IVOR WYNNE JONES: FORTHRIGHT & FEARLESS.Byline: IVOR WYNNE JONES THE proposed disbandment of the Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers were a 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. , as part of the latest reorganisation of the army, reminds me of an incident while with the regiment at Fort Lewis, near Seattle, in 1988. The commanding officer, his adjutant and myself were guests of the mayor of Steilacoom, while the regimental band gave a concert at the local high school. A couple of times during the course of the evening, the mayor said something like: ``It is a pity you are not here next year, '' with which Lt Col Porter concurred. Eventually we discovered the mayor was talking about celebrations for the centenary of Washington State, on the Pacific coast, becoming part of the USA in 1889. ``Ah!'' said the colonel, ``I thought you were referring to the tercentenary ter·cen·ten·a·ry n. pl. ter·cen·ten·a·ries A 300th anniversary or its celebration. adj. Of or relating to a span of 300 years or to a 300th anniversary. of my regiment, '' causing American jaws to drop. ``What is a tercentenary?'' asked the mayor, and when told, she replied: ``Gee, and Steilacoom is the oldest town in the state, chartered in 1853. '' What a pity the Ministry of Defence seems to have forgotten the RWF is the oldest regiment in Wales. By all means merge it with the Royal Regiment of Wales The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of two other regiments:
But why abandon the proud name of Royal Welch Fusiliers, other than as a political sop to troublesome Taffies of the South and their Cardiff establishment? The RWF has traditionally recruited in North Wales, whereas the RRW is a 1969 upstart, formed by merging the old South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It first came into existence, as the 24th Regiment of Foot, in 1689, but was not called the South Wales Borderers until 1881. and the Cardiff-based Welch Regiment. The 1969 merger had nothing to do with improving army efficiency. It was Downing Street's solution to the problem of what the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales switches places with his double, poor boy Tom Canty. [Am. Lit.: The Prince and the Pauper] See : Doubles should wear for his investiture. Having read what the Duke of Windsor said in his memoirs about the concoction of velvet and frills devised by Lloyd George, for his 1911 investiture at Caernarfon, there was no way in which this fancy dress outfit could be reproduced for Prince Charles. Someone came up with the idea of making Charles a colonel-in-chief in his mother's army, but as all the regiments already had their royal patrons, it was necessary to create a new one. Thus the Royal Regiment of Wales was born, to give the Prince of Wales a soldier's uniform instead of velvet knickerbockers and lace. The RRW is 36 years old but the RWF has 316 years of tradition. The common sense option for a merger of the two would be to call them the 1st and 2nd battalions Royal Welch Fusiliers, instead of the Government's proposal of 1st and 2nd battalions Royal Welsh Regiment The Royal Welsh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1999 as part of the restructuring of the TA by the amalgamation of the two Welsh TA battalions:
One suspects the Government's silly proposal is the result of some advice that the Cardiff establishment would feel distinctly peeved if they thought North Wales was gaining an advantage over the capital city. Like it or lump it, the South Wales regimental titles vanished 36 years ago, so why throw out the baby with the bath water in the latest merger? |
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