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About The Yorkshire Regiment

The Yorkshire Regiment consists of three Regular Army Infantry Battalions (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and one Territorial Army Infantry Battalion (4th). We also have a local recruiting and display team and further afield numerous soldiers in training roles around the United Kingdom, Europe and the World.
We recruit soldiers with a strong sense of unity and high sporting prowess from Yorkshire and the rest of the UK. The Regiment is founded on more than 300 years of Yorkshire Warrior tradition and united by common values, history and home.

We represent all that is best in the Army, in professionalism, in role, on operations, for career, for sport and for family. We are the best because our soldiers are the best.

Our ethos reflects a sense of belonging to Yorkshire and the common values of honesty, fairness, grit and pride. This Regiment is a strong, inclusive and meritocratic family that draws from the best military traditions of our forebear regiments.

Regimental Honorary Freedoms

The privilege of a "Freedom" allows the Regiment to march through the Town or Borough with "drums beating, Colours flying and bayonets fixed".

The Yorkshire Regiment has been granted Freedom honours in the following locations:

  • York
  • Sheffield
  • Leeds
  • Bradford
  • Kingston-upon-Hull
  • Wakefield
  • Barnsley
  • Beverley (East Riding of Yorkshire)
  • Bridlington (East Riding of Yorkshire)
  • Halifax (Calderdale)
  • Harrogate
  • Huddersfield (Kirklees)
  • Middlesbrough
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Richmond
  • Rotherham
  • Scarborough
  • Skipton (Craven District)
  • Stockton on Tees
  • Warminster (Wiltshire)

Regimental Moto - "Fortune Favours The Brave"

The Yorkshire Regiment's moto "Fortune Favours The Brave" is taken from the family moto of our Deputy Colonel Colonel in Chief - Brigadier, His Grace, The 8th Duke of Wellington. The moto was previously used by the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)(33rd/76th Foot).

Victoria Cross and George Cross

Thirty-Eight Victoria Crosses and eight George Crosses have been awarded to soldiers from our antecedent regiments. 

The Victoria Cross (VC) is awarded to 'those officers or men who served us in the presence of the enemy and that shall have performed some single act of valour or devotion to the country'. The George Cross (GC) is the civilian counterpart of the Victoria Cross and it is the highest honour that can be awarded for civilians or to military personnel for gallant conduct when not in the face of the enemy.

Our first Victoria Cross recipient was Private John Lyons VC - 19th (The 1st Yorkshire North Riding) Regiment of Foot - who received his award for conspicuous gallantry in the trenches before Sevastopol on 10th June 1855. He ran forward to pick up a shell that had landed nearby and threw it out - saving the lives of many of his comrades.

The most recent recipient was Lieutenant Terence Waters GC - The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) - who received a George Cross posthumously for displaying the highest gallantry as a prisoner during the Korean War. The North Koreans food and medical supplies as a tool to persuade the prisoners to defect (as propaganda) and despite initial rejections Lieutenant Waters ordered his men to submit, in order to survive. Despite efforts to subvert him, he refused and died a short time later.

Regimental Battle Honours

The regiment boasts over 280 battle honours across our antecedent regiments.

The first honour is [the siege of] Namur of 1695, in which French occupied city was besieged by the grand Alliance of England, Bavaria and Spanish Netherlands. The battle has been described as the most important event of the Nine Year's War. This 14th Regiment of Foot's battle honour is listed on the Yorkshire Regiment's Regimental Colours.

The most recent battle honour is Iraq, in which 1st Battalion the Duke of Wellington's Regiment took part in Operation TELIC 1, the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Regimental Cap Badge

The Yorkshire Regment's cap badge comprises the white rose from the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, the Lion Rampant (part of the Duke of Wellington's crest) from the Duke of Wellington's Regiment and a brunswick green backing from the Green Howards.

Regimental Mascots and Pets

The 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment has two regimental pets - two ferrets named 'Imphal' and 'Quebec'.

Learn more about our furry friends and National Ferret Day (5 May) here www.nationalferretday.org

Regimental Footprint - Our Home

The Regimental Headquarters (RHQ), Territorial Army (TA) and Army Cadet Force (ACF) / Combined Cadet Force (CCF) footprint is essential to maintaining the Regiment and ethos. RHQ continues to develop and maintain close links with the community and provide support to the Associations.

RHQ is situated in York with Area Offices in Halifax, Richmond and York. The Affiliation with our ACF and CCF detachments is maintained and, where possible, training sponsorship enhanced.

Affiliated Cadet Forces

The Yorkshire Regiment has a large number of affiliated Combined Cadet Forces (CCF) contingents and Army Cadet Forces Detachments (ACF) within our Regimental footprint and furter afield.

There are nine CCF Contingents and forty-nine ACF Detachments in three Army Cadet Forces affiliated to the Regiment: Yorkshire (North and West) ACF; Humberside and South Yorkshire ACF; Cleveland ACF.