In 1685, the rebellion sparked by the Duke of Monmouth gave King James II reason to expand his army. One of the nine new regiments of foot, which resulted, was raised by Sir Edward Hales, in Kent, and was termed "Hales's Regiment". The Regiment served in Flanders in various campaigns against the French between 1693 and 1696 and gained its first Battle Honour at the siege and capture of Namur in 1695. In 1694 the Regiment took precedence as the 14th Regiment of Foot.
In 1715 the Regiment moved to Scotland to help suppress the Jacobite Rebellion and played a major part in defending Gibraltar during the Spanish siege of February - June 1727, where it remained garrisoned for the next 15 years. In 1745 the Regiment was ordered to Flanders, fighting at Fontenoy before being hastily recalled to Scotland in response to the '45 Rebellion. The Regiment fought at Falkirk and Culloden as "Price's Regiment" after the then Commanding Officer, becoming the 14th of Foot in 1751.
Service in various posts followed, including assisting customs officers to suppress smuggling, more garrison duty in Gibraltar and a fever ridden tour of the West Indies before moving to North America for the War of Independence. The 14th fought at Great Bridge, Virginia in 1775, before returning home two years later. For the next four years the Regiment served as marines in the Channel and West India fleets. In 1782 the 14th was re-titled "The 14th (Bedfordshire) Regiment". The onset of the French Revolution and the subsequent French invasion of the Netherlands caused British troops to be sent in, under the Duke of York, to protect trade interests. Much marching and counter-marching ensued before the 14th gained its second battle honour in a week of fighting around Lille. Returning to England in 1795, the Regiment was then posted to the West Indies where it remained on duty until 1803.
With the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, the British Army was expanded and the 14th formed a second battalion in Belfast in 1804. The 1st Battalion spent much of the war on garrison duty in Bengal. In 1808-9, the 2nd Battalion joined the Peninsular Army and gained the Battle Honour "Corunna". In 1809 the Regiment was re-titled "The 14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment". The 2/14th saw service in the Walcheren Campaign and was disbanded in 1817. A third battalion was formed in 1813 and fought at Waterloo in 1815, as part of the 4th Brigade of the 4th Division, on the extreme right of the allied line. The Battalion held their position all day, forming square when the French Cavalry attacked during the afternoon. The 3/14th was disbanded in 1816. Apart from taking part in campaigns against the French in Mauritius in 1810 and the Dutch in Java in 1811, the latter adding another Battle Honour, the 1/14th served in India for 25 years, until 1831.
After five years in England, the 14th moved to the West Indies, Canada, Malta and in February 1855 the Regiment was ordered to Balaclava and then to Sebastopol from March - September. In 1876 the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, presented new Colours to the 1st Battalion and conferred on the 14th the honoured title of "The Prince of Wales's Own". In 1858 a second battalion was raised once more and took part in the Maori Wars of 1860-6 and the Second Afghan War 1879-80.
After the Cardwell Reforms in 1881, the 14th was initially given the title of "The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own)" in May, which was changed to "The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)" the following July. The Depot of the 14th Regimental District was established at York.
In 1899, the 2nd Battalion of The West Yorkshire Regiment was sent to South Africa and after a number of engagements two members of the Battalion were awarded the Victoria Cross- Captain (later Colonel) Mansel-Jones in February 1900 and Sergeant Traynor in February 1901.
In August 1914, the 1st Battalion went to France with the original British Expeditionary Force and was in action within seven weeks of the declaration of war. The numerous battalions of The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) fought at Neuve-Chappelle, Loos, the Somme, Passchendaele, Ypres, Marne, Cambrai and Gallipoli. During the Great War, The West Yorkshire Regiment grew in strength until it numbered 37 battalions, four Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the Regiment and 66 Battle Honours were bestowed. In all, 13 000 officers and other ranks gave their lives for their country. Their names appear in the Roll of Honour in the Regimental Chapel of York Minster.
Between the wars the various battalions served in Germany, India, Kurdistan, Sudan, Palestine, Jamaica and Bermuda. In the Second World War, The 1st Battalion served in the Far East, The 2nd Battalion served in Africa and subsequently in the Far East and the various other battalions served in Iceland, France, Antwerp, the Scilly Isles, the Falkland Islands and as Home Defence.
In 1948 the 1st and 2nd Battalions were amalgamated and were stationed in Austria. They then moved to Egypt and on to Malaya. After a tour of duty in Northern Ireland in 1955-56, the 1st Battalion took part in the Suez Operation and was then stationed in Dover until the amalgamation in July 1958.
The Regiment was raised on 22 June 1685 and saw early service in Scotland and Flanders. In [1702] the 15th Foot formed part of Marlborough's Army and took a prominent part in the battles of Blenheim, Ramilles, Malplaquet & Oudenarde.
From 1740-42 the 15th Foot served in the West Indies before returning to help put down the Scottish rebellion of 1745. The Regiment played an important part in the conquest of Canada and during the Seven Years War the 15th took the fort at Louisburg in 1758 and followed this by joining the forces of General Wolfe and, as part of a force of 4,500 men, climbed the Heights of Abraham above the city of Quebec on 13th September 1759. The brief, sharp battle, which took place on the Heights, was one of the world's decisive battles. It gave Canada to Britain, destroyed French power and led ultimately to the independence of nearly all the British Colonies in the New World. Unfortunately General Wolfe was killed in the Battle at the moment of victory. His death was considered a national loss and it was ordered that all officers in the Army would wear mourning for General Wolfe, their late Commander-in-Chief. This mourning has been continued to this very day in the black background to the silver rose worn in the collar badge of The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Also the black on the Regimental stable belts and flashes.
During the American War of Independence the 15th served from 1776-78 and in this time gained the nickname 'The Snappers'. On 11th September 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine the 15th Foot ran short of ball ammunition, and what was left was handed over to the best shots, whilst the remainder continued 'snapping', that is firing small powder charges only. The bluff worked, the battle was won.
Martinique in 1794, Guadaloupe and St. Lucia fell to the East Yorkshire Regiment whilst the Regiment was posted back and forth to the West Indies on active service between 1790-1810. In 1858 the 2nd Battalion was raised and took part in the Afghan War, in 1880 and the Boer War in South Africa from 1900. In two and a half years the Regiment lost only 96 men killed in action and 55 wounded.
On the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the 1st Battalion was sent to France followed in 1915 by the 2nd Battalion. The Regiment expanded greatly to number some 21 battalions all of which achieved undying fame on many battlefields around the world. At Ypres, in April 1915, after the first German gas attack of the war, the 2nd Battalion was put in to restore the situation and went into battle 800 strong; at the end of the day only two officers and eighty rank and file remained to tell the story of the battle. The memorial to the 9,000 fallen of The East Yorkshire Regiment is in the shrine in the Soldier's Chapel in Beverley Minster. The Regiment gained four Victoria Crosses in addition to a large number of decorations.
In 1935, the Regiment was further honoured by being granted the additional title of 'The Duke of York's Own'. In 1939, the 2nd, 4th and 5th Battalions were sent to France and were engaged in the fighting retreat to Dunkirk. Service in the Middle East followed taking part with great distinctions in the battles of El Alemein and the Mareth Line and in the invasion of Sicily in 1943. The Regiment was the only Infantry Regiment to have two battalions (2nd and 5th) in the initial assault in the Normandy Landings, 1944. The 1st Battalion, meanwhile, were engaged against the Japanese in Burma, taking part in the final advance prior to the surrender in August 1945.
After the second World War the Army cut back its numbers during the Army Reorganisations drastically and then in Dover on the 25th April 1956 the 15th Regiment of Foot, The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) amalgamated with the 14th Regiment of Foot, The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) to become the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire.The Duke of Yorks Own - 15th Regiment of Foot