Veterans travel to Germany for regiment's 300th anniversary

anniversary celebrations

The focal point of the celebrations was the presentation of the new colours to the First Battalion on Saturday morning.

The Colours, originally six feet square flags but later reduced in size to divert the enemy, were described by one veteran as the "very heart of the regiment".

They were used as markers to rally the troops amid the smoke and confusion of battle, and are retained as a symbol of the honour and sacrifices of the Regiment and its links to the monarchy.

The Colours were last altered in 1981 and the changes are carried out to preserve the flags and update the battle honours embroidered onto them.

Veteran Ernest Ramsbottom, 65, from Carleton, explained: "You would die for the colours. They are the heart of the regiment. The ceremony is to put them in the care of the present soldiers for the future."

Unique to the British Army, the Dukes has two sets of colours - Regulation and Honorary. The latter was bestowed on the 76th regiment in recognition of its campaigns in India in the early 1800s.

Saturday was only the second time both sets of colours had been changed together - the last time was in 1906 - and this symbolic ceremony was the centre of a series of celebrations, at home and abroad.

Around 240 soldiers - ranging from a young recruit to the Colonel - took part in the handing over ceremony. Among them was Private Gareth Thursby, 19, of Broughton. Before the parade, he told the Herald: "I am really looking forward to it. It is a big thing to look back on and remember."

The Colonel-in-Chief, the present Duke of Wellington, was unable to attend due to ill health.

Watched by 1,800 guests, including dignitaries, family and veterans from Craven, the soldiers marched onto the parade square, performed a drill and were inspected by the Colonel, Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter.

The old flags were then trooped through the lines of soldiers before being handed to the Ensigns. They will be preserved and displayed within the Regiment's bases.

Drums from the Normandy Band of the King's Division were placed to form a pyramid over which the new colours were draped. After being blessed, the honorary colours were fitted to the original spearheads by the Colonel.

In his address, Sir Evelyn remarked: "The Yorkshire Stock from which most of you come is noted for its energy, endurance, resilience and cheerfulness - key attributes for an infantry soldier."

Summing up the morning, Commanding Officer of the First Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Bruce said: "These colours are a permanent reminder to us of our past and the bravery and self-sacrifice of which we are the inheritors.

"You may rest assured this battalion is proud of its names, traditions and its links with the West Riding."

Formed in 1702, the Dukes are one of the few old country infantry regiments remaining in the British Army Order of Battle that has not been amalgamated or disbanded. Competition to get into the regiment is fierce and it is very proud of its Yorkshire links.

The Dukes have been recruiting in the West Riding for 250 years, with soldiers coming from Settle, Barnoldswick, Skipton, Halifax, Huddersfield and Sheffield.

The regiment has two territorial army companies - the nearest base is in Keighley - and there are cadet forces across the district, including one at Giggleswick School.

Former soldiers include Gordon Bell, who chairs the Skipton Duke of Wellington's Regiment Association and was one of more than 20 members to make their way over to Osnabruck for the celebrations.

Mr Bell was with the Dukes for 22 years and served in Germany, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland.

"I have seen the honorary colours changed in Hong Kong and in Catterick but it is even better with it being 300 years of the regiment. It was very special," he said.

"The Dukes mean a lot to Skipton. If you look at the people who are here today from the town, you can see how much it does mean to them. The whole day has been very special."

He was accompanied by his wife, Mary, who is secretary of the Skipton association.

Other veterans present included Ernest Ramsbottom, 65, from Carleton and Mike Doyle, also 65, from Skipton.

Both men joined the Dukes in 1959, trained at Beverley and were together in Northern Ireland, Kenya and the United Kingdom. They described themselves as "comrades in arms".

Mr Ramsbottom said he had joined the Dukes at 16, leaving school with no qualifications and left seven years later a full corporal.

"My father was in the forces and my grandfather was in the forces. It was a natural progression in those days. The Dukes are like a family and watching the soldiers today was like watching my sons," he told the Herald.

Mr Doyle served with the Dukes from 1959 to 1961 for his National Service.

"My father was in the second battalion before me," he explained. "It is a proud day for me and the regiment."

The veterans were joined by Craven dignitaries, who included the Mayor of Skipton, Coun Andrew Rankine, and the chairman of Craven District Council, Coun Ken Hart, and their respective wives Angela and Kathleen.

Coun Rankine is honorary president of the Duke's regimental association in Skipton and represents them while he is in office.

"It has been excellent, absolutely superb and the hospitality has been excellent. Everyone had a lump in their throat when the new colours were presented," Mr Rankine said.

"We should be very proud to be associated with the Dukes," Coun Hart added. "It is a real honour to be here."

Coun John Binns, an ex-mayor of Skipton, came as a guest of the Regimental Association and Charles Dent, owner of The Woolly Sheep Inn, in Skipton, also attended.

Mr Dent is the honorary colonel of one of the two Dukes' Territorial Army companies.

The celebrations also included a pageant on Saturday evening in which soldiers re-enacted major battles in the regiment's history.

From the enthusiastic Havercake sergeant rallying recruits to the poignancy of a First World War soldier carrying his injured comrades on his back and the all-too-close peacekeeping missions in Northern Ireland, the event was a moving and informative experience for all.

A big screen showed footage, re-enactments and pictures of the Dukes throughout the ages, and music was provided by the Normandy Band of the King's division.

Soldiers joined the guests in the evening for a dinner and ball, with fairground rides and more music from the regimental band.

On Sunday guests gathered for a church service in the centre of Osnabruck, where the regiment's links with the monarchy and the Christian faith were remembered.