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The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment) is an Infantry regiment of the British Army , part of the King's Division . As of 2004 , it was one of five line infantry regiments that had not been amalgamated in its entire history, a claim shared with:
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 it's main recruiting efforts continue in this area, particularly in Middlesbrough, Redcar, Northallerton and Scarborough. However, the regiment has been known as 'The Green Howards' since 1744, when the regiment's colonel was the Honourable Sir Charles Howard. At that time, regiments were known by the name of their colonel. However, at the same time, there was another regiment, commanded by Sir George Howard. In order to tell them apart (they both would have been known as 'Howard's Regiment of Foot'), the colours of their uniform facings were used - so one became the Green Howards, while the other became the 'Buff Howards' (and eventually simply ' The Buffs '). 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. 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 date will be the 6th June 2006 . A and B(Green Howards)Companies of the Tyne Tees Regiment, based in Scarborough and Middlesbrough respectively, will merge 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 draws ever nearer, a sad milestone was reached on 28th March 2006 when the 1st Bn The Green Howards 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 has nearly all deployed to Bosnia and Kosovo, with ISAF company due to deploy to Kosovo specifically in early April 2006. The regiment performs the Light Infantry role, mainly operating on foot, its main vehicle being the Land Rover . It is currently based in Chepstow , Wales as part of 160 (Welsh) Brigade . KING HARALD'S COMPANY Each year, all of the Companies in the battalion take 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 is given a special flag bearing the King's personal cypher, the Company Sergeant Major is presented with a special pace stick, and all members of the company are permitted to wear a special red badge on the arm of their uniform. The company currently holding this title is B (KH) Coy. ALLIANCES Present: Past: Bond of Friendship: Unofficial: EXTERNAL LINKS
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