2 YORKS Bid Farewell To Britain In Song

After months of preparation, 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment will be heading out to Kabul on Operation Toral within the next few days.

The battalion will be taking over from the Royal Irish Regiment, and in keeping with ancient military tradition, a Drumhead Service was held to bless the troops ahead of their departure.

The Fijian Choir of 2 Yorks lent their voices to the blessing in their final gathering ahead of the troop’s deployment.

Once they’ve arrived in Kabul, the battalion will be helping to support the Train-Advice-Assist mission for the Afghan Security forces, as well as command and control of NATO assets, force protection and incident response.

Prior to the service, they marched from their barracks in Catterick to Richmond, where they received a blessing from the padre and a word from their CO.         

The rain persisted through the service at Richmond Castle, a truly British farewell to the soldiers bound for the heat of Kabul.

The first two companies will begin heading out to Kabul this weekend ready to begin their 4-month deployment.

They’ll be relieved by the second companies, who head out in December.

It’ll be almost a year before the battalion are together again.