The Welsh Guards

John Retallack

• Publisher: Leo Cooper
• Year: 1981
• Topic: History
• Print ISBN:
  9780723227465
• Subtopic: British History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781473820692
• Index: History

Although the youngest of the Regiments in the Household Division, the Welsh Guards have established a reputation on both the battlefield, and on the parade ground, that is fully equal to the proud standards for which Guardsmen have long been famous. The Welsh Guards were formed in 1915, and they saw much hard fighting in both World Wars. Of the first thirty years of their existence, almost a third were spent at war and as a result tradition and regimental spirit were quickly forged. Such is the variety of a modern soldier's life that in the years since the Second World War, the Welsh Guards have been employed in sixteen different countrys, (in some of them two or three times) as diverse as texas and the snows of artic Norway. This swift account takes their story from the regiment's foundation in 1915, from their baptism of fire at loos, through another World War, and on to the tragic business of trying to preserve lives, and some sort of life, in the internecine bitterness of Northern Ireland.

CONTENTS

	Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales, Colonel, Welsh Guards
	List of Plates
	Prologue
1	Formation
2	The Great War: A Bitter Struggle
		Loos—1915
		Winter 1915–16—the Ypres Salient
		The Somme 1916: Ginchy—Flers-Courcelette—Morval
		Winter 1916–17
		Passchendaele 1917—Cambrai (Gouzeaucourt)
		Winter 1917–18: Arras, the Line—the German Offensive
3	The Great War: Advance to Victory
		St Leger
		The Canal du Nord
		Pursuit: St Vaast—River Selle—Bavai
		Armistice
	Interlude: Between the Wars—1919–1939
4	The Second World War: 1939–1943
		1940: 1st Battalion, Arras—Dunkirk
		1940: 2nd Battalion—Boulogne
		A Long Wait
		1943: 3rd Battalion, North Africa—Fondouk
		1943: 3rd Battalion, North Africa—Hammam Lif
5	The Second World War: 1944
		3rd Battalion: Italy—Cerasola
		3rd Battalion: Italy—Cassino
		3rd Battalion: Italy—Piccolo and Arce
		1st and 2nd Battalions: Return to France
		1st and 2nd Battalions: Normandy—the Battle of the Breakout
		1st and 2nd Battalions: the Race for Brussels
		3rd Battalion: Italy—Perugia and San Marco
		3rd Battalion: Italy—From Arezzo to the Gothic Line
		1st and 2nd Battalions: Belgium—the Road to Arnhem
		1st and 2nd Battalions: Holland—Operation Market Garden
		1st and 2nd Battalions: Winter in Belgium and Holland
		3rd Battalion: Winter in Italy
6	The Second World War: 1945
		1st and 2nd Battalions: the Reichswald Forest
		3rd Battalion: the Po and the Adige
		2nd Battalion: Germany—the Last Act
		Postscript
7	The Post-war Years
		The First Ten Years: 1945–55
		A New Epoch: 1956–65
		The Savage Wars of Peace: 1965–76
	Index

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Our regimental histories of both world wars are now out of print, and there is a need not only to bring them together in wieldy form, but to bring the story of the Welsh Guards up to the present time.

Much has happened since 1945 and nothing reflects the change in the state of world affairs more vividly than the variety which to-day’s ‘peace-time’ soldiering offers to the modern Guardsman compared to his father who served in the nineteen twenties and thirties. On training or on active service, the Regiment has done duty in the heat of the Radfan, in the Arctic Circle and from Texas to Chelsea Barracks.

In such a short book it is impossible to mention by name all those whose deeds have contributed to the high reputation of the Welsh Guards. But all good regiments are a team, and in a very real sense a family which extends beyond its battalions. I hope that this book will be of interest, not only to Welsh Guardsmen past and present, but to that wider family of parents, wives and all Welshmen who are proud of their Regiment of Foot Guards.

LIST OF PLATES

(following page 84)

1 Royal Warrant, dated 26 February 1915

2 First recruiting poster

3 Lieutenant-Colonel W. Murray-Threipland. From a book of cartoons of his brother officers, by Lieutenant P. A. L. Evans

4 Welsh Guardsmen asleep in a trench at Boyelles. This photograph was taken by Captain N. M. Harrop in 1918

5 Sergeant R. Bye, VC, being decorated by King George V

6 Dawn breaking over Dunkirk beaches during withdrawal, June 1940. By Sergeant C. Morrel

7 Lieutenant the Hon. Christopher Furness, VC

8 Portrait of Sergeant J. W. Isaacs, Master Cook of the 2nd Battalion, by Rex Whistler

9 Fondouk, a watercolour by Major L. F. Ellis after a sketch by Lieutenant O. N. M. H. Smyth

10 Cassino, by Major L. F. Ellis

11 The road to Brussels, by Sergeant C. Morrel

12 Winter in Holland, by Sergeant C. Morrel

13 Welsh Guardsman, 1945, by Augustus John, OM

14 Aden—the Radfan

15 Northern Ireland—Lance-Sergeant Somerset and Guardsman Bartlett and a patrol of the Drums Platoon

16 HRH The Prince of Wales, Colonel, Welsh Guards, from a portrait by Richard Foster

PROLOGUE

Wales has always been known for the patriotism and the fighting qualities of her people. Although defeated by the Romans at the battle of Anglesea in AD 61, their conquerors continued to treat them with respect and were compelled to keep a legion at Chester for the next 400 years to guard the Welsh Marches. They never really penetrated the valleys, any more than the Saxons and then the Normans who followed them.

The last of the independent Welsh princes, Llewellyn ap Griffith, died in 1281. He had fought and lost against Edward I. But it had taken that great soldier several years of ruthless campaigning to bring the last pockets of resistance under control. In 1301 he created his son, later Edward II, Prince of Wales. The twentieth of these princes to be appointed, also an Edward, was the first Colonel of the Welsh Guards from 1919 to 1936. The Colonel today is his great-nephew, and is descended from Henry Tudor, the first King of England of truly Welsh blood.

Although the Welsh Guards are a comparatively new regiment, their badge has an old and honourable tradition. It is said that Cadwallawn’s men had plucked leeks from a nearby field, as their distinguishing mark, before defeating the Saxons in a great battle in ad 633. Shakespeare, who had a feel for history, mentions it in Henry V. On the night before Agincourt, 1415, Fluellen says to the King: ‘Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow … and I do believe your Majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy’s Day.’ To which the King replies, ‘I wear it for memorable honour; for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.’

Welshmen have done much ‘good service’ to the Crown since the days of Edward I. But it was not until 27 September 1915, at the Battle of Loos, that the leek was once again proudly borne as the badge of the Welsh soldier.

1 FORMATION

The story of the Welsh Guards started, officially, on 26 February 1915, when a Royal Warrant, signed by King George V, authorized ‘The formation of a Welsh Regiment of Foot Guards, to be designated the “Welsh Guards”.’

Less officially the story had started on 6 February, when Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, sent for Major-General Sir Francis Lloyd, commanding the London District. There is surprisingly little formal record of the formation of the Welsh Guards, but General Lloyd made a note of this interview:

Lord Kitchener, very abruptly: ‘You have got to raise a regiment of Welsh Guards.’

Sir Francis Lloyd: ‘Sir, there are many difficulties in the way which I would like to point out first.’

Lord Kitchener, very rudely: ‘If you do not like to do it, someone else will.’

Sir Francis Lloyd: ‘Sir, when do you want them?’

Lord Kitchener: ‘Immediately.’

Sir Francis Lloyd: ‘Very well, Sir, they shall go on guard on St David’s Day.’

Of the three old regiments of Foot Guards—Grenadiers, Coldstream and Scots—only the Scots Guards had a national affiliation. But with the formation of the Irish Guards in 1900, the claim of Wales for a similar distinction became obvious, and began to be pressed. But the times were not ripe for any expansion of the army; however the outbreak of war in 1914 offered the opportunity.

Whether or not the inspiration was entirely Lord Kitchener’s, he certainly gave the push. But in fulfilling the aspirations of the Welsh people, he may have had further reasons. Kitchener was a great admirer of the Brigade of Guards, their training, discipline and professionalism, and he may already have had at the back of his mind the formation of the Guards Division, which he brought into being, equally abruptly five months later (a curt letter to the Commander-in-Chief in France, another curt interview with General Lloyd).

On 27 February, the day after the signing of the Royal Warrant, the new regiment began assembling at the White City. Two days later they mounted guard on Buckingham Palace on St David’s Day, as promised by Sir Francis Lloyd. This apparently miraculous speed is explained by the fact that the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Murray-Threipland, had been told by Kitchener to go ahead a few days before the announcement, without waiting for the official grindings of the War Office. Even so it was quick work; and on that first guard, officers and men still wore the badges of their previous regiments. The Captain of the Guard was the Commanding Officer himself.

Murray-Threipland proved to be an inspired choice to raise the new regiment. He was a Grenadier of great experience who had seen service in the Sudan and in the South African War. From the moment of his transfer, the Welsh Guards became the ruling passion of his life. Only the highest standards were acceptable; in return he gave his utmost. His second-in-command was Major The Hon. A. G. A. Hore-Ruthven, VC, later to become Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel of the Regiment, and a distinguished Governor-General of Australia. He had staunch support from his adjutant, Captain G. C. D. Gordon, immaculate as any adjutant should be, and a team of first-class warrant officers, headed by R.S.M. Stevenson. Even so, the Commanding Officer had a difficult and delicate task.

In the first place, in any institution with a long and honourable history attended by much success, like the Brigade of Guards, there is always opposition to change, and it is not too much to say that the formation of the Welsh Guards had shocked a number of senior officers, both serving and retired. And if there was no active opposition, the performance of the new regiment would inevitably be regarded with a very critical eye. If they did well, it would be because they had had so many transfers from the old regiments; if they did not do well, then the critics would have been right in the first place. This was a difficulty which only time and success would overcome.

The second, and immediate, difficulty was the choice of officers, warrant officers and NCOs. In an established regiment officers and men are known and proved over a number of years. In this case they had to be taken on trust or very quickly judged. But the Commanding Officer’s discrimination was sure and rapid, and in six months he forged a regiment that was to be worthy of both Wales and the Brigade of Guards.

There was much else to be done. On 19 March the King approved the colours and sanctioned the title of Prince of Wales Company for the leading company of the 1st Battalion. Details regarding uniform were also settled. The leek was chosen for the cap-badge, and the plume for the bearskin was to be white-green-white, the Tudor colours. Regimental marches were also chosen: ‘The Rising of the Lark’ for the quick march and ‘Men of Harlech’ for the slow.

Recruitment went well; both direct recruitment from Wales and, following an appeal from the Major-General, himself a Welshman, transfers from other regiments of the Brigade of Guards. There were also transfers from the Army as a whole; both these last two sources provided valuable experience to the new regiment.

Much hard training was carried out, first at the White City among the swings and roundabouts of the now deserted fun-fair, and then at Sandown Park, Esher. As the time for the Battalion’s departure for France became nearer, a 2nd (Reserve) Battalion was formed to provide the 1st Battalion with trained reinforcements. It was also necessary to form a proper Regimental Headquarters. On the formation of the Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray-Threipland had doubled as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion and as Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel. On 16 June 1915 the latter appointment was taken over by Lord Harlech.

Their arrangements thus made, the new Regiment lay waiting and ready for whatever fate might bring them in war. For a short spell they carried out public duties in London, but two events were still needed to give recognition to their efforts so far. On 3 August they received their Colours from the King at a parade in the gardens of ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents