Royal Welsh

The Royal Welsh
Cap badge of the Royal Welsh
Active	1 March 2006–
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	1st Battalion – Light Infantry 2nd Battalion – Armoured Infantry 3rd Battalion – Army Reserve
Size	Three battalions
Part of	Prince of Wales' Division
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – Cardiff 1st Battalion – Chester 2nd Battalion – Tidworth 3rd Battalion – Cardiff
Motto	"Ich Dien" (German) "I Serve"
March	Quick – Men of Harlech Slow – Forth to the Battle
Mascot	Persian Goat (Shenkin III)
Anniversaries	St David's Day – 1 March
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	HM The Queen
Colonel of the Regiment	Major General Roderick John Murray Porter MBE
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Hackle	White (ORs only) From Royal Welch Fusiliers
Abbreviation	R WELSH

The Royal Welsh (R WELSH) (Welsh Y Cymry Brenhinol) is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army. Its formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry and it was actually formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. The 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales), is to be scrapped as part of the Army 2020 defence review.^[1] A more recent news report stated that "it will in fact be the 1st Battalion which will disappear, being dissolved into the 2nd Battalion with the latter then being renamed as the 1st.".^[2] After the restructuring and reorganisation of the army in 2006, the Royal Welsh is one of three regiments to trace its lineage and draw its recruits primarily from Wales.

Formation

The Royal Welsh consists of two Regular Army battalions, plus an Army Reserve battalion, and was created through the merger of two single battalion regiments. The former regiments formed part of the battalion title (in brackets):

• 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Royal Welch Fusiliers) (ex 1st Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Foot)) – a Regular Army light infantry battalion based since August 2008 at Dale Barracks, Chester. This follows a two year tour in Cyprus. Under Army 2020, this will be the only Royal Welsh battalion in the regular army and its new role will be as an armoured infantry battalion, under 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.^[3][4]
• 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales) (ex 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot)) – a Regular Army armoured infantry battalion based at Lucknow barracks, Tidworth. The Battalion is set to be scrapped as part of the Army 2020 defence review.^[1]
• 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh (ex Royal Welsh Regiment) - an Army Reserve Battalion which incorporates the Regimental Band.

The Regiment's cap badge is a representation of the Prince of Wales's feathers (formerly the cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Wales), while the hackle of the Royal Welch Fusiliers is worn by all NCOs and Other Ranks. HM The Queen is the new regiment's Colonel-in-Chief.

The regiment includes a goat, presented by the monarch; this is not a mascot but a ranking soldier. Lance Corporal William Windsor retired on 20 May 2009; a replacement, Fusilier William Windsor, was appointed on 15 June 2009.^[5][6]

Regimental Band

The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh is the last all-brass band within the British Army. Formed of 30 soldiers within the Third Battalion, the Army Reserve section, it is renowned for its versatility, and can provide:

• Marching Band
• Concert Band
• Fanfare Team

In October 2009, due to £54m of Ministry of Defence budget cuts affecting front line services including the war in Afghanistan, all bookings from end of October 2009 until April 2010 were cancelled. This covered the Autumn Rugby Union Internationals and Remembrance Day. Band members agreed to honour all charity appearances during this period, but without pay.^[7] These budget cuts have since been reversed and the band continues to perform.

Alliances

Soldiers from the Mobility Reconnaissance Force of 1 Royal Welsh take up a defensive position north of Patrol Base Wahid, Nad-E' Ali, Helmand during a patrol.

•  Canada – Royal 22^e Régiment
•  Canada – The Ontario Regiment (RCAC)
•  Australia – The Royal New South Wales Regiment
•  South Africa – 121 South African Infantry Battalion
•  South Africa – The Pretoria Regiment
•  Pakistan – 4th Battalion, The Baloch Regiment
•  Pakistan – 3rd Battalion, The Frontier Force Regiment
•  Malaysia – 4th Battalion, The Royal Malay Regiment

Order of precedence

Lineage

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Welsh.

• The Royal Welsh - on British Army official website
• The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh
• Official website of the Regimental Band of The Royal Welsh

v t e British Army Infantry Regiments Foot Guards Grenadier Guards Coldstream Guards Scots Guards Irish Guards Welsh Guards Line Infantry Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Royal Anglian Regiment Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Royal Irish Regiment Royal Regiment of Scotland Royal Welsh Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Yorkshire Regiment Mercian Regiment Rifles The Rifles Royal Gurkha Rifles Others London Regiment Royal Gibraltar Regiment Bermuda Regiment Airborne Parachute Regiment Special Forces Special Air Service