laststandonzombieisland

Some 80 years ago this week, we see pipe-smoking Royal Welch (not Welsh) Fusiliers cleaning their rifles and making final preparations for the protection of their slit trench, during the attack on Evrecy, South West of Caen, France. Note the No. 4 Enfield rifles and helmet scrim on their Mark III (?) lids. “Our positions were subject to heavy mortar fire and shellfire at all hours of the day and night.”

Formed in 1689, the Royal Welch Fusiliers (Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) picked up their first battle honor (Namur) just six years later and by 1918 their flag carried more than 100 of them. They “saw the elephant” everywhere the Jack flew from Bunker Hill to Waterloo, Inkerman, Ladysmith, and the Somme. 

Hitting the beach at Normandy on 23 June 1944, the British 158th (Royal Welch) Brigade assigned to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, was made up entirely of RWF Territorial units, including the 4th (Denbighshire), 6th (Caernarvonshire and Anglesey) and 7th (Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire) Battalions. During the fighting for the liberation of Evrecy and the taking of Hill 113 from 16 to 17 July 1944, no less than 120 soldiers of the 158th Infantry Brigade were killed. On 21 July the brigade was mauled in a heavy attack by 10. SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg, suffering heavy casualties. Following the bloodletting, the three RWF battalions of 158th Bde were split up across the division and continued fighting across North West Europe until May 1945, including much action in the Netherlands, and the fighting in the Reichswald (Reichswald) before finally invading Germany itself.

Earning 27 battle honors for WWII and seeing post-war service in Cyprus, the Malayan Emergency, and 13 deployments to Northern Ireland, in 2006 the storied RWF amalgamated with The Royal Regiment of Wales to form The Royal Welsh.