4 YORKS History

The history of the Territorial Battalion, which once more forms an integral part of The Yorkshire Regiment, is almost as long as that of its Regular colleagues and far more complex.

E and WRR Crest
THE EAST AND WEST RIDING REGIMENT AND THE TYNE TEES REGIMENT
In 1999 The East and West Riding Regiment (E and WRR) was formed from the amalgamation of the Kings Own Yorkshire Yeomanry Light Infantry (KOYYLI), the 3rd Battalion the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Yorkshire Volunteers) and the 3rd Battalion the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (Yorkshire Volunteers).  The Regiment's footprint covered York and the old county areas of the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire. 
 
The Tyne Tees Regiment (TTR) was formed from the 4th/5th Battalion Green Howards, 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and the 7th Battalion the Light Infantry.  A and B (Green Howards) Companies of the Tyne Tees Regiment were located in Scarborough, Northallerton and Middlesbrough.
 

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The E and WRR comprised a Regimental Headquarters and a Headquarters Company (Waterloo Company from 2004) in Pontefract and Wakefield; Minden (LI) Company in Wakefield and Doncaster, Imphal (PWO) and Quebec (PWO) Companies in York, Leeds, Hull and Beverley; Fontenay (DWR) and Ypres (DWR) Companies in Barnsley, Sheffield, Huddersfield and Keighley. 
 
During the Regiment's short life, numerous soldiers volunteered or were mobilised for service in the UK or overseas.  Soldiers from the Regiment deployed on every single Operation TELIC.  The largest single contingent being a composite company (Normandy Company) which included a platoon from the Tyne Tees Regiment, who deployed on Operation TELIC 5 (Aug 04 - May 05).  Normandy Company suffered one fatality - Private Mark Stephen Dobson - during their tour.
 
Cap Badge of The Yorkshire Volunteers
THE YORKSHIRE VOLUNTEERS
The Defence Review of 1966 directed cut-backs in the size of the Territorial Army. As one result, the Yorkshire Volunteers was formed by the amalgamation of elements of Yorkshire's Territorial Army battalions.  The Headquarters of the new Regiment was at York with companies based at York, Middlesbrough, Halifax and Sheffield.  In 1969 a fifth company was formed in Leeds from the Leeds Rifles and the five parent Territorial Army major units were reduced from battalion to cadre strength and placed under the administration of the Yorkshire Volunteers.  These Territorial Army Battalions formed the Yorkshire Volunteers:
  • 3rd Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (T.A.)
  • The Leeds Rifles The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (T.A.)
  • 4th/5th Battalion The Green Howards (T.A.)
  • The West Riding Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (T.A.)
  • The Hallamshire Battalion The York and Lancaster Regiment (T.A.)
In 1971, the 2nd Battalion and 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers were raised by the five infantry cadres together with the cadres of the three remaining Royal Artillery Territorial Army Regiments in the County of York.  The two Battalion Headquarters were at York and Huddersfield with companies raised upon the detachment locations previously used by the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers.
 
A further reorganisation, completed on 1st January 1988, resulted in the formation of a 4th Battalion, but on the 4th April 1992 the 3rd and 4th Battalions amalgamated to become the 3rd/4th Battalion with its Headquarters at Sheffield. 
 
The conclusion of the Options for Change Review of the Territorial Army saw the introduction of a policy of closer linkage between Territorial Army Battalions and their Regular counterparts. As a result, the Ministry of Defence directed that the Yorkshire Volunteers was to be disbanded and that its constituent Battalions would, in future, separately form part of the Yorkshire Infantry Regiments of the Line.  In 1993, the entire regiment was formed up at Somme Barracks in Catterick and each battalion was rebadged as follows:
  • 1st Battalion became, 4th/5th Battalion Green Howards (Yorkshire Volunteers)
  • 2nd Battalion became, 3rd Battalion the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Yorkshire Volunteers)
  • 3rd/4th Battalion became, 3rd Battalion the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (Yorkshire Volunteers)
THE TERRITORIAL ARMY
For most of the nineteenth century Volunteers were completely independent of the Regular Army and confined to the role of Home Defence.  The Cardwell reforms of 1881 established the first formal links between Volunteers and Regular Regiments.  The title was changed to the Territorial Force in 1908 when all Volunteer, Yeomanry and Militia units were integrated. 
 
At the outbreak of the First World War, battalions became even more closely integrated with their Regular counterparts and for the first time fought overseas as complete units.  Though they returned to the Home Defence role (the Territorial Force was renamed Territorial Army in the early 1920s) between the wars, the same principle was followed in the Second World War. 
 
The Prince of Wales's Own, Green Howards and the Duke of Wellington's Territorial battalions fought with distinction in all the main theatres of conflict in both world wars.  Throughout the post-war period the Territorial Army has endured a succession of reductions and wholesale changes.