Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire

The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was created in 1958 by the amalgamation of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and the East Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of York's Own) (15th Foot). After 48 years service, the regiment was amalgamated again, this time with two other Yorkshire regiments. It became the 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot), with the Green Howards (19th Foot) forming the 2nd Battalion and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (33rd/76th Foot) forming the 3rd Battalion on 6 June 2006. Following further merges, in 2012, the battalion was redesignated as the new 2nd Battalion (2 YORKS) .

Formation and name

The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was formed on 25 April 1958 by the amalgamation of The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) (15th Foot).

History

The first overseas posting for the regiment was from September 1958 to June 1959 in the Colony of Aden (present day, part of Yemen), followed by a posting to Gibraltar from June 1959 to June 1961.

In 1993, the regiment deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of UNPFOR, with companies in Gornji Vakuf and Vitez. They picked up the unofficial nickname of "ShootBat" due to the 'robustness' of the battalion's actions.

In 1994, the battalion moved to the British Army Training Unit Suffield, Canada followed by a move to Warminster as the Infantry Demonstration Battalion at the Land Warfare Centre. 1997 saw the battalion stationed in Chester with deployments to Ulster, Sierra Leone (Operation Basilica) support to Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during the foot and mouth outbreak. Training exercises took troops to Kenya, Jamaica, Italy and Oman. By 2001-2003, 1PWO was in Omagh followed by a move to Catterick Garrison as an Air Assault Battalion, with deployments to Bosnia, as part of SFOR and a training exercise to Belize in 2005.

The regiment amalgamated with its sister battalions of The Green Howards and The Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form The Yorkshire Regiment on 6 June 2006.

Colonels-in-Chief

1958–1965: General HRH Mary, Princess Royal
1985–2006: Major General HRH Katharine, Duchess of Kent

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were:

1958–1960: Brig. Robert John Springhall, CB, OBE
1960–1970: Brig. Gerald Hilary Cree, CBE, DSO
1970–1979: Brig. William Stanley Gibson Armour, MBE
1979–1986: Brig. Henry Michael Tillotson, CBE
1986–1996: Maj-Gen. Anthony Bernard Crowfoot, CBE
1996–2001: Maj-Gen. Edward Horace Alexander Beckett, CB, MBE
2001–2006: Maj-Gen. Alastair David Arton Duncan, DSO, OBE
2006: Regiment merged with the Green Howards and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form the Yorkshire Regiment

Commanding Officers

Commanding Officers have included:

1958–1960: Lieutenant Colonel Boris R. D. Garside
1960–1962: Lt Col William S. G. Armour
1962–1965: Lt Col Peter E. Taylor
1965–1967: Lt Col T. Roy Birkett
1967–1969: Lt Col William A. E. Todd
1969–1971: Lt Col Henry M. Tillotson
1971–1973: Lt Col David W. Hanson
1973–1976: Lt Col Anthony Bernard Crowfoot
1976–1978: Lt Col Edwin Horace Alexander Beckett
1978–1981: Lt Col Frederick John Filor
1981–1983: Lt Col Peter E. Woolley
1983–1986: Lt Col Rory H. J. Forsyth
1986–1988: Lt Col Duncan A. H. Green
1988–1990: Lt Col John C. L. King
1990–1993: Lt Col Alastair David Arton Duncan
1993–1997: Lt Col Charles G. Le Brun
1997–1999: Lt Col Graham John Binns
1999–2001: Lt Col David A. Hill
2001–2004: Lt Col Stephen Padgett
2004–2006: Lt Col Peter S. Germain

Alliances & Affiliations

Alliances the regiment maintained were:

(North and West) Army Cadet Forces, affiliations with the detachments in: Acomb, Castleford, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Lumley, Selby, and Woodlesford
Humberside and Yorkshire Army Cadet Forces, affiliation with the detachments in: Londesborough, Sutton, Bransholme, Beverley Town, Beverly Grammar School, Bridlington, Cottingham, Pocklington, and Goole.