East Yorkshire Regiment

Early wars

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

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, the attack of Fort Knokke in June 1695 and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home in 1697.

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, the siege of Venlo later that year and the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704. It went on to fight at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709. It returned to England in 1714. It was sent to Scotland and took part in the Battle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 during Jacobite rising.

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. It also saw action at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the next Jacobite rising. In 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the 15th Regiment of Foot.

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

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. It also took part in the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, the Battle of Germantown in October 1777 and the Battle of White Marsh in December 1777.

Napoleonic Wars

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 before returning to England in 1796. The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1805 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.

The Victorian era

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. Under the reforms the regiment became The East Yorkshire Regiment on 1 July 1881. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the Second Boer War.

Regular Army

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. 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.

Territorial Force

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.

New Armies

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. 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. 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.

The 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th (Service) Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering in Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions. They landed in Egypt as part of the 92nd Brigade in the 31st Division in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 also for service on the Western Front.

Between the wars

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

Second World War

In the Second World War, six hostilities-only battalions were raised. The 1st Battalion was serving in British India on the outbreak of war in 1939 and did not see active service until 1942 when the Empire of Japan entered the war. The battalion fought in the Burma Campaign in many different British Indian Army brigades. 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 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 receded, they then started training for offensive operations and, in mid-1944, invaded Normandy, France.

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.

The 5th Battalion was formed in 1939 as a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 4th Battalion. It served with the 69th Infantry Brigade in the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division.

After the War

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.

Battle honours

The regiment’s battle honours were as follows:

Victoria Cross recipients

The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the regiment included:

The 15th Regiment of Foot

The 15th (York, East Riding) Regiment

The East Yorkshire Regiment