Music

The Crepon Maquette is a replica, made of bronze and wood, of the Crepon Memorial which was itself unveiled by King Harald V, King of Norway as the Colonel in Chief of The Green Howards in 1996.

The statue represents a soldier at the end of D-Day reflecting on the day’s events. It is not specifically of CSM Hollis VC.

The inscription reads:

and includes the names of 38 officers of 1st Battalion The Green Howards under the command of Lt Col R L Kirkland.

The Geddes Cup was presented to the 2nd Battalion The East Yorkshire Regiment by Colonel Guy W Geddes DSO in 1929.

The Cup was originally presented as a ‘team marching and shooting cup’. In the 1950s, however, the scope of the Geddes Cup competition was expanded to become an inter-platoon competition, involving tests in all the skills of an infantry soldier, with one Commanding Officer’s clear intention to raise standards through focussing on basic infantry skills in a competitive environment.

The history of the Cup since its presentation is incomplete but it is possible to say that 5 pl B Coy have won it more times than any other platoon (three times). The largest Geddes Cup competition of all times was held at Stamford in 1968 – it lasted for three weeks. Older members of the Battalion will always maintain that the ‘hardest’ Geddes Cup was held in Berlin in the winter of 1964 where it took the form of a four day competition. Two feet of snow fell on the opening day. The Geddes Cup competition of 1976 holds the distinction of being probably one of the shortest competitions – but not necessarily the easiest.

Geddes, by presenting an inter-platoon trophy, naturally became the most cursed man in Regimental history (at least while the competitions were in progress). But the cup, like all competition cups, has always given a great deal of satisfaction to those who have completed the course – and especially to the winners. Geddes would have liked that.

This silver figure of Princess Alexandra captures the act of her presenting new Queen’s and Regimental Colours to the 19th Regiment in 1875. The large centrepiece was presented to the Officers’ Mess by the Officers of the 1st Battalion, 1st Yorkshire North Riding Regiment.

It commemorates the presentation of the new Colours to the Battalion by Her Royal Highness, Princess of Wales, on the 17th August 1875 in Sheffield. At the same time Her Majesty the Queen, at the request of Her Royal Highness, was pleased to approve the additional title of The Princess of Wales’s Own. The Regiment adopted a cap badge consisting of the Princess’s cypher “A” combined with the Dannebrog, or Danish, cross and topped by her coronet. The Princess became Queen Alexandra in 1901 and was the Regiment’s Colonel-inChief from 1914 until her death in 1925. She was the first female Royal to hold such a role in any Regiment of the British Army.

The Battalion needed new Colours to replace those carried throughout the Crimean War (1853–1856) against the Russian Empire. The

Battalion was credited with three new Battle Honours for the Battle of Alma (1854), Inkerman (1854) and the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) which are all proudly borne on the Regimental Colour. The silver piece actually depicts the Regimental Colour with these three Battle Honours on it. On the wooden base there are also plaques that show battle scenes, most likely of ‘The Battle of Inkerman’, which was commonly known as the ‘Soldiers’ Battle’ due to the bloody nature of low-level fighting which prevailed in the foggy conditions.

The Rangoon Lion was the only piece of property to survive the burning down of the Officers’ Mess of the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in Rangoon in 1901.

The Lion now accompanies the Honorary Colours, having pride of place on the wooden stand supporting the Colours when on display.

The Inscription round the plinth reads:

The Light Division of the British Army, which included both the 19th and 33rd Foot Regiments, scaled the slopes of the River Alma and seized the Great Redoubt. A counterattack, by elements of the Borodino, Minsk and Vladimir Regiments, was beaten off by a flank attack from the Guards and Highlanders and the Russians fled the battlefield, leaving a great deal of equipment. Seven side drums were recovered by soldiers of the 19th Foot and the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Robert Sanders, and Major George Lidwell arranged to convey them back to England as trophies.

An eyewitness to the action stated:

The Russians beat a hasty retreat which, when once commenced, literally became a rout as a great number, in order to facilitate their flight, threw away not only arms, drums and accoutrements but also knapsacks and portions of clothes. —Corporal C Usherwood, 19th Foot, September 1854.

Five of the Drums were kept in 1st Battalion Green Howards, and proudly paraded on Alma Day to commemorate those who fell that day. They remain with 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment. The other two drums are on display in the Green Howards Museum, Richmond.

Major General James Wolfe (2nd January 1727–13th September 1759), who commanded the British, is remembered for his victory over the French at Quebec. The son of a distinguished General, he had received his first commission at a young age and saw extensive service throughout Europe. His service in Flanders and in Scotland is of note, where he took part in the suppression of the Jacobite Rebellion. Already a Brigade Major at the age of eighteen, he was a Lieutenant Colonel by the age of twenty-three.

The silver statue ‘The Death of Wolfe’ depicts the fall of General Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham in 1759, surrounded by his aides and comrades at the Battle of Quebec. It was as the French advanced that Wolfe gave the order to fire. The rate of fire had a shattering effect on the French columns with elements quickly falling away in disorder causing the French advance to waiver. It was then that Wolfe passed the order for the British to advance, bayonets fixed.

Having been hit earlier in the battle on the wrist, he strapped it up and moved to a position of observation on high ground alongside the 28th of Foot and Louisburg Grenadiers. It was here that he could observe, but whilst commanding the battle he was hit for a second time in the body. He did not fall immediately, but continued until he was struck again, this time in the right breast. It was only then that he fell, mortally wounded.

This magnificent piece of silver is from our antecedent regiment, the 15th of Foot. Having seen service over three centuries they later became the East Yorkshire Regiment before amalgamating with the West Yorkshire Regiment to form the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire.

The Presentation of New Colours took place in Imphal Barracks, York, on 18th June 2010.

The Dedication of the Colours ceremony was carried out the following day in York Minster at a Service attended by the Colonel in Chief. A painting of the event was commissioned from Malcolm Greensmith to commemorate the occasion.

The original, painted in watercolour gouache, hangs in Regimental Headquarters and each Battalion was presented with a replica.

The Gunthorpe Cup, a football Challenge Cup, was presented to the 1st Battalion The Green Howards by Colonel E J Gunthorpe in memory of his son Captain M E J Gunthorpe, 1896–1907, who died while serving with the Egyptian Army in the Sudan 1907.

This cup is very similar to, but not an exact replica of, the FA Cup. Nor has it ever been used in lieu of the FA Cup!

The Waterloo Medal was awarded to the men who had fought in the Waterloo Campaign, which includes the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras on 16th June, as well as the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June.

The obverse of the medal shows the head of the Prince Regent, with legend ‘George P Regent’. The reverse shows the winged figure of Victory seated on a plinth; below is the word ‘Waterloo’ and date; above is the word ‘Wellington’. 13 of the approximately 39,000 medals which were issued are held in the 1st Battalion Officers’ Mess, with others held in the Regimental Museums of the Prince of Wales’s Own and Duke of Wellington’s Regiments.

In addition, one of the three medals awarded to Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington in 1815 was presented to the Officers of The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in 1937 by the Duchess of Wellington, wife of the 5th Duke of Wellington, when she came to Malta to visit her son, the Earl of Mornington, who had been commissioned into the Regiment and was serving with the 1st Battalion. He later became the 6th Duke of Wellington and was killed at Salerno whilst serving with the Commandos. The medal is held in the 1st Battalion Officer’s Mess.

To commemorate the formation of the Yorkshire Regiment, in June 2006, a silver centrepiece was commissioned from Silver Lady, a Barnsley company.

A silver capbadge is attached to both sides of a piece of Brunswick Green glass. Four silver plaques, affixed to the wooden plinth, record the names of all the Officers serving with the Regiment on the 6th June 2006, including Captain M Birkett, commissioned on that day.

This silver centrepiece for the Officers’ Mess dining table belonged to either the 1st or 2nd Battalion The West Yorkshire Regiment, who had near identical pieces, and was adopted by 1st Battalion The Prince of Wales’s own Regiment of Yorkshire in the amalgamation of the West and East Yorkshire Regiments in 1958.

The scene depicts Edward, the Black Prince, after the battle of Crecy in 1346 AD, finding the body of the blind King of Bohemia, whose plume and motto, ‘Ich Dien’ he adopted thenceforward. Edward was an exceptional military leader from his victories over the French at Crecy and Poitiers. In 1348 he became the first Knight of the Garter. He died one year before his father, becoming the first English Prince of Wales not to become the King of England.

The decorated plinth is triangular in shape and upon it are affixed three silver repoussé battle scenes – Waterloo, New Zealand and Bhurtpore. The names of three other battle honours are on the corners of the plinth

– Java, Sevastapol and Corunna. Above these words are three silver plates on which are the three badges of the XIVth Regiment of Foot in relief – The Prince of Wales’s badge, the Horse of Hanover and the Bengal Tiger.

Both pieces were presented to mark the designation of the West Yorkshire Regiment as ‘The Prince of Wales’s Own’ in 1896 and the subsequent adoption of the Prince of Wales’s heraldic badge and motto as part of the regimental regalia. The two centrepieces were presented by the officers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions retrospectively in 1879. The other piece is held in the York Army Museum.

The Calcutta Cup was presented in 1890 to the Calcutta Rugby Club to be competed for in their annual Rugby Tournament which included all the best teams across India.

The Cup was won by the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in 1903 and 1905 and then the 1st Battalion from 1906 to 1913 inclusive. To commemorate what was already a singular achievement, in 1909 the Calcutta Club presented the Cup now held in the Regiment to the 1st Battalion, albeit they went on to continue their successive series of wins until 1913 and the outbreak of the 1st World War.

The 2nd Battalion were later to be runners up in 1933 and 1934 and joint winners with the Calcutta Rugby Club in 1937.