Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley CB DSO PhD MA FRHistS

Official Launch of The Regimental Records of the Royal Welch Fusiliers Volume 5

ABOUT THE VOLUME

This long-awaited Volume fills the gap between the end of Volume IV in November 1918 and the beginning of Volume VI in late 1945. During the Great War, the Regiment fielded a total of forty-five battalions, if the five battalions of the Volunteer Force are included. This is the fourth highest total of any regiment on the Army List during those years, and remarkable given the relative paucity of population in Wales, compared with the great urban centres of England. During the Second World War, and without double-counting those units which changed their title, the Regiment fielded three regular battalions, including a parachute battalion, seven Territorial battalions, six service battalions, two independent companies, three anti-tank companies or batteries, five artillery regiments and two independent H.G. troops, twenty-eight Home Guard battalions and three M.T. Companies – a total of fifty-one battalion-equivalent units.

For this reason, Volume V has had to be divided into two parts. Part One covers the Regiment’s service from November 1918 – including a wrap-up of Great War units left unfinished in Volume IV – to the Summer of 1940; Part Two covers Summer 1940 to late 1945. The division in the Summer of 1940 was chosen because at that point, the 1st Battalion, 101st L.A.A. & A.T. Regiment and the Independent Companies had all been evacuated from Europe; the 2nd Battalion was homeward bound from India; the four first-line T.A. battalions had embarked for Northern Ireland; the four second-line T.A. battalions had been fully embodied; the first tranche of service battalions had been formed; and the Local Defence Volunteers were being transformed into the Home Guard. This seemed to the authors to be more logical than a rather artificial division on 3 September 1939.

The emphasis of the volume is of course on the Second World War during which our battalions, independent companies and artillery regiments served in every major theatre and campaign, except Ethiopia and Syria. However, the division into two parts has allowed a proper examination of the British Army between the wars and its deployments around the world. In addition to the Imperial garrisons and the experimentation programme at home, there were operations in North and South Russia, the Transcaucasus, Turkey, Germany, Cyprus, Palestine, Somalia, Eritrea, Egypt, Ireland, Afghanistan, the North-West Frontier of India and China. It was no long week-end.

Launching The Volume – Come To The Party!

The Volume will be launched at a series of events in the Spring of 2019, to which all members of the Regiment, past and present, and guests, are cordially invited. At each event, there will be refreshments, a short illustrated talk, and the chance to buy signed copies at a discounted price. The launch events will be held as follows:

• The National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, LONDON on Thursday 28 March 2019, 18.15 hrs to 20.00 hrs. (No parking available at the National Army Museum, please see website for transport details: https://www.nam.ac.uk/plan-visit )
• Officers’ Mess, 3 Royal Welsh, Maindy Barracks, CARDIFF, on Thursday 4 April 2019, 18.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs.
• •Officers’ Mess, 3 Royal Welsh, Hightown Barracks, WREXHAM, on Thursday 11 April 2019, 18.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs.

Please print and complete this form » and return it by post or email By Friday 22 March 2019, indicating which events you would like to attend (names for attendance is required for security reasons). There will be no charge for the evening.

HOW TO GET COPIES AFTER THAT

After the launch events, books can be ordered from the Museum shop at Caernarfon Castle (see the website for details) – again at a discount to past and present members of the Regiment – either for postal delivery or collection at Cardiff, Wrexham and Caernarfon.

Regimental Records Volume V is being published as a commercial venture by Helion & Co. The copyright and royalties lie with the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welch Fusiliers, a registered service charity. The authors are Lieutenant General Jonathon Riley, Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Crocker and the Late Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sinnett.