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48-455: Al-Faw , the only significant town on the peninsula and its namesake, is a fishing town and port which during Saddam Hussein 's presidency featured the main naval base of the Iraqi Navy . The remainder of the al-Faw peninsula is otherwise lightly inhabited, with few civilian buildings or settlements and most of its few residents involved in the fishing, oil , or shipping industries. It

96-585: A parade in Imphal Barracks, York, to replace the antecedent regiments' former colours, on 18 June 2010. The 'honorary' set of colours carried by the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) was paraded by the battalion. The new colours of all four battalions were later paraded through the streets of York from Cliffords Tower to York Minster . As part of the Army 2020 reorganisation, in July 2012 an announcement

144-455: A rededication ceremony of the town's war memorial, when 46 new names from the two world wars were added. The regiment was awarded the Freedom of Warminster , Wiltshire on its return from Afghanistan following their homecoming parade on 30 November 2012. Including those inherited from preceding units: Infantry regiments are permitted to display 43 battle honours from the two world wars on

192-528: A successful midnight amphibious assault on the peninsula. All of them were attached to the British 3 Commando Brigade . Their goal was to secure the port of Umm Qasr to allow humanitarian goods to be shipped in, and to secure the key oil installations located in the area before they could be sabotaged by retreating Iraqi forces. The Mina al-Bakr oil terminal was seized by SEAL Teams 8 and 10; as well as US Navy EOD personnel. The Khor al-Amaya oil terminal

240-701: Is a port town on Al-Faw Peninsula in Iraq near the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf . The Al Faw Peninsula is part of the Basra Governorate . The town lies at the south-east end of the Al-Faw Peninsula on the right bank of the Shatt al-Arab , a few kilometres away from the Persian Gulf . The town, as well as the whole Faw Peninsula, was the scene of armed conflict during World War I ,

288-620: Is based at Catterick Garrison . The battalion is a light mechanised infantry battalion deployed as part of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team . The 2nd Battalion (2 R YORKS ), is based in Dale Barracks, Chester . The battalion is the British Army’s 'Experimentation Battalion', involved with trialing future light infantry equipment and tactics under the Land Warfare Centre . The 4th Battalion (4 R YORKS ),

336-461: Is not a case of inflated egos but a case of mismanagement.' Two lance corporals were reduced to the rank of private, with 60 days imprisonment and the Private soldiers were each given 40 days imprisonment. The 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) laid up its Regulation Colours on 20 July 2013, at Halifax Minster , following a series of 'Freedom Parades' during the preceding week. On 25 July there

384-683: Is the Army Reserve battalion of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment. The battalion headquarters is in Worsley Barracks, York and forms part of 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East . The battalion operates from Army Reserve Centres across the regimental footprint with companies dispersed in Barnsley , Beverley , Huddersfield , Hull , Leeds , Middlesbrough , Sheffield and York. The York Army Museum (for

432-510: Is the site of a number of important oil installations, most notably Iraq's two main oil tanker terminals: Khor al-Amaya and Mina al-Bakr , due to its chief importance as a strategic location controlling access to the Shatt al-Arab waterway and thus access to the port of Basra. During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, al-Faw was bitterly contested due to its strategic location at the head of

480-651: The Afghan National Army . Whilst there they took part in the Battle of Musa Qala during which Sgt Lee Johnson was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, in the lead up to the operation to retake the town from the Taliban forces, after his Vector armoured vehicle ran over a landmine. Sgt Johnson had previously received a MID for assisting his company commander, Major Jake Little, in extracting soldiers who were surrounded by Taliban fighters. Major Little

528-616: The Army 2020 Refine , 2 YORKS was converted to an 'Enhanced Light Force Battalion', part of a 120 million pound three-year programme. The battalion will help spearhead the British Army's transformation into the 'Future Soldier' programme relating to the Light Infantry. 1 YORKS continues to convert to the Boxer MIV , and then form part of the new 'Experimentation Battlegroup'. The 1st Battalion (abbreviated 1 R YORKS ),

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576-573: The British Army , created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence review. The regiment's recruitment area covers the ceremonial counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire , North Yorkshire , South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire ; areas near Barnsley are recruitment area for the Rifles . The regiment's formation

624-604: The Iran–Iraq War , the Persian Gulf War , and the Iraq War due to its strategic position at the entrance of the Shatt al-Arab . The city was extensively damaged during the Iraq-Iran war, but in 1989 it was rebuilt in four months to a completely new city plan. Yorkshire Regiment The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated R YORKS ) is an infantry regiment of

672-800: The OMLT Battle Group. Their actions featured in a series of Newsnight programmes shown both during the deployment and after their return, which focused on OMLT 2 in Sangin under Major Rob Palfrey. Two members of the Battalion were awarded the Military Cross, Lieutenant Colin Lunn of Doncaster , and Acting Corporal Andrew Wardle of Hetton-le-Hole in Sunderland . In addition, Sergeant John Swithenbank and Corporal John Hardman received

720-656: The Queen's Gallantry Medal . On 23 June 2010, 26-year-old Lance Corporal David Ramsden of Otley , who was serving with the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment , was killed. The NCO from 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) was serving as part of the Police Advisory Team which was tasked to respond to an incident at a checkpoint near Gereshk in Helmand Province, when the Ridgeback armoured vehicle he

768-730: The Royal Dragoon Guards , Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Royal Yorkshire Regiment) is based at the Tower Street drill hall in York . On St George's Day 23 April 2008, Paul and Phil Lee, the owners of the Cropton Brewery & New Inn, released a new beer called Yorkshire Warrior . The beer, which is only available in eight North Yorkshire pubs, was produced to celebrate

816-761: The reconnaissance platoon of 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own), staged a mutiny whilst on a training exercise in Kenya . Led by Corporal Anthony Brown, they staged a sit down strike in front of 1,000 people. Each soldier refused to stand up when individually commanded to do so. As they went through their drills, a ringleader shouted 'sit down' and the dissenters dropped to ground. Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored. The soldiers had clashed with their newly appointed commanding officers whom they accused of excessive drinking, complaining they were "being led by muppets". At courts martial , in December 2013,

864-466: The 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own) redeployed to Iraq on Op Telic 13 . In May 2009, 'A Company' of the 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) handed over their Iraq British military HQ protection duties, in Baghdad, to Alma Company of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's). Alma Company were subsequently amongst the last British soldiers to leave Iraq at the end of July 2009. Over 130 members of

912-481: The 2nd Battalion The Rifles, 29-year-old Serjeant Paul McAleese, was killed when he went to the assistance of Pte Young. On 1 February 2010, 22-year-old Corporal Liam Riley, of Sheffield , and 27-year-old Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, of Golcar in Huddersfield were killed by separate IED's, Malgir , near Gereshk in Helmand Province, whilst on base security foot patrols. Both soldiers, from Corunna Company of

960-660: The 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) deployed in July 2009 as Battle Casualty Replacements to various other British regiments in Helmand Province. Burma Company of the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) deployed to Afghanistan in August 2009 and were then followed by members of Corunna Company. 18-year-old Pte Jonathon Young, of Burma Company, was killed by an Improvised explosive device in Sangin, on Thursday 20 August, three weeks after arriving in Afghanistan. A serjeant , from

1008-590: The 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's), were attached to the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards , as Battle Casualty Replacements. Prince Harry had trained with Cpl Riley at Suffield in Canada and paid tribute to him in a news release. The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards), plus 60 members of the 4th Battalion, deployed with 11th Light Brigade in September 2009 for a seven-month posting in Op Herrick XI as

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1056-560: The 5th Battalion, the Rifles. On the 3 June 2012 Private Gregg Thomas Stone of Burma Company, 3 YORKS was killed in Nahr-e Saraj during an operation to apprehend a group of insurgents who had abducted a member of the Afghan Police. On 15 September 2012, Sergeant Gareth Thursby and Private Thomas Wroe of the 3rd Battalion were killed in Nahr-e Saraj by a rogue Afghan police officer. In February 2013, 16 soldiers serving with

1104-499: The Afghanistan police force. B Company serving as part of the Danish Battle Group in the Nahr-e Saraj (North) area of operations, patrolled aggressively into several contested areas. On 1 December 2011 the Battalion was involved in a dawn raid on a suspected IED factory. On 1 January 2012 Private John King was killed in an explosion while on a foot patrol in Nahr-e Saraj, on 27 January Lance Corporal Gajbahadur Gurung of

1152-496: The Battalion, along with Brigadier Andrew Mackay, of 52 Infantry Brigade , and Brigadier Mike Griffiths, of 42 (North West) Brigade . B Company Group of 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) deployed for six-months on Op OCULUS(K) as the last UK Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Task Force (ISR TF). They presided over the immediate aftermath of the Kosovo's declaration of independence . In November 2008, elements of

1200-595: The Iraqis eventually expelled the Iranians from the peninsula within 35 hours, with much of their equipment captured intact. The event was marked as an official national holiday under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, celebrated as the Faw City Liberation Day. The 1991 Gulf War was fought south and west of al-Faw, but the peninsula's military installations were heavily bombed by Allied forces during

1248-740: The Kings Division Band, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Vallings, the Battalion commanding officer . The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Shaukat Ali, on behalf of the Borough, presented the Freedom Scroll to Colonel Simon Newton, who accepted the honour for the Regiment. On 8 September 2013 the regiment was given the Freedom of Barnoldswick , Lancashire (the town was until 1974 in the West Riding of Yorkshire ) during

1296-596: The Museum Gardens, York. That same afternoon, representatives of the affiliated Army Cadet Forces and Combined Cadet Forces detachments (approx 50) re-badged in Imphal Barracks , York. The Duke of York was appointed as Colonel-in-Chief and the 8th Duke of Wellington as Deputy Colonel-in-Chief, by the Queen . The four battalions of the regiment were presented with new Queens and Regimental Colours at

1344-568: The Persian Gulf, and also against Kuwait , which supported Iraq throughout the war. On April 17, 1988, the newly-restructured Iraqi Army began a major operation, "Ramadan Mubarak," which was aimed to clear the Iranians out of the peninsula. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij soldiers. By using sarin nerve gas, artillery barrages and air bombardments,

1392-561: The Queen's Colour and 46 honours from other conflicts on the Regimental Colour. Upon amalgamation, the Yorkshire Regiment had to choose from the total list of honours of its three antecedents which honours would be displayed on its new colours. The chosen honours were: In addition to the displayed honours, the regimental colours also display four emblems from the antecedents regiments: The Battalion's Roman Numeral

1440-572: The Royal Gurkha Rifles was killed while serving with 1 YORKS in the Nahr-e Saraj district. On 6 March 2012, six members of Corunna company, 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) were killed in the Lashkar Gah Durai region after their Warrior Armoured vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. On 29 April 2012, the 3 YORKS Battle Group took over responsibility of Nahr-e Saraj (South), Helmand province from

1488-471: The antecedent regiments) include the following: The regiment also holds the distinction of having the freedom of Erquinghem-Lys , France, which was passed on from the freedom awarded to the 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) in November 2005. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) were also awarded the Freedom of Mossley , on 8 July 1967. On 3 August 2009, Rotherham , South Yorkshire became

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1536-580: The conflict. The Allied forces effectively closed down all of Iraq's shipping activities and thus rendered its access to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf useless. The peninsula was one of the first targets of the Coalition forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq , with British , American and Polish troops involved. Forces from the Royal Marines , US Marines and the Polish GROM staged

1584-558: The disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway and was the site of many large-scale battles. On February 11, 1986, the Iranians capitalized on the weakness of the Iraqi defences located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula by launching a surprise attack against Iraqi troops defending al-Faw. The Iraqi units in charge of the defences consisted mostly of poorly trained Iraqi Popular Army conscripts that collapsed when they were suddenly attacked by Iranian Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guard) forces. It marked

1632-405: The first time that the Iranians had successfully invaded and occupied Iraqi territory. The Iranians defeated several Iraqi Republican Guard counter-offensives and managed to hang on to their foothold. The occupation of al-Faw placed Basra at risk of being attacked. The Iranians also used the peninsula as a launch pad for Silkworm missiles which were deployed against shipping and oil terminals in

1680-459: The first town to bestow the 'Freedom of the Borough' on the Yorkshire Regiment. This gives the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. At a ceremony outside the Town Hall the regiment paraded two guards of soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq, and the colours of the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), led by

1728-555: The proud achievements of the regiment and to commemorate the sacrifices the soldiers and families of the regiment have endured. Each year, the regiment awards the York Medal to the individual who has contributed the most to the aims of the regiment over the course of the previous year, with notable recipients including Captain Tom Moore . Freedoms awarded to the Royal Yorkshire Regiment (including those carried through from

1776-475: The soldiers pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful command. Cpl Brown was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment and a dishonourable discharge. The prosecutor, Col. Clive Whitwham, said: 'There was a feeling they were not being appreciated, that they were not being well managed. 'The platoon was said to have worked well in Afghanistan. There was said to have been a perception that they had got a little too big for their boots.' The soldiers defence Jonathan Lynch, said: 'This

1824-655: The whole Al-Faw Peninsula , before moving to Shaibah Logistics Base and being charged with handing over security responsibilities of the base to the Iraqi Army. B Company, under command of Major Dan Bradbury, were based in Shiaba Logistics Base and had responsibility for Az Zubayr, whilst C Company were detached to 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment in the COB. During Op Telic 9 Private Luke Simpson of A Company, from Howden , East Riding of Yorkshire ,

1872-856: Was a parade at the 3rd Battalion barracks, in Warminster, the Colonel in Chief, the Duke of York, exchanged the Colours between the Battalions. In October 2014 the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that a team of about a dozen soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment's 2nd Battalion were training Kurdish forces in Iraq fighting Islamic State militants to use UK-supplied heavy machine guns . Following

1920-492: Was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry . It was formed from the merger of three regular battalions, plus a reserve battalion: The regiment was officially formed on 6 June 2006. The reserve " Territorial Army " (as it was then known) battalion re-badged in TA Centres on the same day, but later paraded publicly to re-badge on 10 June 2006 in

1968-497: Was granted Royal status with immediate effect by King Charles III , changing the regiment's name to the "Royal Yorkshire Regiment". The deployment of 1 YORKS (Prince of Wales's Own) Battle Group to Basra , Iraq in November 2006 was the first major operational deployment for the Yorkshire Regiment. A Company, under command of Major Richard Hall were based initially in Basra Palace with responsibility from Abu Al Kasib to

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2016-426: Was killed, becoming the regiment's first operational fatality. Two members of the 1st Battalion, Major Ian Crowley of C Company, of Beverley , East Riding of Yorkshire and Captain Ibrar Ali of A Company, were awarded the Military Cross . The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) of the regiment were deployed to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in September, 2007 in an ' Operational Mentoring and Liaison ' role with

2064-444: Was later awarded a Military Cross for his "inspirational leadership" to extract his men. Acting Sergeant John Cockburn was also awarded a Military Cross for his actions in the same tour of duty. The 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) returned to their barracks in Weeton, Lancashire during April, 2008 and were presented with their service medals at a parade there on 30 April 2008 by Major General Andrew Farquhar, Honorary Colonel of

2112-406: Was made that the Yorkshire Regiment would be reduced to two regular battalions, with the 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) disbanded and its soldiers dispersed to the remainder of the regiment on completion of their Cyprus tour in the autumn of 2013. However, on 25 January 2013 the Colonel of the Regiment, Major General Graham Binns , announced instead a change in the order of battle: the 2nd Battalion

2160-403: Was merged into the 1st and 3rd Battalions; the 1st Battalion was then renumbered as the 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion was renumbered as the 1st Battalion. He also announced that they would dispense with the antecedent regiments' historical titles. On 13 January 2022, the Duke of York returned his military affiliation with the regiment to the Queen. On 6 April 2023, The Yorkshire Regiment

2208-663: Was seized by GROM operators. The peninsula fell quickly with minimal Iraqi resistance, but unexpected fierce resistance in Umm Qasr required several days of fighting before the town had been secured. The British, based at Camp Driftwood, provided the security and countersmuggling force on land, and the American forces providing maritime assistance. Camp Driftwood was handed to Iraqi control in March 2007 by troops from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment . 29°58′28″N 48°27′51″E  /  29.97444°N 48.46417°E  / 29.97444; 48.46417 Al-Faw Al-Fāw ( Arabic : ٱلْفَاو ; sometimes transliterated as Fao )

2256-448: Was split up for the deployment, with A Company working with 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, B and C Companies with the Danish Army, and the Brigade Headquarters providing staff for Headquarters Task Force Helmand. 1 YORKS soldiers formed the Brigade Reconnaissance Force with members of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards . Soldiers from 1st Battalion were reported to have been involved in 'high tempo' patrol operations alongside

2304-432: Was travelling in rolled into a waterway. He was killed alongside colleagues Colour Sergeant Martyn Simon Horton, Private Douglas Niall Halliday and Private Alex Isaac. In October 2011, 500 members of the 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own) were deployed to Helmand province in Afghanistan for a six-month tour in support of the 20th Armoured Brigade, their first deployment to Afghanistan as a complete battalion. The battalion

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