The 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer units originally raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1860. It served in some of the bitterest fighting on the Western Front during World War I, including the Somme, Ypres and the German spring offensive. Before World War II it was converted to air defence, in which role it served during The Blitz and in Burma, where it employed anti-aircraft guns for 'bunker-busting'. Postwar, it continued to serve in Anti-Aircraft Command until 1955.
Precursor units The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8.Westlake. A large number of independent RVCs were raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire, including the 'Barnsley Rifles' and the 'Rotherham Rifles' and in August 1860 some of these were grouped into the 4th Administrative Battalion, Yorkshire West Riding RVCs, based at Doncaster (dates are those of the first officers' commissions):Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 324.Westlake, pp. 262–6. 18th (Pontefract) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 2 March 1860 19th (Rotherham) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 29 February 1860London Gazette, 6 March 1860. 20th (Doncaster, Great Northern Railway) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 5 February 1860 21st (Doncaster Burgesses) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 5 February 1860 36th (Rotherham) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 19 October 1860, joined 4th Admin Bn 1862 37th (Barnsley) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, 21 November 1860, transferred from 3rd Admin Bn 1863 40th (Wath-upon-Dearne) Yorkshire West Riding RVC, March 1863, based at Hoyland Nether until 1866
The 20th RVC was recruited largely from employees of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at Doncaster Works and was commanded by the railway's locomotive superintendent, Archibald Sturrock.Army List. The other units in the battalion were mainly recruited from coal mining and related industries. A Rotherham Rifle Band was formed and by August 1861 it was competing in brass band competitions.Brass Band Results.
Walter Spencer-Stanhope (1827–1911) of Cannon Hall and Horsforth Hall, a captain in the 2nd West Riding Yeomanry, who had raised the 36th RVC, was appointed lieutenant-colonel commanding the 4th Admin Bn on 11 February 1863. He later became Member of Parliament for the Southern Division of the West Riding (1872–80).London Gazette, 16 November 1860.London Gazette, 24 February 1863.Spencer Stanhope Mausoleum.
A drill hall was built at Wharncliffe Street, Rotherham, in 1873, prior to which the 18th and 36th RVCs had used the Court House and Corn Exchange in the town. A drill hall was also built in Eastgate, Barnsley, in 1897.Barnsley at Drill Hall Project.
The RVCs in the 4th Admin Bn were consolidated as the 8th Yorkshire West Riding RVC at Doncaster in 1880, still under the command of Lt-Col Stanhope: A Company at Pontefract (former 18th RVC) B & E Companies at Rotherham (former 19th RVC) C Company at Doncaster (former 20th RVC) D Company at Doncaster (former 21st RVC) F & H Companies at Barnsley (former 37th RVC) G Company at Wath-upon-Dearne (former 40th RVC) J Company at Rotherham (former 36th RVC)
Lieutenant-Colonel Stanhope was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1881,London Gazette, 16 August 1881. was awarded a CB for his Volunteer work in 1887,London Gazette, 21 June 1887.London Gazette 5 January 1888. and received the Volunteer Decoration (VD) in 1892.London Gazette, 29 November 1892. He finally retired from the command in 1895 and became Honorary Colonel of the battalion. He was knighted (KCB) in 1904.London Gazette, 21 June 1904. and died in 1911.
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' introduced by the Cardwell Reforms, the 8th was linked with the 2nd (Hallamshire) West Riding RVC, the 3rd West Yorkshire Militia and the Regular 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) and 84th (York & Lancaster) Regiments into Brigade No 7 (West Riding of Yorkshire). When the 65th and 84th were amalgamated to create the York and Lancaster Regiment in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, the 8th West Riding RVC was formally attached to it, becoming the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment in 1883. An additional company was raised in 1884, and a Rotherham Cadet Corps existed from 1894 to 1899.
The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the York & Lancaster Regiment were included in the East Yorkshire Brigade.
Volunteers from the battalion served in a Service Company alongside the Regulars of the regiment during the Second Boer War, gaining the battalion its first Battle Honour South Africa 1900–1902.Leslie.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the battalion was split up: the companies from Rotherham (3), Barnsley (2) and Wath-upon-Dearne became 5th Battalion, York & Lancaster Regiment, while the companies from Doncaster (5) and Pontefract together with two companies from 1st VB King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) became 5th Bn KOYLI.London Gazette 20 March 1908.
The new 5th York & Lancaster Bn was distributed as follows: HQ, A, B and F Companies, at the drill hall, Wharncliffe Street, Rotherham.Rotherham at Drill Hall Project. C and E Companies at the drill hall in Eastgate, BarnsleyWest Riding at Great War Centenary Drill Halls. D Company at the drill hall in Moor Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, built in 1911Wath at Drill Hall Project. G and H Companies at 346 Sheffield Road, BirdwellBirdwell at Drill Hall Project.
The two York & Lancaster TF battalions, together with those of the KOYLI, formed the III West Riding Brigade in the West Riding Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 85–91.49 Division at Long, Long Trail.
World War I Mobilisation Towards the end of July 1914, the units of the West Riding Division left their headquarters for their annual training camps, but on 3 and 4 August they were ordered to return; on 4 August immediate mobilisation was ordered. The 5th York & Lancasters mobilised at Rotherham under the command of Lt-Col C. Fox, TD, who had been CO since 1 April 1914.Magnus, p. 28
Shortly afterwards, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and the majority of the battalion did so. On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix while the parent unit took '1/'. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later they were mobilised for overseas service in their own right, and 3rd Line or Reserve units were formed.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Magnus, pp. 39, 71–2.
1/5th Battalion After mobilisation, the 1st West Riding Division concentrated in the South Yorkshire area, and began training for war. On 31 March it was informed that it had been selected to proceed to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and the battalion landed at Boulogne on 14 April. On 18–19 April platoons from the III West Riding Bde were attached to 8th Division for training in the routine of trench duties. On 28 April the West Riding Division took over its own section of the line at Fleurbaix. It now formed part of IV Corps, which attacked at the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May. While the other two divisions of IV Corps made the actual attack, the West Riding Division took over the greater part of the corps' trench line. It was supposed to follow up and occupy the captured enemy line, but the breakthrough did not occur.York & Lancaster Rgt at Long, Long Trail.Magnus, pp. 45–6, 50.
On 12 May the division was designated 49th (West Riding) Division and the brigade became 148th (3rd West Riding).Magnus, p. 40.
For the next nine months the 49th Division took part in no major operations but was almost continuously engaged in day-to-day trench warfare, much of it in the Ypres Salient, with the considerable casualties that this entailed.Magnus, pp. 54–6. On 19 December the division received a sudden attack with the new German phosgene gas, followed by heavy shelling, but no serious infantry attack followed.Edmonds, 1916, pp. 158–62. In January 1916 the division was withdrawn for its first period of complete rest since it first entered the line.Magnus, p. 57.
Somme At the beginning of February the battalion machine gunners left to join 148 Brigade Machine Gun Company.Magnus, p. 87. That month the division moved to the Somme sector, 1/5th York & Lancasters under Lt-Col Shuttleworth Rendell proceeding to Oissy. Here the division spent the next few months alternating trench duties with working parties and training for the forthcoming Somme Offensive. For this the 49th Division formed the reserve for X Corps, which was tasked with seizing the Thiepval Spur, after which the 49th was to pass through and continue the pursuit. The 1/5th York & Lancasters moved up to assembly trenches in Aveluy Wood before dawn on the day of the attack (1 July), and at 13.30 moved up to the British front trenches alongside the River Ancre, Lt-Col Rendell taking C and D Companies to the south while Major Shaw took A and B Companies to the north. The battalion attempted to assist 108 Bde of the 36th (Ulster) Division, which had made good progress but had become cut off. After the failure of the first day, the York & Lancasters spent the next week in confused fighting along the Ancre. On 6 July, the battalion sent forward two bombing parties totalling seven officers and 80 other ranks to capture a trench: of these only 22 other ranks returned, the CO, Lt-Col Rendell, being left behind wounded in a German dugout, and Maj Shaw killed. By the time the battalion was relieved at 20.30 on 8 July it had suffered a total of 307 casualties.Edmonds, 1916, pp. 394–9, 411–3.Magnus, pp. 87–94.
By 14 July the British had taken the Leipzig Redoubt on the Thiepval Spur, and while the offensive continued 49th Division remained holding this area, with a number of small actions and suffering a good deal of shelling, at the same time preparing trenches and dumps for a renewed attack. This attack was made on 3 September, at the end of the Battle of Pozières, but 5th York & Lancasters was not directly involved in the failed action. 49th Division continued minor operations towards Thiepval during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (15–22 September) before the offensive petered out.Magnus, pp. 100–7.
Ypres