THE Duke of Wellington's Regiment has lost its war against change.
But it has won an important battle to retain its name.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon revealed yesterday that the Duke Of Wellington's Regiment, the Prince of Wales' Own Regiment and the Green Howards will join together to form The Yorkshire Regiment.
But each will form a battalion with the original name.
The Dukes will become the Third Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment (Duke Of Wellington's).
The Examiner ran a campaign to save the Dukes, which recruits in this area, and sent a petition with hundreds of signatures to Mr Hoon.
Major General Sir Evelyn Webb- Carter, Colonel of the Duke Of Wellington's Regiment, said the formation of The Yorkshire Regiment was the best outcome they could have expected under the radical and wide-ranging national review.
"We are upbeat about it," he said.
"It means the name has changed, but I'm sure we will still be known colloquially as the Dukes.
"Our main fear was that there would only be two battalions, but the fact that there are three means we have all been able to keep our own identities."
He said the new Dukes battalion would have at least the same number of troops as the current regiment.
"Everyone will keep their jobs and there may be 10 or 20 more," he said. "We are hugely relieved."
The Dukes are now serving in Iraq and are not due back to their home base in Germany until next May.
Major General Webb-Carter said it was thought they would then move to a new home at Warminster in the Salisbury Plain area.
He added: "I've not had chance to speak to anyone from the Dukes out in Iraq yet, but I'm sure they will be hugely relieved."
Huddersfield families of serving and ex- soldiers fear the change may be the start of the end to the Duke of Wellington's name.
Hilary Gomersal, whose son Daniel left the Dukes in the summer, said: "I believe their identity will be lost and it is this identity which means so much to people who have such a long, proud tradition of serving in the Dukes. I think it will be eroded, which will be very sad."
Catherine Walter, whose 21-year-old son James is with the Dukes in Iraq, said: "I think the Dukes were expecting this and I'm sure James will be pleased they have retained some of their own identity.
"I'm sure they will always be referred to as the Dukes, but it's sad it's had to change after such a long, distinguished history.
"It just makes you wonder how long it will be before the name in brackets disappears."
The Duke of Wellington's Regiment is 300 years old and hundreds of supporters urged defence chiefs to let the Dukes keep their identity.
Overall, the number of infantry battalions has been cut from 40 to 36.
Senior commanders believe that the reorganisation of the infantry around a series of new regional "super" regiments, with at least two battalions each, will provide them with a more flexible and deployable fighting force.
