The Duke of Wellington's Regiment Historical Research Grants

Level of study

Any Postgraduate

Subject area

History

Nationality

EU, Overseas (Non-EU), UK

Type of Award

External

Deadline for applying

Closed 31/08/2022 (Note: competition closed for this year)

Award Description

The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding), an infantry regiment of the British Army, was amalgamated with the Green Howards and The Princess of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire in 2006 to form The Yorkshire Regiment and was until then known as ‘the Dukes’.

The Trustees of the Regimental Association are determined to keep the memory of ‘The Dukes’ alive by providing encouragement and support to those studying at universities who are researching areas of military history where ‘the Dukes’ or its antecedent regiments were involved with a view to them producing learned and well-researched copy for the Association’s journal ‘The Iron Duke’.

Value of Award

There are three grants available each year: one major grant of up to £1000 and two minor grants of up to £500.

Eligibility Criteria

These grants are available to anyone worldwide who is currently studying at a Univeristy or other similar instituition.

Subject Scope

The Duke of Wellington's Regiment Historical Research Grants are only awarded to students conducting research that relates to 'the Dukes' or its antecedant regiments.

The regiment was first raised in 1702 as the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment. In 1751 it became officially known as the 33rd Regiment of Foot. In 1881, following the Childers Reforms it was linked with the 76th Regiment with which it shared a depot in Halifax, Yorkshire. The 76th had been raised in 1787, for service in India where it earned the nickname ‘The Immortals’ and was awarded an honorary set of colours by the East India Company that are carried to this day. The two regiments became, respectively, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.

The histories of the two regiments and the conjoined regiment include the wars of the Spanish and Austrian Successions, the American War of Independence, campaigns in India and Africa, including, notably, Arthur Wellesley’s early campaigns in India, the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns, the Crimean War, the Second Boer War, both World Wars on the Western Front and Gallipoli and France, Italy and the Far East from 1939. The 1950s saw it in Korea and Cyprus, the ‘60s to the 1990s in Germany with NATO and during the ‘70s to ‘90s service in Northern Ireland.

The regiment also served in the Iraq War of 2003. Its soldiers have been awarded nine Victoria Crosses and Corporal W. Mills received the first Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in 1994 while serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

How to Apply

Applications may be submitted at any time during the year, but the closing dates below will apply. Applicants who submit proposals after the relevant deadline will be invited to re-submit in the following year:

Major Grant (£1,000) – Closing date 31 August. The successful applicant will be informed and the grant made available in September of the same year.

Minor Grants (£500) – Closing date 31 July. The successful applicants will be informed and the grants made available in September of the same year.

Completing the Application

To apply for a grant, please provide a 500-word proposal to the editorironduke@btinternet.com. Receipt will be acknowledged.

For an Application to be considered it must include:
1. An attached scanned copy of the applicant’s current student ID card.
2. Contact details of an Academic Referee who has knowledge of the area of research and who, if approached, will be able to support the application for a grant.
3. An itemised breakdown with costings of what the grant is to be spent on.

Applicants will be notified of rejected and/or unsuccessful applications. An unsuccessful application may be re-submitted in improved form in the following year. The award of a Duke of Wellington Regiment Historical Research Grant does not disbar an application for a second grant in the year following the award. By submitting the application, if successful, the recipient acknowledges that he/she will produce an essay for The Iron Duke Journal.

Awards will be decided upon by the Trustees. Awards will be made strictly on merit based on the content of the Application, and on no other criteria. The amount of money and the timing of the awards may be varied by the Trustees at their discretion.

Contact

The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)
editorironduke@btinternet.com

Website

http://www.dwr.org.uk/