Active 1881–1968 Branch British Army Role Light infantry | Country United Kingdom Type Infantry | |
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Part of Light Infantry Brigade (1948–68) | ||
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry which in turn was merged with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to become The Rifles in 2007.
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The 51st Foot
The 53rd Regiment of Foot was raised in Leeds in 1755 and renumbered the 51st in January 1757. In 1782, in common with other regiments of the line, the 51st was given a "county" designation, becoming the 51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding) Regiment of Foot. The title of Light Infantry was given in honour of its former commander General Sir John Moore in 1809, and in 1821 the regiment was given royal status when King's Own was added to its title, becoming the 51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding, The King's Own Light Infantry) Regiment.
The 105th Foot
The 2nd Madras European Light Infantry was raised by the East India Company in 1839. In 1861 East India Company forces were absorbed into the British Army, and the regiment became the 105th (Madras Light Infantry) Regiment. The 105th Regiment moved to Pontefract Barracks to co-locate with the 51st Regiment in 1879.
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
In 1881 after the Cardwell and Childers 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. The Childers Reforms also combined Militia and rifle volunteer units into the regiments formed in 1881. Accordingly, the 1st West Yorks Rifles Militia became the 3rd Militia Battalion, while the 3rd Administrative Battalion West Riding of Yorkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps became the 1st Volunteer Battalion. In 1897 the regimental title was changed to the King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry).
With the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908, the 1st Volunteer Battalion was reorganised as the 4th Battalion and a 5th Battalion was also raised, while the 3rd Battalion was transferred to the Special Reserve. The 2nd battalion (105th) fought at the Battle of Modder River in November 1899 during the Second Boer War.
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 83rd Brigade in the 28th Division in January 1915 for service on the Western Front; it moved to Salonika in October 1915 and then landed at Taranto in Italy in July 1918. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 13th Brigade in the 5th Division in August 1914 also for service on the Western Front; the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of Le Cateau later that month when it took some 600 casualties.
Territorial Force
The 1/4th and 1/5th Battalions landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 3rd West Riding Brigade in the West Riding Division in April 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 2/4th and 2/5th Battalions landed at Le Havre as part of the 187th Brigade in the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in January 1917 also for service on the Western Front. Corporal Ernest Hayes, who was awarded three Military Medals in 1918 for acts of bravery on the Western Front, served with the 2/4th Battalion.
New Armies
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 43rd Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, who went on to be prolific military writer, served with the 6th Battalion. The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 61st Brigade in the 20th (Light) Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 70th Brigade in the 23rd Division in August 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.
The 9th and 10th (Service) Battalions landed in France as part of the 64th Brigade in the 21st Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front. Stuart Cloete, a South African novelist, served with the 9th Battalion at the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916. The 12th (Service) Battalion (Miners) (Pioneers) landed in Egypt as pioneer battalion for the 31st Division in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.
Inter-war
In 1921 the regiment became the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
Second World War
During the Second World War the battalions served in all three fronts (Europe, North Africa and Asia-Pacific).
The 1st Battalion, a Regular Army unit, was serving with the 15th Infantry Brigade, alongside the 1st Battalion, Green Howards and the 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, and was sent to France in 1939, as part of 5th Infantry Division. In May 1940, with the brigade, the battalion was sent to Norway where they saw service as part of Sickleforce in the Norwegian Campaign and was later evacuated. The battalion next saw action three years later in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and later the Allied invasion of Italy, and fought through the Italian Campaign, in the Battle of Anzio and Operation Diadem before, in July 1944, being sent to Palestine to rest and refit, and the division remained there until early 1945 when it was transferred to Italy again, only to be transferred to North-western Europe for the invasion of Germany, where the battalion ended its war.
The 2nd Battalion, also a Regular Army unit, fought as a rearguard in the retreat through Burma in 1942. However, the battalion saw little active service afterwards, remaining in British India on internal security duties.
The 1/4th Battalion served throughout the entire North West Europe Campaign, crossing the English Channel several days after D-Day as part of the 146th Infantry Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, fighting in the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944, fighting during the battle for Caen during Operation Martlet, the Second Battle of the Odon and later clearing the Channel Coast in Operation Astonia, garrisoning "The Island" during the aftermath of Operation Market Garden, where they then fought in the Battle of the Scheldt. The battalions' last battle was during the Second Battle of Arnhem.
The 2/4th Battalion was created in 1939 in the Territorial Army when the 4th Battalion was split in two, creating the 1/4th Battalion and the 2/4th Battalion. The 2/4th fought with the 138th Infantry Brigade, part of the 46th Infantry Division in the Battle of Dunkirk with the rest of the BEF. They also fought in the Tunisia Campaign in the final stages of the North African Campaign and later in the Italian Campaign.
The 5th Battalion was transferred to the Royal Artillery before the war and converted into the 53rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. From August 1940 until September 1942 the regiment served in Home Forces and joined the 10th Armoured Division, and was sent overseas, joining the British Eighth Army and served in the Italian Campaign for the rest of the war, from September 1943 shortly after the initial invasion.
The 7th Battalion became the 149th Regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1941, but continuing to wear their King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry cap badge on the black beret of the RAC.
The 8th Battalion was a war service battalion raised in July 1940 and was also transferred to the Royal Artillery and became the 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. In June 1942 the regiment became part of the Guards Armoured Division and served with it for the rest of the war, fighting in North-western Europe from June 1944 until May 1945.
The 9th Battalion (formerly the Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons) was motorized infantry assigned to the 18th Infantry Brigade and attached to the 1st Armoured Division. The battalion served in the Italian Campaign, fighting particularly severe battles such as that during the Battle of Anzio in early 1944 until, due to a severe shortage of manpower in the Italian theatre, it was disbanded later in the year.
Post war
Reduced to one regular battalion after the war, the regiment was deployed to Malaya in 1948 to take part in peacekeeping and counter-insurgency operations during the Malayan Emergency. The regiment was then sent to Kenya in 1954 as part of the response to the Mau Mau Uprising. It deployed to Aden in 1955 and to Cyprus in 1956 and returned to Malaya in 1962 during the early stages of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Its last transfer was to Montgomery Barracks in Berlin in 1967. The regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry in 1968.
Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum
The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum is housed in the same building as the Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery.
Cap badge
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 the White Rose of York, linking to the regiment's home in Yorkshire.
Victoria Cross
The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria 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 in the party of four who would be decorated, he was last. Queen Victoria died in the following January 1901.
Battle honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:
Colonels of the Regiment
Regimental Colonels were: