AFTER 85 years, soldiers from a North regiment are to return to Afghanistan.

Officers from the 1st Battalion of the Green Howards have just returned from a reconnaissance trip, paving the way for a six-month deployment later this year.

It will be the first time the regiment has been in Afghanistan since 1919, when it took part in the Third Afghan War.

Pictures from that time have recently been discovered by staff at the regimental museum, in Richmond, North Yorkshire.

They show that although the Green Howards' uniform has been totally transformed, the Afghan people and countryside are virtually unchanged.

The short visit was led by Lieutenant Colonel Jim Willis, who takes over as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion later this month.

With him was his second-in command, Major Simon Fovargue, and representatives of the four Green Howards companies that will be stationed in Afghanistan between April and October.

A and B Companies will be working with the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, which is helping the Afghan Transitional Authority maintain security in Kabul and the surrounding areas.

C Company will be at Mazar-e-Sharif, in the North, as part of the UK Provincial Reconstruction Team. It will help the Afghan Transitional Authority expand its influence in the provinces.

The Support Company will help train the Afghan National Army.

The regiment will have more than 300 soldiers in Afghanistan throughout the tour.

There will be a regular change-over of those in Afghanistan, and it is expected that all members of the 1st Battalion will spend time in the country.