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The Royal Welsh

Battalions 1 Royal Welsh 2 Royal Welsh 3 Royal Welsh TA

The Royal Welsh are Wales' Infantry Regiment, consisting of 2 regular and one reserve (TA) battalions. The Royal Welsh has a long and distinguished history, producing courageous, tough, resourceful and professional soldiers. The Regiment retains strong links with Wales and is extremely proud of its Welsh heritage. The Royal Welsh was formed on 1 March 2006 from three former Regiments: The Royal Welch Fusiliers; The Royal Regiment of Wales; and The Royal Welsh Regiment (TA). These regiments came together to form what is now The Royal Welsh.

The 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (1 R WELSH) is based at The Dale Barracks in Chester. As a light role infantry battalion, 1 R WELSH is a highly flexible unit ready to deploy on operations all over the world. 1 R WELSH moved from Cyprus to The Dale Barracks in late summer 2008 after completing operational tours of both Iraq and Afghanistan. From Chester the Battalion deployed to Afghanistan with 11 Light Brigade on Operation HERRICK 11 from December 2009 until May 2010. There, the Battalion played a leading role spearheading Operation MOSHTARAK to clear insurgents from areas of central Helmand. On return from operations in Afghanistan the Battalion joined 12 Mechanised Brigade and completed Exercise ASKARI THUNDER in Kenya in April and May 2011. The Battalion returned from Afghanistan as part of Op HERRICK 16.

The 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh is based at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire and is an armoured infantry battalion. It's equipped with the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle, enabling it to move swiftly around the battlefield delivering troops to the heart of the battle. The battalion returned from a successful tour in Iraq in December 2007 and has provided armoured support to operations in Afghanistan as well as conducting exercises at home and in Canada.

The 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh is the Regiment's Territorial (or Reserve) battalion. They have their headquarters at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff, but also have Company locations across Wales in Swansea, Pontypridd, Aberystwyth, Wrexham and Colwyn Bay. The 3rd battalion conducts its training on a part-time basis (one evening per week) and a number of weekends a year. Soldiers from 3 R WELSH regularly deploy on operations and exercise with the 1st and 2nd battalions as well as conducting their own exercises in the UK and abroad.

These parent regiments have a history and heritage that goes back over three hundred years. They were first mustered within days of each other in March 1689, when King William III, in a single commission parchment, charged Lord Herbert of Chirbury and Sir Edward Dering to each raise a regiment of foot for service in Ireland. Since those early days, these regiments have participated in many significant events in British history. Over the years, these Regiments' names have evolved to meet changing roles and national needs.

The significant contribution by its soldiers in the two major World Wars alone ensure the names of the 23rd or The Royal Welch Fusiliers, 24th or The South Wales Borderers, and the 41st or The Welch Regiment will live in the hearts and memories of many people for a very long time. In 1969, tinged with much sadness, the Borderers and the Welch amalgamated to form The Royal Regiment of Wales. For the Great War alone, the collective figures for these infantry regiments appear incomprehensible today with 250,000 men in 105 battalions, gaining 106 Battle Honours, at a cost of 25,886 lives with many more soldiers maimed and disabled for life.

The Royal Welch Fusiliers distinguished itself in many campaigns; of note are Minden in 1759, Yorktown in America, Albuhera in the Peninsula, the saving of the Colours at Alma in the Crimea, the Relief of Lucknow during the Mutiny in India, the unique honour gained after the Boxer rebellion in Peking and their heroic stand in 1944 at Kohima on the borders of India.

The South Wales Borderers are perhaps best remembered for Marlborough's campaigns when the Duke was their Colonel, the American war of Independence, in the Peninsula at Talavera, and in the Sikh wars at Chillianwallah. Its involvement in the Zulu campaign was both tragic and glorious; Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift are likely to be remembered for a long time.

The Welch Regiment, formed in 1719 as a Regiment of Invalids for garrison duties, went on to distinguish itself in a wide variety of campaigns, most notably in Canada, in the Crimea, the Napoleonic wars (in which elements served at both Waterloo and with the Royal Navy as Naval Infantry) not to mention the two world wars and afterwards in Korea

In more recent times, soldiers of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Wales have played a vital role during operational tours in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and in Iraq, gaining many honours, individual awards and much praise for steadfastness, sheer professional approach combined with their typical Welsh humour and sense of fair play. The Regiment has gained 244 Battle Honours, far more than can be displayed on the Colours, and 43 of its soldiers have received Britain's highest award for valour - The Victoria Cross. Above all else, the Regiment has today a strong sense of identity with Wales and its people, which gives all its Battalions (regular, reserve and cadet) a distinct flair and esprit de corps.