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1st Battalion
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The 1st Battalion sailed on the Doune Castle about 24th November 1899,
and arrived at the Cape about 15th December.
The 1st Yorkshire went out as part of Sir Charles Warren's Vth Division,
but while Sir Charles with six of his battalions went on to Natal, the 2nd
Warwicks and 1st Yorkshire were dropped at Cape Town, and this battalion
went up to the Colesberg district to help General French in his efforts to
repel the Boer invasion of the colony. The force under General French
was largely a cavalry one, but he had fortunately some fine infantry,
including four companies of the 2nd Berkshire, who had been in South Africa
when the war broke out, the 1st Welsh, who arrived about 22nd November, and
the 1st Essex, who arrived early in December; later he got the Suffolks, and
then the Wiltshires and other regiments of the Vlth Division. While
the din of Magersfontein, Colenso, and Spion Kop was in our ears we had
little thought of the splendid work French was doing with a very slender
force, but the events of the intervening years have taught us the
inestimable value of that work. Had the enemy passed Naauwpoort, De
Aar with its millions' worth of stores would have been at his mercy, Lord
Methuen's communications would have been cut, and an advance by the
Kimberley line made almost impossible.
The 1st Yorkshire had done their work in the Colesberg district without
mistake, and when Lord Roberts in the beginning of February 1900 was making
up a force for his great effort, the battalion, along with the 1st Essex and
1st Welsh, was taken to Modder River and there put into the 18th Brigade
under Brigadier General T Stephenson, who at the time of his appointment was
colonel of the 1st Essex. The other battalion was the 2nd Warwicks,
which was then employed in the Britstown neighbourhood, and unfortunately
did not join the brigade in time to take part in the triumph of Paardeberg.
Evidently Lord Roberts desired to have in his force as many seasoned
battalions as possible, as the 18th Brigade took the place of the 12th in
the Vlth Division under Lieutenant General Kelly - Kenny, the 12th being
left under General Clements in the Colesberg district, where most of the
troops of the 18th had just been.
The work of the Vlth Division while acting together in the eastern advance
has been sketched under the East Kent Regiment. Of that work the 1st
Yorkshire took their share, as is proved by their losses. At
Paardeberg on 18th February they had 1 officer and 30 men killed, 4
officers, including Colonel Bowles and Major Kirkpatrick, and over 100 men
wounded. The heaviest regimental loss in that battle was that of the
Seaforths, 33 killed, the Canadians and Welsh having about 20 each.
On the 20th the 1st Yorkshire again distinguished themselves in actions
against parties of Boers who came to Cronje's assistance, they and the Buffs
taking 80 prisoners. On the 23rd they were in a stiff fight and did
very well. On 10th March at Driefontein the 18th Brigade were in the
front, and had again very hard fighting. The East Kent, Welsh, and
Essex were first line, the 1st Yorkshire and 2nd Gloucesters supporting.
Late in the afternoon the bayonet had to be used to clear the position.
This battalion on the 10th lost 3 killed and 23 wounded. Three
officers and 2 non-commissioned officers were mentioned in Lord Roberts'
despatch of 31st March 1900.
After the entry into Bloemfontein the Vlth Division, as previously
constituted, was broken up; but the 18th Brigade had again good luck and a
post of highest honour, being along with the Guards Brigade put into the
newly-formed Xlth Division under Lieutenant General Pole-Carew. Under
that general the 18th Brigade took part in the operations designed for the
relief of Wepener and the driving from the south-east of the Orange River
Colony of the strong Boer force which, during March and April 1900, was
troubling the Commander-in-Chief by threatening his lines of communication
and snapping up or defeating outlying columns, such as Broadwood's at
Sannah's Post and the Royal Irish Rifles at Reddersburg.
In the northern advance, commencing 3rd May, the VIIth and Xlth Divisions
composed the centre of the army; but they had no severe fighting such as
they had previously seen, or indeed such as fell to the lot of the troops on
the flanks.
The 18th Brigade entered Johannesburg on 31st May along with Lord
Roberts, and they provided his guard of honour. On 5th June they
marched into Pretoria.
At Diamond Hill, 11th and 12th June, Pole-Carew's Xlth Division, which still
included the 18th Brigade, was in the British centre, following the railway
line; but at that part the enemy's position was almost unassailable, and the
whole of the two days' fighting was done near the flanks. On the 12th
the Guards Brigade was moved to the right to support Bruce Hamilton, the
18th Brigade remaining in the centre.
The 18th Brigade, as part of the Xlth Division, took part in the eastern
movement towards Koomati Poort (see 3rd Grenadier Guards), but in that
movement the brigade had comparatively few casualties, as the most severe
fighting was again invariably on the flanks. In Lord Roberts' final
despatch 9 officers and 17 non-commissioned officers and men of the 1st
Yorkshire were mentioned. In the desultory fighting which was to
continue for another year and nine months the 18th Brigade were chiefly
utilised for garrison work in the Eastern Transvaal, and none of the
regiments had any serious losses in action.
In the first half of 1901 the battalion was on garrison duty about
Koomati Poort, Kaapmuiden, Avoca, and Barberton, and suffered from fever so
badly at the first-named place that over 50 per cent of the battalion was in
hospital. At the end of July a half-company made a very fine march of
forty-seven miles in thirty-six hours with a temperature of 110° in the
shade, the object being to reinforce Steinaecker's Horse in Swaziland.
In August the battalion was moved to Pretoria, and in September to Ladysmith
in connection with the threatened reinvasion of Natal. In October they
were entrained for Elandsfontein, near which they remained holding the line
Springs to Viljeon's Drift to the close.
Although their opportunities were few, the Yorkshire Regiment were able
to pick up a few mentions in the despatches of Lord Kitchener, written
during the war, for exceptional work, chiefly with Mounted Infantry, and in
the final despatch 2 officers and 4 non-commissioned officers and men were
mentioned.
