Jump to content

York and Lancaster Regiment

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rutlandeye (talk | contribs) at 22:03, 6 August 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Malayan Emergency

The York and Lancaster Regiment
Active1881 - 1968
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchArmy
TypeLine Infantry
SizeOne battalion
Part ofYorkshire Brigade
Nickname(s)The Tigers
Cat and Cabbage
Young and Lovelies
Motto(s)Honi soit qui mal y pense
MarchQuick - The York and Lancaster
Quick - The Jockey of York
Slow - Regimental Slow March of the York and Lancaster
Mascot(s)cat {unofficial}
Commanders
Colonel of
the Regiment		Field-Marshall Herbert Plumer

The York and Lancaster Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army.

History

It was formed in 1881 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:

The title of the regiment was derived not from the cities of York and Lancaster, or from the counties. Instead, the name came from the fact that it recruited from, amongst other places, landed properties owned by the Duchy of York and the Duchy of Lancaster. The regiment's recruiting area was in fact wholly within South Yorkshire (an area known as Hallamshire). Indeed, the regiment's Territorial Army battalion dropped its number and was known simply as The Hallamshire Battalion from 1924.

The new regiment saw service in both Egypt and Sudan immediately after its formation, and also during the Second Boer War, when it took part in the Relief of Ladysmith.

The Relief of Ladysmith. Sir George Stuart White greets Major Hubert Gough on 28 February. Painting by John Henry Frederick Bacon (1868-1914)

First World War

The regiment raised 22 battalions for service in the First World War,[1] of which eight saw action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. During the war it suffered 48,650 casualties out of 57,000 men serving, with 8,814 killed or died of wounds (72 out of every 100 men being either wounded or killed). The regiment won four Victoria Crosses and 59 battle honours, the largest number for any English regiment during the war.

The 22 battalions consisted of the two regular battalions, the depot battalion, six Territorial Army battalions, nine Service, two Reserve, one Transport and one Labour battalion. 17 of the 22 battalions saw service overseas.[2]

During the Battle of the Somme the Yorks and Lancs' eight battalions that went over the top on the first day suffered huge casualties, the three Pals battalions; 12th (Sheffield City), 13th and 14th Barnsley Pals Battalions, in particular suffering heavily. Eleven battalions of the regiment fought during the Somme campaign.[2]

The regular 1st Battalion returned from service in India to be formed up as part of the 28th Division. The 28th Division consisted of regular battalions returning from overseas service and was shipped to France in January 1915. The 1st Battalion saw action in the Second Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Loos. The battalion was then shipped to the Balkans as part of the British Salonika Army where it would remain until the end of the war.[2] While the battalion was still in France Private Samuel Harvey won the York and Lancs' first Victoria Cross since the regiment's creation in 1881.

The 2nd Battalion was stationed in Ireland with the 16th Brigade when war broke out. The battalion arrived on the Western Front in September 1914 with the 6th Division as part of the original British Expeditionary Force. The 2nd Battalion fought its first battle at Armentières during the Race to the Sea.[2] The 2nd Battalion fought in most of the major battles of the war including the Battle of the Somme and spent the entire war serving in France and Flanders.[2] Private John Caffrey, 2nd battalion, won the Victoria Cross in 1915.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the regiment raised ten battalions, six of which served in the Burma Campaign in various roles. Other units of the regiment saw service in Europe - both the 1st Battalion and The Hallamshire Battalion were involved in the Norwegian campaign.

The 1st Battalion was carried to and from Norway by HMS Sheffield; this led to a bond of friendship between the regiment and the ship, and meant that when the Sheffield was adopted by its namesake city, the Yorks and Lancs was awarded the freedom of Sheffield soon after. This battalion served in the 15th Infantry Brigade, part of the 5th Infantry Division and after being shipped around most of the British Empire was finally sent to Italy where they fought through that campaign from 1943 to 1945.

The 2nd Battalion (part of the 14th Infantry Brigade), before becoming Chindits, was involved in the defence of Heraklion, during the Battle of Crete in 1941.[3] Most of their casualties in this battle were suffered in the withdrawal by the Royal Navy which came under heavy air attack from the German Luftwaffe. On returning to Egypt they became part of the British 70th Infantry Division used in the breakout from Tobruk, where they suffered heavy casualties as one of the lead battalions. They were transferred, along with the rest of the 70th Infantry Division, to India and Burma where they took part in the 2nd Chindit Campaign and the Arakan offensive toward the end of the war.

Allied troops pick through the ruins of Namsos after a German air raid, April 1940.

The Hallamshire Battalion, were part of Mauriceforce (Norwegian Campaign) in Norway in April 1940. The Hallamshires took part in the unsuccessful Namsos Campaign and were evacuated back to Britain by 5 May. The Hallamshires did not see active service until it was landed in Normandy soon after D-Day and fought its way through France, Belgium (where Cpl.J.W.Harper won the regiment's fifth Victoria Cross), and into Holland where they were part of the bitter fighting that led to the eventual capture of Arnhem in 1945.

The former 5th Battalion (Territorial Army), which had converted to anti-aircraft artillery in 1936, as the 67th (Y & L) HAA Regiment, Royal Artillery, served in the North African Campaign in 1941 before being transferred to India and then Burma where they were prominent at Imphal, and later at Mandalay. From October 1944 to January 1945 the regiment served as infantry due to the shortage of manpower

The 6th Battalion went to France in 1940 with the 46th Infantry Division, and experienced heavy fighting in the St. Omer — La Bassee area. In 1942 the Division was part of the First Army in Tunisia, and from 1943 until the end of the war they fought with the Eighth Army in Italy, from Salerno to Rimini.

Meanwhile the 7th Battalion was in India (from December 1942), but served mainly on the North-West Frontier, before being moved to Burma in 1945, too late to contribute to the defeat of Japan.

The 8th and 9th Battalions, after being stationed in Northern Ireland from 1940 to 1942, were both sent to India in 1942 where they joined the Indian 25th Infantry Division. The two battalions took a significant part in the Arakan battles of 1942-1943 and in the battles for southern Burma in 1944 to 1945.

The 10th Battalion was converted to tanks in India, becoming the 150th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, in the 254th Indian Tank Brigade. The 150th Regiment used Lee tanks with which it fought at the Battles of Imphal, Kohima and Meiktila and on the advance to Rangoon (Operation Dracula).

Post World War II

Following the Second World War, the regiment saw service around the world, including participation in the Malayan Emergency and in the Suez Crisis of 1956. With the reorganisation of the army in 1968, the Yorks and Lancs was one of two infantry regiments that chose to be disbanded rather than amalgamated with another regiment. However, although the 1st Battalion was disbanded in 1968, with the Regimental HQ closing in 1987, the traditions of the regiment were continued through the descendents of the Hallamshire Battalion, which was constituted as two companies in the Yorkshire Volunteers. This was reduced to a single company in 1992 and then a platoon in 1999, when The East and West Riding Regiment (E and WRR) was formed. Between 1999 and 2006 the platoon was known within E and WRR as 'The Hallamshire Platoon'.

On 6 June 2006, the platoon took its rightful place in the ORBAT of the newly formed 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment thus ensuring a continued and direct link, via the Territorial Army, with The York and Lancaster Regiment. Recognition of this link was further reinforced by a recent decision by the Yorkshire Regiment Association (YRA) to recognise all former members of the York and Lancaster Regiment be members of the YRA[4].

Honours and Affiliations

Battle honours

1. the honour India of the 84th Regt was modified to India 1796-1819 in 1912 to differentiate it from the "India" Tiger badge of the 65th Regt
2. awarded 1909 for services of 65th Regiment

Victoria Cross awards

Affiliations

See also

Trivia

One of the characters in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys goes on from school and university to serve in the York and Lancaster Regiment. The film version is set in 1983, 15 years after the disbandment of the regiment's 1st Battalion.

References

  1. ^ "York and Lancaster Regiment History". Yorks and Lancs.org. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Regimental War Path". warpath.orbat.com. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  3. ^ Dillon, John. "Battle of Crete, 1941". John Dillon. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  4. ^ http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/10445.aspx
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=York_and_Lancaster_Regiment&oldid=377551533"