to Aandelsnes, Norway where they saw service as part of "Sickleforce" in theNorwegian Campaign and earned its first battle honour "Kvam" before it was evacuated on 1 May / 2 May. A period of training followed, with the battalion spending time in Scotland, Lancashire and Northern Ireland. In January 1942, the battalion commenced training for tropical service and moved to Poona, India. It was then decided to train for desert warfare and so the battalion was moved to Iran and then the Canal Zone for further training. The battalion next saw action in July 1943 during theAllied invasion of Sicily, and later theAllied invasion of Italy, before fighting through theItalian Campaign, in theBattle of Anzio andOperation Diadem before, in July 1944, being sent toPalestine to rest and refit. The battalion remained there until early 1945, when it was transferred to Italy again, only to be transferred to Marseilles in March 1945 for service inNorth-western Europe for theinvasion of Germany. There, the battalion ended its war, fighting its last action at Potrau on 1 May 1945, some five years after it was evacuated from Norway.[19]
The 2nd Battalion, also a Regular Army unit, fought as a rearguard in theretreat through Burma in 1942. However, the battalion saw little active service afterwards, remaining inBritish India oninternal security duties.[19]
The 1/4th Battalion served with the146th Infantry Brigade,49th (West Riding) Infantry Division throughout the War. The Battalion first saw action when it was transferred to Norway in April 1940 as part of the disastrous British and French intervention against the German invasion, serving as part of "Mauriceforce" atNamsos underMajor GeneralAdrian Carton de Wiart. The Battalion was soon evacuated and was moved toIceland with the rest of the 49th Division in May 1940 as part "Alabasterforce", where they were part of theoccupying garrison until returning to England in August 1942. Following training for the invasion of France, the Battalion did not land onD-Day but landed in France on 9 June 1944 and was soon fighting in theBattle of Normandy. The 1/4th Battalion fought during thebattle for Caen duringOperation Martlet, theSecond Battle of the Odon and laterclearing the Channel Coast inOperation Astonia, garrisoning "The Island" during the aftermath ofOperation Market Garden, where they then fought in theBattle of the Scheldt. The Battalions' last battle was during theSecond Battle of Arnhem.[22]
The 2/4th Battalion was created in 1939 in theTerritorial Army when the 4th Battalion was split in two, creating the 1/4th Battalion and the 2/4th Battalion. The 2/4th fought with the138th Infantry Brigade, part of the46th Infantry Division in theBattle of Dunkirk with the rest of theBEF. They also fought in theTunisia Campaign in the final stages of theNorth African Campaign and later in theItalian Campaign.[22]
The 5th Battalion was transferred to theRoyal Artillery before the war and converted into the53rd (KOYLI) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. It served in theBattle of France and on the beach at theDunkirk Evacuation and was then sent toEgypt, joining theBritish Eighth Army. It served with the10th Armoured Division at theSecond Battle of El Alamein and then in AA defence of airfields during the Eighth Army's dash toTunisia. Afterwards, it landed inSicily and inItaly, where it served as infantry and mortar troops as well as LAA gunners.[23][24] Before the outbreak of war, the 53rd LAA Regiment formed a duplicate,57th (KOYLI) LAA Regiment. This saw action in theAnglo-Iraqi War andSyria–Lebanon Campaign, then joined4th Indian Division, with which it served inOperation Crusader, at Alamein, in Tunisia and Italy. It ended the war as part of the intervention force (Operation Manna) in the Greek rebellion.[23][25]
The 7th Battalion was formed on 3 July 1940 as an infantry battalion. However, in June 1941, it became the149th Regiment in theRoyal Armoured Corps. The new formation continued to wear their King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry cap badge on the black beret of the RAC. The regiment was sent to India and became part of 50th Indian Tank Brigade. Following training, the regiment fought at Kohima and Imphal from April to August 1944.[26]
The 8th Battalion was a war service battalion raised in July 1940. It was transferred to the Royal Artillery and became the94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. In June 1942, the regiment became part of theGuards Armoured Division and served with it for the rest of the war, fighting in North-western Europe from June 1944 until May 1945.[27]
The 9th Battalion (formerly theQueen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons)[28] wasmotorized infantry assigned to the18th Infantry Brigade and attached to the1st Armoured Division.[29] The battalion served in the Italian Campaign, fighting particularly severe battles such as that during theBattle of Anzio in early 1944 until, due to a severe shortage of manpower in the Italian theatre, it was disbanded later in the year.[30]
Reduced to one regular battalion after the war, the regiment was deployed toMalaya in 1948 to take part inpeacekeeping andcounter-insurgency operations during theMalayan Emergency.[31] The regiment was then sent toKenya in 1954 as part of the response to theMau Mau Uprising.[31] It deployed toAden in 1955 and toCyprus in 1956 and returned to Malaya in 1962 during the early stages of theIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation.[31] Its last transfer was to Montgomery Barracks inBerlin in 1967.[31] The regiment was amalgamated with theSomerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, theKing's Shropshire Light Infantry and theDurham Light Infantry to formThe Light Infantry in 1968.[6]
TheKings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum is housed in the same building as theDoncaster Museum and Art Gallery.[32]
The badge of the regiment is unique amongst English light infantry regiments as the horn is of the 'French Hunting' type (with a twist). In its centre is theWhite Rose of York, linking to the regiment's home inYorkshire.[33]
The following members of the regiment were awarded theVictoria Cross:
Private Ward was the last Victoria Cross holder to actually have his VC pinned on his chest by Queen Victoria herself. He attended Windsor Castle in December 1900 and was the last of the party of four to be decorated. Queen Victoria died the following month.[34]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[6]
Regimental Colonels were:[35]
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