Welch Regiment
Welsh Regiment Welch Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1881–1969 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Line infantry |
Size | 1–2 Regular battalions 1 Militia and Special Reserve battalion Volunteer battalionsUp to 27 Hostilities-only battalions |
Garrison/HQ | Gheluvelt , 31 Oct |
The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot and 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot 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 to form the Royal Regiment of Wales.
History
Formation
The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot and 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welsh Regiment.[1]
The 1st Battalion moved to Egypt in 1886.
The half-Battalion of The Welsh Regiment are seasoned soldiers and whatever I asked of them to do they did well. Their marksmen at Gemaizah Fort and the remainder of the half-Battalion on the left fired section volleys driving the Dervishes from their right position and inflicting severe punishment upon them when in the open. Significantly the Battalion did not lose a man.[3]
The 1st Battalion moved to Malta in 1889 while the 2nd Battalion went to India in 1892; the 1st Battalion moved to Pembroke Dock in December 1893 where almost all the regiment's artifacts, plate and silver were lost in a large fire in 1895.[2] The 1st Battalion was dispatched to South Africa in November 1899 for the Second Boer War: it was engaged in Battle of Paardeberg in February 1900, where they suffered heavy losses, and again at the Battle of Driefontein in March 1900.[4]
A 3rd,
First World War
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion, after returning from India, landed at Le Havre 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 in November 1915.[10] 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.[10] Lance Corporal William Charles Fuller, of the 2nd Battalion, won the Welsh Regiment's first Victoria Cross 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.[11]
Territorial Force
The 1/4th Battalion and 1/5th Battalion landed at
New Armies
The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at ANZAC Cove as part of the 40th Brigade in the 13th (Western) Division in August 1915; after being evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915 the battalion moved to Egypt and on to Mesopotamia in February 1916.[10] Captain Edgar Myles, of the 8th (Service) Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Siege of Kut in April 1916 during the Mesopotamian campaign.[12]
The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 58th Brigade in the 19th (Western) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10] Private Hubert William Lewis, of the 11th (Service) Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Evzonoi in Macedonia in October 1916 during the Macedonian campaign.[13]
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.[10] 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.[10] The 17th (Service) Battalion (1st Glamorgan) and 18th (Service) Battalion (2nd Glamorgan) (both 'Bantam battalions') landed in France as part of the 119th Brigade in the 40th Division in June 1916 for service on the Western Front.[10] 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.[10] The 23rd (Service) Battalion (Welsh Pioneers) landed in Salonika as pioneer battalion to the 28th Division in July 1916.[10]
War memorial
After the First World War, the regiment commissioned the architect
Inter-war
The 2nd Battalion was deployed to Ireland in 1920 while the 1st Battalion returned to
Second World War
The 1st Battalion moved to
In May 1944 the 1st Battalion received large numbers of replacements from retrained anti-aircraft gunners of the
The 2nd Battalion had been retained in India but in October 1944 the battalion moved to
The 4th Battalion was in Northern Ireland in the
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
Around 1,100 officers and other ranks of the Welch Regiment were killed or died from wounds or sickness during the Second World War, with many more wounded.[22]
Post-war
The 1st Battalion returned home in 1947 and was garrisoned at Malvern, Worcester, with the 2nd Battalion, which had returned from Burma.[23] The 1st Battalion moved to Dering Lines in Brecon in February 1948 and amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in June 1948.[23] The Battalion moved to Sobraon Barracks in Colchester in October 1950 and was then deployed to Korea as part of the 29th British Infantry Brigade in the 1st Commonwealth Division in November 1951 for service in the Korean War.[23]
The battalion moved to Hong Kong as part of the 27th Infantry Brigade in November 1952 and then returned home to Llanion Barracks in Pembroke Dock in 1954.[23] It moved to Lüneburg in Germany as part of 10th Infantry Brigade in June 1956 before being deployed to Cyprus in October 1957.[23] The battalion moved to North Africa in December 1958 and established its headquarters in Benghazi with company detachments at Derna, Marj and Al Adm and then returned to the United Kingdom the following year.[23] The battalion was stationed at Brooke Barracks in Spandau from April 1961 where duties included guarding Rudolf Hess.[24] The battalion returned to the United Kingdom and became the Demonstration Battalion of The School of Infantry, stationed first at Knook Camp in Heytesbury and then at the newly built Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster in 1965.[23] For its final overseas posting the battalion moved to Stanley Fort on Hong Kong Island in June 1966.[23] It then amalgamated with the South Wales Borderers to form the 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Wales in June 1969.[23]
Regimental holders of The Victoria Cross
(Prior to 1881)
- Lieutenant Ambrose Madden VC (Sergeant-Major in 41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot)
- General Sir KCB(Captain in 41st (the Welsh) Regiment of Foot)
(Post 1881)
- Sergeant William Charles Fuller VC (Lance-Corporal in 2nd Bn)
- Private Hubert William Lewis VC (Private in 11th Bn)
- Captain Edgar Myles VC DSO (Second Lieutenant in 8th Bn)
- Major Sir PC(Lieutenant in 1/5th Battalion)
Battle honours
The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours:[8]
- 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: Mesopotamia 1916–18
- The Second World War: 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:[8]
- The Welsh Regiment
- 1881–1883 (1st Battalion): Gen. Sir 41st Foot)
- 1881–1894 (2nd Battalion): Gen. 69th Foot)
- 1883–1894: Gen. Julius Edmund Goodwyn, CB
- 1894–1904: Gen. Francis Peyton, 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 Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot)
References
- ^ "No. 24992". The London Gazette. 1 July 1881. pp. 3300–3301.
- ^ a b "The History of the Royal Regiment of Wales: The Welsh Regiment (1881-1920)". Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Dispatch from Herbert Kitchener". The Times. 12 January 1889. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Welsh Regiment". Anglo-Boer War. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "The War - Embarcation of Troops". The Times. No. 36064. London. 13 February 1900. p. 11.
- ^ "Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 31 March 1908. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ These were the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve), with the 4th Battalion at Upper Market Street in Haverfordwest (since demolished), the 5th (Glamorgan) Battalion at Court House Street in Pontypridd (since demolished), the 6th (Glamorgan) Battalion at St Helens Road in Swansea (since demolished) and the 7th (Cyclist) Battalion at Park Place in Cardiff (since demolished) (all Territorial Force).
- ^ a b c "The Welch Regiment [UK]". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Fact sheet: Volunteer battalions 1885-1908" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Welch Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "No. 28983". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 November 1914. p. 9663.
- ^ "No. 29765". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1915. p. 9418.
- ^ "No. 29866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 December 1916. pp. 12307–12308.
- ISBN 9780711228788.
- ^ "Between the Wars – 1919-1939". Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ 6th Welch at Regiments.org.
- ^ a b c "1st Battalion Royal Welch" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Joslen, p. 230
- ^ "2nd Battalion Royal Welch" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "4th Battalion Royal Welch" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "1/5th Battalion Royal Welch" (PDF). Royal Welsh. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ "Regiment Timeline - The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh (Brecon)". royalwelsh.org.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Welch Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ISBN 978-1840187151.
Sources
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
Further reading
- 'History of the services of the 41st (The Welsh Regiment)' by Captain and Adjutant D.A.N. Lomax,
- 'The History of The Welsh regiment. 1719 – 1918' author unknown,
- 'The History of The Welch Regiment 1919 – 1951'