51st Regiment of Foot
Known as the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI)
Chronology
- 1755 raised in Leeds as the 53rd Regiment of Foot
- 1757 renumbered 51st Regiment of Foot
- 1782 became the 51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding) Regiment of Foot
- 1809 became the 51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding) Regiment of Light Infantry
- 1821 became the 51st (2nd Yorkshire, West Riding, The King's Own Light Infantry) Regiment
- 1881 amalgamated with the 105th Regiment of Foot and became the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Light Infantry (South Yorkshire Regiment)
- 1897 became The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)
- 1921 became The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
- 1968 became the 2nd Battalion of The Light Infantry (2LI)
- 2007 merged with the Royal Green Jackets to form The Rifles becoming '5 RIFLES'
Service in British India
- 1798 India
- 1801 Ceylon
- 1803 1st Kandyan War
- 1846 Madras
- 1847 Poonamallee
- 1848-50 Bangalore
- 1851 Poonamallee
- 1852 2nd Burma War, served at Pegu
- 1854 Left Burma for England
- 1857 Returned to India due to the Indian Mutiny (see below)
- 1863 India
- 1872 India
- 1881 Dinapore
- 1886 3rd Burma War
Indian Mutiny
With the exception of a few detachments, the regiment saw no action during the Mutiny and thus were not awarded the Indian Mutiny medal.
External Links
- King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Wikipedia
- The Light Infantry Wikipedia
- 51st (2nd Yorkshire West Riding), or The King's Own Light Infantry Regiment including deployments Regiments.org, an archived site.
- The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry including deployments: 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion Regiments.org, an archived site
- King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry lightinfantry.me.uk
- King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum
- Diary and Letters: The Afghan War by Colonel Charles Ball-Acton of the 51st Regiment from the Parsons Family website now archived. He commanded the 51st in the second phase of the war (second-in-command during the first phase).
Historical books online
- A Record of the Services of the Fifty-first (Second West York), the King's Own Light Infantry by William Wheater 1870 Archive.org