East Yorkshire Regiment
Encyclopedia
The East Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry
regiment
of the line in the British Army
, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own), becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire in 1958. Subsequently, the regiment was one of the Yorkshire
infantry regiments which amalgamated to form the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)
on 6 June 2006.
, it was originally, like many British infantry regiments, known by the name of its current Colonel
. In 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the 15th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 the 15th (The Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot. With the Childers Reforms
of 1881, it became The East Yorkshire Regiment, the County Regiment of the East Riding of Yorkshire
, and in 1935 was renamed The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), after its Colonel-in-Chief. 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.
It fought in the War of Spanish Succession, the Jacobite Rising of 1719 and in North America and the West Indies during the War of Jenkin's Ear, Seven Years' War
and the American Revolutionary War
. It again fought in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars
, taking part in the invasions of Martinique (1809)
and Guadeloupe (1810)
.
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 of America came close to war. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War
and the Second Boer War
.
In World War I
, sixteen hostilities-only battalions were formed, which fought on the Western Front
, at Gallipoli, in Macedonia
and Egypt
.
In the Second World War, six hostilities-only battalions were raised. The Regiment fought in the Battle of France
and was evacuated at Dunkirk. It took part in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Western Europe, the North African Campaign
, the Invasion of Sicily
and the Burma Campaign.
The Regiment was in Palestine at the end of the British Mandate and took part in the Malayan Emergency
in 1953-1956 before returning to Germany
as part of the British Army of the Rhine
. In 1958, it returned to Britain for amalgamation.
Battle honours
:
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the line in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own), becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire in 1958. Subsequently, the regiment was one of the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
infantry regiments which amalgamated to form the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)
Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
on 6 June 2006.
History
Raised in 1685 in Nottingham by Sir William Clifton, 3rd BaronetSir William Clifton, 3rd Baronet
Sir William Clifton was 3rd Baronet Clifton of Clifton, Nottinghamshire, and Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire from 1683-1686. In 1685 he founded a regiment which later became the 15th Regiment of Foot and subsequently the East Yorkshire Regiment.-Family:William was the third, but eldest...
, it was originally, like many British infantry regiments, known by the name of its current Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. In 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the 15th Regiment of Foot and in 1782 the 15th (The Yorkshire East Riding) Regiment of Foot. With the Childers Reforms
Childers Reforms
The Childers Reforms restructured the infantry regiments of the British army. The reforms were undertaken by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell reforms....
of 1881, it became The East Yorkshire Regiment, the County Regiment of the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, and in 1935 was renamed The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), after its Colonel-in-Chief. 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.
It fought in the War of Spanish Succession, the Jacobite Rising of 1719 and in North America and the West Indies during the War of Jenkin's Ear, Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. It again fought in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, taking part in the invasions of Martinique (1809)
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
and Guadeloupe (1810)
Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810)
The Invasion of Guadeloupe was a British amphibious operation fought between 28 January and 6 February 1810 over control of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe during the Napoleonic Wars. The island was the final remaining French colony in the Americas, following the systematic invasion and capture...
.
The Regiment spent most of the 19th century on garrison duty, both at home and throughout the Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The 1st Battalion was shipped to New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in 1862 at the time of the "Trent Affair
Trent affair
The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...
", when Britain and the United States of America came close to war. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner...
and the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, sixteen hostilities-only battalions were formed, which fought on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, at Gallipoli, in Macedonia
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
and Egypt
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
.
In the Second World War, six hostilities-only battalions were raised. The Regiment fought in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and was evacuated at Dunkirk. It took part in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Western Europe, the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
, the Invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
and the Burma Campaign.
The Regiment was in Palestine at the end of the British Mandate and took part in the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
in 1953-1956 before returning to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as part of the British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
. In 1958, it returned to Britain for amalgamation.
Battle honoursBattle honours of the British and Imperial ArmiesThe following battle honours were awarded to units of the British Army and the armies of British India and the Dominions of the British Empire. From their institution until the end of the Second World War, awards were made by, or in consultation with, the British government, but, since 1945, the...
- Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Louisburg, Quebec 1759, Martinique 1762, Havannah, St. Lucia 1778, Martinique 1794 1809, Guadeloupe 1810, Afghanistan 1879-80, South Africa 1900-02
- The Great War (21 battalions): Aisne 1914 '18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915 '17 '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Hooge 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Oppy, Messines 1917 '18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Struma, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-16
- The Second World War: Withdrawal to Escaut, Defence of Escaut, Defence of Arras, French Frontier 1940, Ypres-Comines Canal, Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, Tilly sur Seulles, Odon, Caen, Bourguébus Ridge, Troarn, Mont Pincon, St. Pierre la Vielle, Gheel, Nederrijn, Aam, Venraij, Rhineland, Schaddenhof, Brinkum, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Gazala, Mersa Matruh, Defence of Alamein Line, El Alamein, Mareth, Wadi Zigzaou, Akarit, North Africa 1942-43, Primosole Bridge, Sicily 1943, Sittang 1945, Burma 1945
Victoria Crosses
The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria CrossVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
:
- Private George William ChaferGeorge William ChaferGeorge William Chafer VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Great War - Private John Cunningham, Great War
- Second Lieutenant John Harrison, Great War
- Sergeant Harold Jackson, Great War
- Private Eric AndersonEric Anderson (VC)Eric Anderson VC was an English soldier who received the Victoria Cross.- Early life :He was born in Fagley in Bradford, West Yorkshire, the only son of George and Mary Anderson....
, Second World War