The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the line of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

by the amalgamation of the

41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1719. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Early h ...

and

69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot The 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Formation ...

to form the Welsh Regiment, by which it was known until 1920 when it was renamed the Welch Regiment. In 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

to form the

Royal Regiment of Wales The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of the South Wales Borderers and the Welch Regiment. The 1st Battalion, Th ...

History

Formation

The regiment was created in 1881 under the

by the amalgamation of the

and

to form the Welsh Regiment. The 1st Battalion moved to Egypt in 1886. The battalion took part in the

Battle of Suakin The Battle of Suakin (also known as the Battle of Gemaizah), part of the Mahdist War, occurred on 20 December 1888 when General Francis Grenfell defeated a Mahdist, or Dervish, force near Suakin, a chief port of Sudan. The Mahdist force, under ...

in December 1888 during the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

under the leadership of the force commander, Colonel

Herbert Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

, who wrote in his dispatches: The 1st Battalion moved to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1889 while the 2nd Battalion went to

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in 1892; the 1st Battalion moved to

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly follow ...

in December 1893 where almost all the regiment's artifacts, plate and silver were lost in a large fire in 1895. The 1st Battalion was dispatched to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

in November 1899 for the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

: it was engaged in

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. Lord Methuen adv ...

in February 1900, where they suffered heavy losses, and again at the Battle of Driefontein in March 1900. A 3rd,

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

battalion, was embodied in December 1899, and embarked for South Africa in February 1900 to serve in the same war. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

and the latter the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Rich ...

; the regiment now had one Reserve battalion and four Territorial battalions.

First World War

Regular Army

The 1st Battalion, after returning from India, landed at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

as part of the 84th Brigade in 28th Division in January 1915 for service on the Western Front but moved to Egypt and then on to

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

in November 1915. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. Lance Corporal

William Charles Fuller William Charles Fuller, VC (13 March 1884 – 29 December 1974) was a soldier in the British Army and a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonw ...

, of the 2nd Battalion, won the Welsh Regiment's first

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

of the war when, under withering and sustained rifle and machine gun fire, he advanced one hundred yards to rescue Captain Mark Haggard who was mortally wounded on Chézy sur Aisne on 14 September 1914.

Territorial Force

The 1/4th Battalion and 1/5th Battalion landed at Suvla Bay as part of the 159th Brigade in the

53rd (Welsh) Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

in August 1915; after being evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915 the battalion moved to Egypt. The 1/6th (Glamorgan) Battalion was part of the independent

South Wales Brigade The South Wales Brigade was a Territorial Force infantry brigade of the British Army. Formed in 1908, it was not part of any division, instead serving as Army Troops, though attached to the Welsh Division in peacetime. It was dissolved in earl ...

allocated to home defence, but volunteered for oversas service. It landed at Le Havre in October 1914 to work on the

Lines of Communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicati ...

on the Western Front. It later fought alongside the 1st Battalion with 28th Division at the

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern ...

and spent the rest of the war as the divisional pioneer battalion for 1st Division

New Armies

The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at ANZAC Cove as part of the 40th Brigade in the

13th (Western) Division The 13th (Western) Division was one of the Kitchener's Army divisions in the First World War, raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener. It fought at Gallipoli, in Mesopotamia (including the capture of Baghdad) and Persia. War service 1914–19 ...

in August 1915; after being evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915 the battalion moved to Egypt and on to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

in February 1916. Captain Edgar Myles, of the 8th (Service) Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the

Siege of Kut The siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the first battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British Army garrison in the town of Kut, south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915, its population ...

in April 1916 during the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

. The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C� ...

as part of the 58th Brigade in the 19th (Western) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 10th (Service) Battalion (1st Rhondda) landed at Le Havre as part of the 114th Brigade in 38th (Welsh) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 11th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 67th Brigade in the 22nd Division in September 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Salonika in late 1915. Private

Hubert William Lewis Lance Corporal Hubert William Lewis (1 May 1896 – 22 February 1977) was a Welsh soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Com ...

, of the 11th (Service) Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Evzonoi in Macedonia in October 1916 during the Macedonian campaign. The 13th (Service) Battalion (2nd Rhondda), the 14th (Service) Battalion (Swansea) and the 15th (Service) Battalion (Carmarthenshire) landed at Le Havre as part of the 114th Brigade in the 38th (Welsh) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 16th (Service) Battalion (Cardiff City) landed at Le Havre as part of the 115th Brigade in the 38th (Welsh) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 17th (Service) Battalion (1st Glamorgan) and 18th (Service) Battalion (2nd Glamorgan) landed in France as part of the 119th Brigade in the 40th Division in June 1916 for service on the Western Front. The 19th (Service) Battalion (Glamorgan Pioneers) landed at Le Havre as pioneer battalion to the 38th (Welsh) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 23rd (Service) Battalion (Welsh Pioneers) landed in Salonika as pioneer battalion to the 28th Division in July 1916.

War memorial

After the First World War, the regiment commissioned the architect

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

to design a war memorial as a tribute to their fallen. The memorials was originally planned to be built on the Western Front in Belgium but was instead erected outside the regiment's headquarters at

Maindy Barracks Maindy Barracks is a military installation in the Cathays district of Cardiff in Wales. History Maindy Barracks opened in 1877. Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces ...

in Cardiff. The memorial takes the form of squat

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

, following Lutyens' design of the famous Cenotaph on Whitehall in London.

Inter-war

The 2nd Battalion was deployed to Ireland in 1920 while the 1st Battalion returned to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and served there until 1924 when it moved to

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

. The 2nd Battalion moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

in 1927 for service with the Shanghai Defence Force and then on to India in 1935. The 6th (Glamorgan) Battalion of the Territorial Army, which had absorbed the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion in 1921, was converted into a searchlight regiment in 1938 and was transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as 67th (Welch) Searchlight Regiment in 1940.

Second World War

The 1st Battalion moved to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

in 1939 to play its part in operations connected with the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. The battalion first saw action in the Western Desert Campaign of 1940. The 1st Battalion landed in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

in February but was overwhelmed by the enemy in fighting at

Souda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akrotiri p ...

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The mun ...

and Sphakia Beach and had to be evacuated by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. Eventually the 1st Battalion was reformed in Egypt and joined the

5th Indian Infantry Brigade The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was converted from the 9th Indian Infantry Brigade in September 1939, and assigned to the 4th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade firs ...

, part of the

4th Indian Infantry Division The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. This division of the British Indian Army was formed in Egypt in 1939 during the Second World War. During the Second World War, ...

and moved back again to the Western Desert. In Crete alone the battalion had lost nearly 250 dead, with 400 being captured and the battalion was reduced to a mere 7

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and 161 other ranks. They received a large draft of 700 officers and men. After heavy fighting in the area of Benghazi the 1st Battalion was again overrun in mid-1942 and again suffered heavy casualties when Erwin Rommel's

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

swept through Cyrenaica and Libya in the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Mars ...

. Following a period of rest and training in Egypt and the Sudan the 1st Battalion was re-organized in early 1943 as 34th (Welch) Beach Brick and in July landed with the

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War. Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two ''Ts'' in the divisional in ...

, part of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forc ...

, during the

invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began ...

in July. In May 1944 the 1st Battalion received large numbers of replacements from retrained anti-aircraft gunners of the

and became an effective infantry battalion again. The battalion was now assigned to 168th (London) Infantry Brigade, replacing the now disbanded 10th

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

and serving alongside 1st

London Irish Rifles The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred ...

and 1st London Scottish, making the brigade a mixture of Irish, Scottish and Welsh. The 168th Brigade was part of the

56th (London) Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. ...

, which had just been severely mauled fighting at Anzio. In July the battalion landed in Italy and fought in the Italian Campaign and would remain there for the rest of the war. They took part in heavy fighting on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

, one of many

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

defensive lines in Italy, and in the Croce area where the battalion, and the rest of the 56th Division, suffered heavy casualties. As a result of the casualties sustained, and a severe shortage of British infantry replacements in the Mediterranean theatre, 168th Brigade was disbanded and the 1st Battalion was reduced to a small cadre of 5

and 60 other ranks. In March 1945 the 1st Battalion was transferred to the 1st Guards Brigade, serving alongside the 3rd

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and 3rd

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

and replacing the disbanded 3rd

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremoni ...

, part of

6th Armoured Division The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War and re-formed in May 1951 in the UK. History The division was formed in the United Kingdom under Northern Command on ...

, and remained with it until the end of the war. In April they took part in

Operation Grapeshot The spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWI ...

which ended with the capture of thousands of

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and the surrender of the German Army in Italy on 2 May. The 2nd Battalion had been retained in India but in October 1944 the battalion moved to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

as part of the 62nd Indian Infantry Brigade attached to the

19th Indian Infantry Division The 19th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, and played a prominent part in the final part of the Burma Campaign. History The 19th Indian Infantry Division was raised in Secunderabad, Indi ...

where it joined the

British Fourteenth Army The British Fourteenth Army was a multi-national force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during the Second World War. As well as British Army units, many of its units were from the Indian Army and there were also significant contribut ...

, led by Bill Slim. The Battalion saw its bitterest fighting along the

Taungoo Taungoo (, ''Tauñngu myoú''; ; also spelled Toungoo) is a district-level city in the Bago Region of Myanmar, 220 km from Yangon, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industry ...

Mawchi Mawachi a region in the Bawlake district of the Kayah State (formerly called Karenni State) of Myanmar. In the 1930s, the Mawchi Mine was the most important source of tungsten in the world. Mawchi contained the world's largest granite-hosted tin- ...

Road where for a hundred miles, with deep jungle on either side, the Japanese defended vigorously all the way. In November the battalion crossed the

Chindwin River , , image = Homalin aerial.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin. , map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption ...

Sittang The Sittaung River ( my, စစ်တောင်းမြစ် ; formerly, the Sittang or Sittounghttps://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/inf/8th_UNCSGN_econf.94_INF.75.pdf ) is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago ...

, captured Pinlebu and saw some very hard fighting on the Swebo Plain. The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 B11255

The 4th Battalion was in Northern Ireland in the 160th Infantry Brigade attached to the

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

. In June 1944 the battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Coleman, was, after many years of training, ordered to France to join the

British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...

in the

Normandy Campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

. From the start of the campaign the 4th Battalion was involved in fierce fighting during the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battle ...

, and around the Falaise Pocket, the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

and the Battle of the Reichwald where it sustained very heavy casualties and involved some of the fiercest fighting in the

North West Europe Campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front has also sometimes been used informally. The United S ...

for British soldiers as they were up against determined German paratroopers. The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 B10138

Meanwhile, the 1/5th and 2/5th Battalions, mobilized at the same time as the 4th Battalion, were retained at home where the 2/5th also trained and prepared drafts for overseas although it remained at home throughout the whole war as a Home Defence battalion. The 1/5th Battalion, originally with the 160th Infantry Brigade, moved to Normandy in late June 1944 and fought alongside the 4th Battalion in the 53rd (Welsh) Division in the

distinguishing itself at

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

, the Falaise Gap, the Ardennes and the Reichwald Forest. In August 1944 the 1/5th Battalion was transferred from 160th Brigade to the 158th Infantry Brigade, still with 53rd (Welsh) Division. Some of the hardest fighting took place around the Falaise Gap where on 16 August 1944, near Balfour, Lieutenant Tasker Watkins of the 1/5th Battalion was awarded the

for supreme personal bravery and inspired leadership. Around 1,100 officers and other ranks of the Welch Regiment were killed or died from wounds or sickness during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, with many more wounded.

Post-war

The 1st Battalion returned home in 1947 and was garrisoned at Malvern, Worcester, with the 2nd Battalion, which had returned from Burma. The 1st Battalion moved to Dering Lines in

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

in February 1948 and amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in June 1948. The Battalion moved to Sobraon Barracks in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

in October 1950 and was then deployed to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

as part of the 29th British Infantry Brigade in the

1st Commonwealth Division The 1st Commonwealth Division was the military unit that commanded Commonwealth land forces in the Korean War. The division was a part of the multinational British Commonwealth Forces Korea, with infantry units of the British Army, Canadian A ...

in November 1951 for service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. The battalion moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

as part of the 27th Infantry Brigade in November 1952 and then returned home to Llanion Barracks in Pembroke Dock in 1954. It moved to

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

in Germany as part of 10th Infantry Brigade in June 1956 before being deployed to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

in October 1957. The battalion moved to North Africa in December 1958 and established its headquarters in

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and '' Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Gha ...

with company detachments at Derna,

Marj Marj ( ar, المرج, Al Marǧ, The Meadows), also spelt ''El Merj'', generally believed to be on the site of the ancient city of Barca or Barce, is a city in northeastern Libya and the administrative seat of the Marj District. It lies in an ...

and Al Adm and then returned to the United Kingdom the following year. The battalion was stationed at Brooke Barracks in

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by la ...

from April 1961 where duties included guarding

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position un ...

. The battalion returned to the United Kingdom and became the Demonstration Battalion of The School of Infantry, stationed first at Knook Camp in

Heytesbury Heytesbury is a village (formerly considered to be a town) and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the north bank of the Wylye, about southeast of the town of Warminster. The civil parish includes most of the small neig ...

and then at the newly built Battlesbury Barracks in

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

in 1965. For its final overseas posting the battalion moved to

Stanley Fort Stanley Fort is a military installation on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Built originally to serve the British Armed Forces, it now houses the Hong Kong garrison of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force. It has also been us ...

on Hong Kong Island in June 1966. It then amalgamated with the

to form the 1st Battalion the

in June 1969.

Regimental holders of The Victoria Cross

(Prior to 1881) *Lieutenant Ambrose Madden VC (Sergeant-Major in 41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot) *General Sir

Hugh Rowlands General Sir Hugh Rowlands (6 May 1828 – 1 August 1909) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross for courageous action that led to the rescue of Colonel William O'Grady Haly during the Crimean War. Early life Hugh Rowlands was born in ...

VC KCB (Captain in 41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot) (Post 1881) *Sergeant

VC (Lance-Corporal in 2nd Bn) *Private

VC (Private in 11th Bn) *Captain Edgar Myles VC DSO (Second Lieutenant in 8th Bn) *Major Sir Tasker Watkins VC GBE PC (Lieutenant in 1/5th Battalion)

Battle honours

The Regiment was awarded the following

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

: *''From the 41st Regiment of Foot'': Detroit, Queenstown, Miami, Niagara, Ava, Candahar 1842, Ghuznee 1842, Cabool 1842, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol *''From the 69th Regiment of Foot'': Bourbon, Java, Waterloo, India *Belleisle¹, Martinique 1762¹, The Saints², St Vincent 1797 ¹, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899–1902 *''The Great War'':

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. ...

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fro ...

Marne 1914 Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river *La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Netherl ...

, Aisne 1914 '18, Ypres 1914 '15 '17, Langemarck 1914 '17,

Gheluvelt Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population o ...

, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Gravenstafel, Saint-Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Messines 1917 '18, Pilckem,

Menin Road Menin may refer to: *Menin, the French name for the Belgian town of Menen *Menin, a little village in the municipality of Cesiomaggiore, Italy *Menin or MEN1, a tumor suppressor associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 *Měnín, village ...

Polygon Wood In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...

, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, Saint-Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Béthune, Scherpenberg,

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the ...

1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Struma, Doiran 1917 '18, Macedonia 1915–18,

Suvla View of Suvla from Battleship Hill Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as pa ...

, Sari Bair, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill,

Gallipoli 1915 The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles st ...

, Egypt 1915–17, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tell 'Asur,

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Junctio ...

, Nablus, Palestine 1917–18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916–18 *''The Second World War'': Falaise, Lower Maas, Reichswald,

North-West Europe 1944-45 The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, North Africa 1940–42, Sicily 1943,

Coriano Coriano ( rgn, Curién) is a ''comune'' in the province of Rimini. This town is known for being the city of the Motorcycle World Champion, in 250cc class, Marco Simoncelli. History Coriano's origins are ancient: it was an Umbrian, Etruscan an ...

, Croce, Rimini Line, Ceriano Ridge, Argenta Gap, Italy 1943–45,

, Canea, Withdrawal to Sphakia, Middle East 1941, Kyaukmyaung Bridgehead,

Maymyo Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: ), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of ...

, Rangoon Road,

1945, Burma 1944-45 *''Post-War'': Korean War 1951–52 From the above Battle Honours the following were actually borne on the Regimental and Queen's Colour: * The Regimental Colour: Belleisle, Martinique 1762, St. Vincent 1797, India, Bourbon, Java, Detroit, Queenstown, Miami, Niagara, Waterloo, Ava, Candahar 1842, Ghuznee 1842, Cabool 1842, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeburg, South Africa 1899–1902, Korea 1951–52. * The Queen's Colour: Aisne 1914–18, Ypres 1914-15-17, Gheluvelt, Loos, Somme 1916–18, Pilkem, Cambrai 1917–18, Macedonia 1915–18, Gallipoli 1915, Gaza, Falaise, Lower Mass, Reichswald, Croce, Italy 1943–45, Crete, Canae, Kyaukmyaung Bridgehead, Sittang 1945, Burma 1944–45. ¹ Awarded for the services of the 69th Foot. ² Awarded in 1909 for the services of the 69th Foot, with the badge of a Naval Crown superscribed ''12th April 1782''.

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: ;The Welsh Regiment *1881–1883 (1st Battalion): Gen. Sir Richard England, GCB, KH ''(ex

41st Foot The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1719. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Early hi ...

)'' *1881–1894 (2nd Battalion): Gen. David Elliott Mackirdy ''(ex 69th Foot)'' *1883–1894: Gen. Julius Edmund Goodwyn, CB *1894–1904: Gen.

Francis Peyton Francis H. Peyton (June 27, 1733) was a Virginia planter and patriot in the American Revolutionary War, and who represented Loudoun County, Virginia in the House of Burgesses, Virginia Conventions and both houses of the Virginia General Assemb ...

, CB *1904–1918: Maj-Gen. William Allan *1918–1920: Maj-Gen. Sir Alexander Bruce Tulloch, KCB, CMG *1920–1941: Maj-Gen. Sir Thomas Owen Marden, KBE, CB, CMG ; The Welch Regiment (1921) *1941–1949: Maj-Gen. Douglas Povah Dickinson, CB, DSO, OBE, MC *1949–1958: Maj-Gen. Cyril Ernest Napier Lomax, CB, CBE, DSO, MC *1958–1965: Lt-Gen. Sir Cyril Frederick Charles Coleman, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE *1965–1969: Maj-Gen. Frank Hastings Brooke, CB, CBE, DSO *1969: Regiment amalgamated with

The South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

to form The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot)

References

Sources

External links

Royal Glamorgan Light Infantry
{{British Infantry Regiments World War I Royal Regiment of Wales Infantry regiments of the British Army Welsh regiments of the British Army Military units and formations in Wales Military units and formations in Cardiff Regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1881 Military units and formations disestablished in 1969 1969 disestablishments in the United Kingdom R