Green Howards

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The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment; 19th Regiment of Foot)
Green Howards cap badge
Active	20 November 1688 – 6 June 2006
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Light Infantry
Size	One battalion
Colors	Green Facings
March	Quick - The Bonnie English Rose Slow - Maria Theresa
Anniversaries	Alma (20 September)
Battles/wars	Battle of Alma (1854)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	King Harald V of Norway
Colonel of the Regiment	Field Marshal Peter Inge KG, GCB, PC, DL

The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division.

1 History
- 1.1 The Two Howards
2 Amalgamation
3 Traditions
- 3.1 King Harald's Company
4 Alliances
5 External links

[edit] History

The regiment was formed in 1688 from independent companies of infantry in Devon. However, in 1751, when it became the 19th Regiment of Foot, it became the county regiment of North Yorkshire and its main recruiting efforts continue in this area, particularly in Middlesbrough, Redcar, Northallerton and Scarborough.

[edit] The Two Howards

The regiment has been known as The Green Howards since 1744. At that time, regiments were known by the name of their colonel. The 19th regiment's colonel was The Honourable Sir Charles Howard. However, at the same time the 3rd regiment had been commanded by its Colonel Thomas Howard since 1737. In order to tell them apart (since they both would have been known as 'Howard's Regiment of Foot'), the colours of their uniform facings were used to distingush them. In this way, one became "Howard's Buffs" (eventually simply "The Buffs"), while the other became the "Green Howards". Although the Green Howards were referred to as such from then on, the name didn't become official until 1920.

The Green Howards Regimental Museum is located in the old Trinity Church, at the centre of the market place in Richmond, North Yorkshire. The former Green Howards Regimental Headquarters, located within the museum, has now taken on the role of an Area Headquarters for the Yorkshire Regiment.

[edit] Amalgamation

In 2004, as part of the re-organisation of the infantry, it was announced that the Green Howards would merge with the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment to form the new Yorkshire Regiment. The official rebadging took place on the 6th June 2006, whilst elements of the regiment were stationed in Bosnia, Kosovo.

From May 2006 until the regiment's rebadging, the Green Howards were one of five remaining line infantry regiments that had not been amalgamated in their entire history, a claim shared with:

A and B (Green Howards) Companies of the Tyne Tees Regiment, based in Scarborough and Middlesbrough respectively, merged with the PWO and DWR companies of the East and West Riding Regiment to form the 4th Bn The Yorkshire Regiment TA, with the official rebadging date being 10th June 2006, four days after their regular counterparts.

As amalgamation drew ever nearer, a pair of sad milestones were reached in March 2006; on the 19th March at a farewell dinner at Dunster Castle in Somerset, the regiment said goodbye to its Colonel-in-Chief after HM King Harald V chose to end his role with the end of the regiment's independent existence, while on the 28th March, the 1st Battalion held their final parade on British soil. The Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier JSW Powell OBE, took the parade and took the opportunity to award various service medals to members of the battalion. The regiment had nearly all deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo.

[edit] Traditions

[edit] King Harald's Company

Each year, all of the companies in the battalion took part in a competition, consisting of sports and military skills tests, to win the right to be named King Harald's Company, after the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief. The winning company was given a special flag bearing the King's personal cypher, the Company Sergeant Major was presented with a special pace stick, and all members of the company were permitted to wear a special red badge on the arm of their uniform. The last company to hold the title was B (KH) Coy, the tradition was retained on rebadging to the new regiment.