The Yorkshire Volunteers, a Territorial Army Infantry Regiment of the Line, was formed on 1st April 1967 and, being a Regiment formed by the amalgamation of Territorial Army major units, is successor to:
The Defence Review of 1966 directed a sweeping cut-back in the size of the Territorial Army. As one result, the Yorkshire Volunteers was formed by the amalgamation of elements of the Territorial Army battalions of Yorkshire's infantry regiments. The Headquarters of the new Regiment was at York and four rifle companies were based at York, Middlesbrough, Halifax and Sheffield. In 1969 a fifth company was formed in Leeds from elements of 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.
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 respectively. The new companies were, in the main, 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 Yorkshire Volunteers 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.
All three Battalions resulting from this reorganisation bore the secondary title Yorkshire Volunteers. The Band, alone, remained; continuing to serve its Territorial Army Battalions and administered by the 3rd Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire (Yorkshire Volunteers), but still designated The Band of the Yorkshire Volunteers.
The affiliation between Yorkshire Volunteers and HMS Sheffield was maintained by 3rd Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) (Yorkshire Volunteers).
On the 25th April 1993, slightly less than a year after the 25th Anniversary Celebrations, a Regimental Parade and Service of Rededication was held in Catterick Garrison to mark the disbandment of the Yorkshire Volunteers, in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent GCVO, Honorary Colonel Yorkshire Volunteers.
Strategic Defence Review 1998
The TA battalions of the three Yorkshire Infantry Regiments were each reduced, forming part of two multi-badged battalions.
The two remaining Green Howards companies, one in Scarborough, with a detachment in Northallerton, the other in Middlesbrough with a detachment at Coulby Newham were "removed" from Yorkshire and placed into the new Tyne Tees Regiment. The two 3PWO companies, York and Hull, joined with 3DWR companies at Barnsley and Huddersfield, and a re-formed Light Infantry company at Pontefract, in the newly created The East and West Riding Regiment. The Band, which had survived the 1993 "Options for Change" was finally axed with effect from 1st April 1999.
However, following a trend established almost 120 years earlier, the band did not disappear.
Although not following a strict lineage, former Yorkshire Volunteers had remained in a Drill Hall in Rotherham and become 146 Recovery Company REME, and soldiers of 4/5 Green Howards rebadged as 104 (Pioneer) Squadron, Royal Logistics Corps, in Coulby Newham.
It is said that "what goes round, comes round". It is interesting to note that in 1969 when the Leeds Rifles joined the Regiment, they brought with them an Assault Pioneer Platoon, which was "dropped" only a few years later. In 1999, former Yorkshire Volunteers again adopted the role of Pioneers. Some would say they had always been pioneers!
The Yorkshire Volunteers, in 1999, is succeeded by the following:
The East and West Riding Regiment
| Imphal Company | York, plus Leeds Rifles Platoon, Leeds |
| Quebec Company | Sutton-on-Hull, plus a detachment in Beverley |
| Ypres Company | Huddersfield, plus a platoon in Keighley |
| Fontenay Company | Barnsley, plus a platoon in Sheffield |
Tyne Tees Regiment
| A (Green Howards) Coy | Scarborough, plus a detachment in Northallerton |
| B (Green Howards) Coy | Middlesbrough, plus a detachment in Coulby Newham |
Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Association
Yorkshire Volunteers Trust
Yorkshire Volunteers Band
REME, 146 Recovery Company
Royal Logistics Corps, 104 Pioneer Squadron
2006 - The Yorkshire Regiment
In April 2006, the two Green Howards companies of Tyne Tees Regiment will merge with East & West Riding Regiment, prior to becoming the 4th Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, on the 6th June. This will restore things to much as they were thirty five years ago!
The Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Chapel is within York Minster, dedicated to Saint Cuthbert, a great 7th century saint of the North, consecrated on 24th April 1982 in the presence of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent. Funding for the Chapel was provided by the Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Trust and friends of the Regiment.
The overall planning of the Chapel was by Mr Charles Brown, Surveyor of the Fabric, York Minster. The Prayer Desks and Altar were fashioned by Mr W. M. Wilson of Baldersby in elm, principally from the Hotham Estate. Mr J. E. Hill of Hunmanby made the Crucifix and Candlesticks. The Canopy, Base and Altar Rails were made by York Minster's craftsmen.
In 2011, the Trustees of the Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Trust handed back St. Cuthbert's Chapel to York Minster, and the trust wound up.
The Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Association continues the tradition of an annual service in the Regimental Chapel, usually late October. The dates for future services are published in the forecast of events.
Painting of St. Cuthbert's Chapel, York Minster
By Graeme Willson
The Regimental Trust
The Regimental Trust, a registered charity, has responsibility for the care and maintenance of the Regimental Chapel within York Minster.
The Trust, in conjunction with the Regimental Association, also has the capacity to perform a welfare role assisting members of the Regiment, or dependants, in necessitous circumstances.
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