Royal Welch Fusiliers
Encyclopedia
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment
of the British Army
, part of the Prince of Wales' Division
. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II
and the imminent war with France. The regiment was numbered as the 23rd Regiment of Foot, though it was one of the first regiments to be granted the honour of a fusilier
title and so was known as The Welsh Regiment of Fusiliers from 1702. The "Royal" accolade was earned fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession
in 1713.
It was one of the oldest regiments in the regular army, hence the archaic spelling of the word Welch instead of Welsh
. In the Boer War
and throughout the First World War, the army officially called the regiment "The Royal Welsh Fusiliers" but the archaic "Welch" was officially restored to the regiment's title in 1920 under Army Order No.56. During those decades, the regiment itself unofficially used the "Welch" form. The regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Regiment of Wales
(RRW) on 1 March 2006, to become 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (RRW becoming the 2nd Bn).
reported, "the regiment retorted by inquiring on what occasion since the retreat from Corunna, when the regiment was the last to leave Spain, with the keys of the town postern in the pocket of one of its officers, had any of His Majesty's enemies seen the back of a Royal Welch Fusilier?," and the matter remained "in abeyance throughout the war."
As a fusilier
regiment, the RWF wore a hackle
, which consisted of a plume of white feathers mounted behind the cap-badge of the modern beret. The full dress of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as worn by the entire regiment until 1914, included a racoon-skin hat (bearskin for officers) with a white hackle and a scarlet tunic with the dark blue facings of a Royal regiment. This uniform continued to be worn by the RWF's Corps of Drums and the Regimental Pioneers until the amalgamation of 2006.
and Aughrim
. In the War of the Grand Alliance
, they were at the Siege of Namur
and in the War of the Spanish Succession
, they were at Schellenberg
and Blenheim
. During the War of the Austrian Succession
, they were at Dettingen
, Fontenoy
and Lauffeld
and in the Seven Years' War
, they fought at Minden
, Warburg
, Kloster Kampen
and Wilhelmsthal.
The light infantry
and grenadier
companies of the Fusiliers saw bloody action at the Battle of Bunker Hill
and all companies, except the grenadiers who were garrisoning New York City, at the Battle of Guilford Court House
in the American War of Independence. The regiment participated in nearly every campaign from the Lexington & Concord
to Yorktown
. Many first hand accounts of the American War of Independence can be found in "the Diary of Lieutenant Frederick Mackenzie" or Serjeant Roger Lamb's "Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences During the Late American War".
In the Wars of the French Revolution, the Fusiliers served in the West Indies in 1793-94, before going to Europe for the Helder Expedition and to Egypt for the Battle of Alexandria
.
During the Napoleonic Wars
, they served from 1810 to 1814 in the Peninsular War
; fighting at Albuera
, Badajoz, Salamanca
, the Pyrenees
, Nivelle
and Toulouse
and took part in the Battle of Waterloo
. where they fought in the 4th Brigade under Lt-Col. Hugh Henry Mitchell
, in the 4th British Infantry Division (see Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign
).
In the nineteenth century, the regiment took part in the Crimean War
, the Second China War, the Indian Mutiny and the Third Anglo-Burmese War
before serving in the South African War of 1899-1902.
in 1916, and the 2nd, which endured the horrors of the massacre in the mud of Passchendaele (Third Ypres) in 1917. In 1914 The Royal Welch participated in the legendary Christmas 1914 Football Game
with the Germans.
During this war, several writers served with various battalions of the regiment in France, including the poets Siegfried Sassoon
, Robert Graves
, David Jones
and Hedd Wyn
. Their memoirs, including Graves' Good-Bye to All That, have resulted in the activities of this regiment being vividly recorded for posterity. Ford Madox Ford
wrote movingly of the Welsh soldiers he commanded in his four-volume novel Parade's End
.
Captain J. C. Dunn
, a medical officer attached to the regiment's 2nd Battalion during the First World War, compiled a chronicle of that unit's experiences during its more than four years of service in France and Belgium. His epic, The War The Infantry Knew, has become a classic among military historians for its comprehensive treatment of all aspects of daily life and death in the trenches. The best known account by one of the Other Ranks is 'Old Soldiers Never Die' by Frank Richards
DCM,MM. Fusilier Richards was a Reservist recalled to the colours at the outbreak of World War I, and served on the Western Front 1914-1918 (including being in the front line during the famous Christmas Truce of 1914). He also wrote about his pre-war service in a book called 'Old Soldier Sahib'.
However, in 2004 it was announced that, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, the Royal Welch Fusiliers would amalgamate with the Royal Regiment of Wales to form a new large regiment, the Royal Welsh
. This merger took place on 1 March 2006, leaving only two Welsh foot regiments in the British Army: the Welsh Guards and the Royal Welsh. The Royal Welch Fusiliers is now the name of the first battalion of the new regiment, which still recruits from across Wales.
, the regiment has traditionally had a goat
mascot. The tradition dates from at least 1775, and possibly from the regiment's formation. The goat is given full honours of a corporal by all ranks and attended to by the Goat Major.
is located in Caernarfon
, Wales
, and the official headquarters are at Wrexham
.
ACF) and the 6th Cadet Battalion (Gwynedd
ACF) before they were amalgamated in April 2009 to form 'Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF'. All companies are now associated with The Royal Welsh except for Prestatyn Platoon which is cap-badged 'REME
', Llandudno Platoon and Bangor Platoon which are cap-badged 'Royal Artillery
', Mold and Porthmadog Platoons which are cap-badges 'Queens Dragoon Guards (QDG)',and Bradley and Benllech platoons which are cap-badged 'Welsh Guards
'. All these platoon in North Wales form together 'Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF.
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, part of the Prince of Wales' Division
Prince of Wales' Division
The Prince of Wales's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade...
. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and the imminent war with France. The regiment was numbered as the 23rd Regiment of Foot, though it was one of the first regiments to be granted the honour of a fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
title and so was known as The Welsh Regiment of Fusiliers from 1702. The "Royal" accolade was earned fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
in 1713.
It was one of the oldest regiments in the regular army, hence the archaic spelling of the word Welch instead of Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. In the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and throughout the First World War, the army officially called the regiment "The Royal Welsh Fusiliers" but the archaic "Welch" was officially restored to the regiment's title in 1920 under Army Order No.56. During those decades, the regiment itself unofficially used the "Welch" form. The regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Regiment of Wales
Royal Regiment of Wales
The Royal Regiment of Wales 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....
(RRW) on 1 March 2006, to become 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (RRW becoming the 2nd Bn).
Uniform
Soldiers of this regiment were distinguishable by the unique feature of the "flash", consisting of five overlapping black silk ribbons (seven inches long for soldiers and nine inches long for officers) on the back of the uniform jacket at neck level. This is a legacy of the days when it was normal for soldiers to wear pigtails. In 1808, this practice was discontinued, but the RWF were serving in Nova Scotia when the order to discontinue the use of the flash was issued. Upon their return they decided to retain the ribbons with which the pigtail was tied, and were granted this special concession by the King. The Army Council attempted to remove the flash during the First World War citing the grounds that it would help the Germans identify which unit was facing them. As Fusilier Robert GravesRobert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
reported, "the regiment retorted by inquiring on what occasion since the retreat from Corunna, when the regiment was the last to leave Spain, with the keys of the town postern in the pocket of one of its officers, had any of His Majesty's enemies seen the back of a Royal Welch Fusilier?," and the matter remained "in abeyance throughout the war."
As a fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
regiment, the RWF wore a hackle
Hackle
The hackle is a clipped feather plume that is attached to a military headdress.In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated as fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. The...
, which consisted of a plume of white feathers mounted behind the cap-badge of the modern beret. The full dress of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as worn by the entire regiment until 1914, included a racoon-skin hat (bearskin for officers) with a white hackle and a scarlet tunic with the dark blue facings of a Royal regiment. This uniform continued to be worn by the RWF's Corps of Drums and the Regimental Pioneers until the amalgamation of 2006.
History
The regiment served in the Williamite War, fighting at the Battles of the BoyneBattle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
and Aughrim
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the Jacobites and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 , near the village of Aughrim in County Galway....
. In the War of the Grand Alliance
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
, they were at the Siege of Namur
Siege of Namur
The siege of Namur refers to a number of sieges throughout history of the Belgian city of Namur.The city of Namur and the citadel of Namur held a strategic position in the heart of Europe...
and in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, they were at Schellenberg
Battle of Schellenberg
The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the Duke of Marlborough's campaign to save the Habsburg capital of Vienna from a threatened advance by King Louis XIV's Franco-Bavarian...
and Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
. During the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, they were at Dettingen
Battle of Dettingen
The Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...
, Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...
and Lauffeld
Battle of Lauffeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...
and in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, they fought at Minden
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...
, Warburg
Battle of Warburg
The Battle of Warburg was a battle fought on 31 July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. The Battle was a victory for the Hanoverians and the British against the French. British general John Manners, Marquess of Granby achieved some fame for charging at the head of the British cavalry and losing his...
, Kloster Kampen
Battle of Kloster Kampen
The Battle of Kloster Kampen was a tactical French victory over a British and allied army in the Seven Years' War. The Allied forces were driven from the field.-Prelude:...
and Wilhelmsthal.
The light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
and grenadier
Grenadier (soldier)
A grenadier was originally a specialized soldier, first established as a distinct role in the mid-to-late 17th century, for the throwing of grenades and sometimes assault operations. At this time grenadiers were chosen from the strongest and largest soldiers...
companies of the Fusiliers saw bloody action at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
and all companies, except the grenadiers who were garrisoning New York City, at the Battle of Guilford Court House
Battle of Guilford Court House
The Battle of Guilford Court House was a battle fought on March 15, 1781 in Greensboro, the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War...
in the American War of Independence. The regiment participated in nearly every campaign from the Lexington & Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
to Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
. Many first hand accounts of the American War of Independence can be found in "the Diary of Lieutenant Frederick Mackenzie" or Serjeant Roger Lamb's "Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences During the Late American War".
In the Wars of the French Revolution, the Fusiliers served in the West Indies in 1793-94, before going to Europe for the Helder Expedition and to Egypt for the Battle of Alexandria
Battle of Alexandria
The Battle of Alexandria or Battle of Canope, fought on March 21, 1801 between the French army under General Menou and the British expeditionary corps under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, took place near the ruins of Nicopolis, on the narrow spit of land between the sea and Lake Abukir, along which the...
.
During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, they served from 1810 to 1814 in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
; fighting at Albuera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
, Badajoz, Salamanca
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....
, the Pyrenees
Battle of the Pyrenees
The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s order, in the hope of relieving French garrisons under siege at Pamplona and San Sebastián...
, Nivelle
Battle of Nivelle
The Battle of Nivelle took place in front of the River Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War . After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops were in hot pursuit of Marshal Soult who only had 60,000 men to place in a 20-mile perimeter...
and Toulouse
Battle of Toulouse
There have been two battles known as the Battle of Toulouse:* Battle of Toulouse during the Islamic conquest of Hispania* Battle of Toulouse during the Napoleonic Wars...
and took part in the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. where they fought in the 4th Brigade under Lt-Col. Hugh Henry Mitchell
Hugh Henry Mitchell (1770-1817)
Colonel Sir Hugh Henry Mitchell, CB was a British military leader who fought in several decisive battles during the Napoleonic Wars, including the Battle of Salamanca and the Battle of Waterloo.-Career:...
, in the 4th British Infantry Division (see Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign
Order of battle of the Waterloo Campaign
This is the complete order of battle for the four major battles of the Waterloo Campaign.-French Army Order of Battle:L'Armée du Nord under the command of Emperor Napoleon I.Major Général : Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia....
).
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, the Second China War, the Indian Mutiny and the Third Anglo-Burmese War
Third Anglo-Burmese War
The Third Anglo-Burmese War was a conflict that took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance and insurgency continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the British...
before serving in the South African War of 1899-1902.
First World War
Several battalions of the regiment saw notable service in France and Belgium during the First World War, in particular the 1st, which became forever associated with the terribly destructive action at Mametz WoodMametz wood
Mametz Wood was the objective of the 38th Division during the First Battle of the Somme. The attack occurred in a Northerly direction over a ridge, focussed on the German positions in the wood between 7 July and 12 July 1916. The attack of the 7 July failed to reach the wood before the men were...
in 1916, and the 2nd, which endured the horrors of the massacre in the mud of Passchendaele (Third Ypres) in 1917. In 1914 The Royal Welch participated in the legendary Christmas 1914 Football Game
Christmas truce
Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War...
with the Germans.
During this war, several writers served with various battalions of the regiment in France, including the poets Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
, Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
, David Jones
David Jones (poet)
David Jones CH was both a painter and one of the first generation British modernist poets. As a painter he worked chiefly in watercolor, painting portraits and animal, landscape, legendary and religious subjects. He was also a wood-engraver and designer of inscriptions. As a writer he was...
and Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh language poet who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod...
. Their memoirs, including Graves' Good-Bye to All That, have resulted in the activities of this regiment being vividly recorded for posterity. Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
wrote movingly of the Welsh soldiers he commanded in his four-volume novel Parade's End
Parade's End
Parade's End is a tetralogy by Ford Madox Ford published between 1924 and 1928. It is set mainly in England and on the Western Front in World War I, where Ford served as an officer in the Welch Regiment, a life vividly depicted in the novels.In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Parade's End 57th on...
.
Captain J. C. Dunn
J. C. Dunn
J. C. Dunn was a British medical officer during World War I. Dunn is best known for his memoir The War the Infantry Knew, first published in 1938....
, a medical officer attached to the regiment's 2nd Battalion during the First World War, compiled a chronicle of that unit's experiences during its more than four years of service in France and Belgium. His epic, The War The Infantry Knew, has become a classic among military historians for its comprehensive treatment of all aspects of daily life and death in the trenches. The best known account by one of the Other Ranks is 'Old Soldiers Never Die' by Frank Richards
Francis Philip Woodruff
Frank Richards a.k.a. Francis Philip Woodruff DCM, MM was born in Monmouthshire, he was orphaned at the age of nine, and was then brought up by his aunt and uncle in the Blaina area of the South Wales Valleys in industrial Monmouthshire. The uncle, his mother's twin brother, and surnamed Richards,...
DCM,MM. Fusilier Richards was a Reservist recalled to the colours at the outbreak of World War I, and served on the Western Front 1914-1918 (including being in the front line during the famous Christmas Truce of 1914). He also wrote about his pre-war service in a book called 'Old Soldier Sahib'.
Amalgamation
It was one of only five line infantry regiments never to have been amalgamated in their entire historiesHowever, in 2004 it was announced that, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, the Royal Welch Fusiliers would amalgamate with the Royal Regiment of Wales to form a new large regiment, the Royal Welsh
Royal Welsh
The Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...
. This merger took place on 1 March 2006, leaving only two Welsh foot regiments in the British Army: the Welsh Guards and the Royal Welsh. The Royal Welch Fusiliers is now the name of the first battalion of the new regiment, which still recruits from across Wales.
Mascot
As with the Royal Regiment of WalesRoyal Regiment of Wales
The Royal Regiment of Wales 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 regiment has traditionally had a goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
mascot. The tradition dates from at least 1775, and possibly from the regiment's formation. The goat is given full honours of a corporal by all ranks and attended to by the Goat Major.
Museum
The Royal Welch Fusiliers MuseumRoyal Welch Fusiliers Museum
The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, an historic regiment of the British Army.- Location :The museum is located within Caernarfon Castle in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, North Wales.-The museum:...
is located in Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and the official headquarters are at Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
.
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force in North Wales (Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF) is a set of amalgamated cadet force companies that were associated with The Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, The Welsh Guards and The Royal Welch Fusiliers: notably the 4th Cadet Battalion (ClwydClwyd
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east, bordering England with Cheshire to its east, Shropshire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Gwynedd to its immediate west and Powys to the south. It additionally shares a maritime border with the metropolitan county of...
ACF) and the 6th Cadet Battalion (Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
ACF) before they were amalgamated in April 2009 to form 'Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF'. All companies are now associated with The Royal Welsh except for Prestatyn Platoon which is cap-badged 'REME
Reme
Reme may refer to:*Rəmə, Azerbaijan*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers...
', Llandudno Platoon and Bangor Platoon which are cap-badged 'Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
', Mold and Porthmadog Platoons which are cap-badges 'Queens Dragoon Guards (QDG)',and Bradley and Benllech platoons which are cap-badged 'Welsh Guards
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
'. All these platoon in North Wales form together 'Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF.