Home > Army Organisation > Infantry > The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
To trace the movements and actions of any battalion, click on the Divisions with which it served
Battalions of the regular army
1st Battalion:
August 1914 : in Lahore. Part of 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division. Attached to 1st (Peshawar) Division June-July 1915. Remained in India throughout the war.
2nd Battalion:
August 1914 : in Dublin. Part of 13th Brigade, 5th
Division. Landed at Le Havre 16 August 1914.
14 January 1916 : transferred to 12th Brigade, 4th
Division.
10 February 1918 : transferred to 10th Brigade, 4th
Division.
> Extract from battalion
war diary
> A second extract from battalion
war diary
3rd (Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Halifax. A depot/training unit, it remained in UK throughout
the war. Moved on mobilisation to Earsdon
and on in May 1915 to North Shields for
duty with Tyne Garrison.
Battalions of the Territorial Force
1/4th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Halifax.
Part of 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation
to coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. Moved on 5 November 1914 to
billets in Dincaster.
14 April 1915
: landed at Boulogne.
15 May 1915 : formation became 147th Brigade, 49th Division.
2/4th Battalion:
Formed at Halifax
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to Derbyshire.
1 March 1915 : attached to 186th Brigade, 62nd
Division. Moved to Thoresby Park (Ollerton) in May
1915. Moved in October 1915 to Retford, November 1915 to Newcastle, January
1916 to Salisbury Plain, June 1916 Halesworth, October 1916 to Bedford.
Landed in France in January 1917.
1/5th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Huddersfield.
Part of 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation
to coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. Moved on 5 November 1914 to
billets in Dincaster.
14 April 1915 : landed at Boulogne.
15 May 1915 : formation became 147th Brigade, 49th Division.
30 January 1918 : transferred to 186th Brigade, 62nd Division. The Bn also absorbed the 2/5th and was renamed
the 5th Bn.
2/5th Battalion:
Formed at Huddersfield
in October 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to Derbyshire.
1 March 1915 : attached to 186th Brigade, 62nd
Division. Moved to Thoresby
Park (Ollerton) in May 1915. Moved in October 1915 to Retford, November
1915 to Newcastle, January 1916 to Salisbury Plain, June 1916 Halesworth,
October 1916 to Bedford. Landed in France in January 1917.
30
January 1918 : absorbed by 1/5th Bn.
1/6th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Skipton-in-Craven.
Part of 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation
to coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. Moved on 5 November 1914 to
billets in Dincaster.
14 April 1915 : landed at Boulogne.
15 May 1915 : formation became 147th Brigade, 49th Division.
2/6th Battalion:
Formed at Skipton-in-Craven
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to Derbyshire.
1 March 1915 : attached to 186th Brigade, 62nd
Division. Moved to Thoresby
Park (Ollerton) in May 1915. Moved in October 1915 to Retford, November
1915 to Newcastle, January 1916 to Salisbury Plain, June 1916 Halesworth,
October 1916 to Bedford. Landed in France in January 1917.
January 1918 : disbanded in
France.
1/7th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Milnsbridge.
Part of 2nd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division. Moved on mobilisation
to coastal defences near Hull and Grimsby. Moved on 5 November 1914 to
billets in Dincaster.
14 April 1915 : landed at Boulogne.
15 May 1915 : formation became 147th Brigade, 49th Division.
2/7th Battalion:
Formed at Milnsbridge
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to Derbyshire.
1 March 1915 : attached to 186th Brigade, 62nd
Division. Moved to Thoresby
Park (Ollerton) in May 1915. Moved in October 1915 to Retford, November
1915 to Newcastle, January 1916 to Salisbury Plain, June 1916 Halesworth,
October 1916 to Bedford. Landed in France in January 1917.
18 June 1918 : reduced to cadre strength.
Cadre returned to England and was absorbed into
29th Bn, the Durham LI.
3/4th to 3/7th Battalions:
Formed at home stations in March
1915 as depot/training ("third line") units.
8 April 1916 : became Reserve Bns. Moved to Clipstone Camp.
1 September 1916: 4th absorbed 5th and 6th absorbed 7th Bns. Moved to Rugeley Camp in October 1917, on to Bromeswell (Woodbridge) in July 1918 and finally Southend in October 1918..
Battalions of the New Armies
8th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Halifax in August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 34th Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division. Moved to Belton Park (Grantham).
18 January 1915:
transferred to 32nd Brigade in same Division. Moved to Witley in April
1915. Sailed from Liverpool in July 1915 for Gallipoli, landing at Suvla
Bay 7 August 1915. Moved to France in July 1916.
13 February 1918 : disbanded in France.
9th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Halifax in September 1914 as part of K2 and attached to 52nd Brigade, 17th (Northern) Division. Moved to Wareham, on to Bovington in October and Wimborne in November 1914. Moved to Hursley Park in June 1915. Landed at Boulogne 15 July 1915.
10th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Halifax in September 1914 as part of K3 and attached to 69th Brigade, 23rd Division. Moved to Frensham but was at Aldershot in December 1914. Moved to Folkestone in February 1915 and on to Bramshott in May 1915. Landed at Le Havre late August 1915.
11th (Reserve) Battalion:
Formed in Halifax in November
1914 as Service Battalion of K4 and attached to 89th Brigade, original
30th Division.
10 April 1915 : became Reserve battalion. Moved to Lichfield in July 1915
and on to Brocton Camp (Cannock Chase) in November 1915.
1 September 1916 : absorbed into the Battalions of 3rd Reserve Brigade
of Training Reserve.
Other battalions raised by the regiment
12th (Labour) Battalion:
Formed in Marton
Hall (Middlesbrough) in March 1916 and moved to France as Army Troops
toThird Army.
April 1917 : became 24th and 15th Companies of the Labour
Corps.
13th (Service) Battalion:
25 May 1918 : the 3rd Garrison
Guard Bn (which had been formed in France) was redesignated 13th (Garrison)
Bn.
May 1918 : attached to 177th Brigade, 59th Division.
16 June 1918 : transferred to 178th Brigade, 59th
Division.
16 July 1918 : renamed 13th (Service) Bn.
14th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Clacton
on 7 June 1918 from cadre of 8th Bn, the Leicesters.
3 November 1918 : disbanded in England.
| Did you know? Another regiment with a history spanning more than 300 years, erased in modern times through political and financial expediency. It was in June 2006 that the Duke's passed out of the Army’s Order of Battle to be replaced by The Yorkshire Regiment (14th, 15th, 19th, 33rd and 76th Foot). |
This page is dedicated to the memory of John Donbavand of the 2nd Battalion, killed in action at the age of 20 on 30 August 1918; Frank Burgoyne Baker of the same unit, killed in the same action; Henry Thomas Jackson, who arrived with a draft to replace these casualties; Thomas William Worster, a pre-war regular also with 2nd Battalion, who landed in France with his battalion on 14 August 1914 but who was taken as a POW just ten days later; and finally William Metcalf, who was transferred to the Labour Corps from the Duke's.
 Featured
"Ordinary Hero": see the full story here Harry Clayton A pre-war Special Reservist who enlisted into the ranks in 1914 Wounded on 18 April 1915 at Hill 60 near Ypres Severely wounded on 12 October 1916 near Le Transloy on the Somme Gassed in September 1917 and finally commissioned as an officer |