Huddersfield Rifles

Huddersfield Rifles 5th Bn Duke of Wellington's Regiment 43rd Searchlight Regiment, RA 600th Infantry Regiment, RA 578 Heavy AA Regiment, RA
Active	3 November 1859 – 1 April 1967
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Territorial Army
Role	Infantry Air Defence
Garrison/HQ	Huddersfield
Engagements	World War I: Battle of the Somme Battle of Arras Battle of Poelcappelle Battle of Cambrai German Spring Offensive Battle of Tardenois Second Battle of Bapaume Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line Battle of Havrincourt Battle of the Canal du Nord Battle of the Selle Battle of the Sambre World War II: The Blitz North West Europe

World War I:

World War II:

The Huddersfield Rifles was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force first raised in 1859. It later became a battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in the Territorial Army, serving as infantry on the Western Front in World War I and as an air defence unit during and after World War II.

An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm for joining local Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs). The services of a corps at Huddersfield were accepted by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire on 3 November 1859, when it was assigned the number 10, but by July 1860 it had become the 6th Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps, with four companies. The title 'The Huddersfield' was added in 1868. It became the senior unit of the 5th Administrative Battalion of West Yorkshire RVCs when that was formed at Huddersfield on 18 September 1862 with the following organisation (dates are for first officers' commissions):

The annual inspection of the battalion was a major social event: two or three thousand people attended the 1869 parade, when the Huddersfield Rifles, Holmfirth Volunteers, and Mirfield and Meltham Companies were inspected, and the Saddleworth Volunteers 'kept the ground' with the police. Later, the Huddersfield Rifles had a prizewinning brass band.

In 1880 the 5th Admin Bn was consolidated as a new 6th Yorkshire West Riding RVC with the following organisation:

In February 1883, as part of the Childers Reforms, the corps was designated as the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment. At this time, battalion headquarters was at The Armoury in Ramsden Street, Huddersfield. The uniform had been scarlet with sky blue facing, but the facings were changed to the standard white by 1887. Under the mobilisation scheme introduced by the Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 the units of the Volunteer Force were assigned to either garrisons or mobile brigades. The Volunteer Battalions of the Duke of Wellington's were assigned to the West Yorkshire Volunteer Infantry Brigade in Northern Command and in the event of war were expected to mobilise at Leeds.

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