The Yorkshire Brigade was an administrative

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

formation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

from 1948 to 1968. The brigade administered the regular

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

there were 14

depots in Britain, each bearing a letter. The depots were territorially organised, and Infantry Depot E at Catterick was the headquarters for six line county regiments recruiting in Yorkshire and

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

. In 1948, the depots adopted names and this depot became the Yorkshire and Northumberland Brigade, with all regiments being reduced to a single

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

at the same time. The brigade was formed on 14 July 1948 and combined the depots of the following regiments: * The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers * The West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own) *

The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment) The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

* The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) *

The York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

Under the defence review announced in July 1957, the number of battalions in the brigade was reduced to four in 1958: the East Yorkshire Regiment and the West Yorkshire Regiment were amalgamated into the

Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was created in 1958 by the amalgamation of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and the Ea ...

, while the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers were transferred to the newly formed Fusilier Brigade. This led to the Yorkshire and Northumberland Brigade being renamed as simply the Yorkshire Brigade. As part of the 1958 reforms, all regiments in the Brigade adopted a common cap badge depicting a crowned white rose above a scroll inscribed ''"Yorkshire"''. Regimental collar badges continued to be worn. From 1960 the Yorkshire Brigade was based at Queen Elizabeth Barracks in

Strensall Strensall is a village in the Strensall with Towthorpe civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Foss north of York and north-east of Haxby. From the 2011 Census, the civil parish of ...

. On 1 July 1968 the Yorkshire Brigade was united with the Lancastrian and

North Irish Brigade The North Irish Brigade was a Brigade of the British Army which existed between 1948 and 1968; it consisted of the three regiments from Northern Ireland (each regiment was reduced to a single battalion on 14 July 1948). After the Second World War th ...

s, to form the King's Division.Whitaker's Almanack 1969, p. 473

References

{{British Infantry Infantry administrative brigades of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1948 Military history of Yorkshire