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86-601: Units of rifle volunteers were formed throughout Great Britain in 1859 and 1860 in response to a perceived threat of invasion by France following the Orsini affair . The raising of such units was to be authorised by lieutenants of counties in England, Wales and Scotland. The first corps in Monmouthshire was raised on 9 September 1859. By 1880 the various small corps in the county had been consolidated into three battalion -sized units,

172-664: A popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908. Most of the regiments of the present Army Reserves Infantry , Artillery , Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. Prior to

258-542: A royal commission chaired by Viscount Eversley was appointed "to inquire into the condition of the volunteer force in Great Britain and into the probability of its continuance at its existing strength". According to the report, as of 1 April 1862, the Volunteer Force had a strength of 162,681 consisting of: Their report made a number of recommendations and observations on funding and training: To carry into effect

344-474: A County". On acceptance, the corps would be deemed lawfully formed. Existing corps were to continue under the new Act, although the power was given to the Crown to disband any corps. The constitution of a permanent staff consisting of an adjutant and serjeant instructors was permitted for each corps. The grouping of two or more corps into administrative regiments was recognised, and a permanent staff could be provided for

430-571: A month's heavy fighting and suffering 300 casualties before being withdrawn for rest. The battalion continued to advance across Germany, forcing a crossing of the River Aller at Rethem on 11 April 1945. This was their last major action of the war: they were at Hamburg when the German Instrument of Surrender came into effect. Later, the battalion was sent to Italy in November and was disbanded

516-459: A wider European conflict. On 12 May 1859, the Secretary of State for War , Jonathan Peel issued a circular letter to lieutenants of counties in England, Wales and Scotland, authorising the formation of volunteer rifle corps (VRC, a.k.a. corps of rifle volunteers and rifle volunteer corps), and of artillery corps in defended coastal towns. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of

602-575: Is a regional brigade of the British Army that has been in existence since 1908, and saw service during both the First and the Second World Wars , as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division . It is a regional command responsible for all of Wales . The Brigade is also regionally aligned with the Eastern European and Central Asian regions as part of defence engagement. The Welsh Border Brigade

688-463: Is composed of Arms to which their use is not appropriate". The large number of small independent corps proved difficult to administer, and, by 1861, most had been formed into battalion-sized units, either by "consolidation": increasing an existing corps to battalion size (usually in large urban areas), or by forming administrative battalions or brigades by the grouping of smaller corps (in rural areas). An official book of drill and rifle instructions for

774-560: The 160th (South Wales) Infantry Brigade , was again composed of the same four battalions it had before the Great War. However, these were all posted to the 159th (Welsh Border) Infantry Brigade early in the 1920s and were replaced by the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions of the Welch Regiment . The 6th and 7th Battalions were amalgamated as the 6th/7th Battalion, Welch Regiment and the 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry joined in

860-493: The 3rd (Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire) Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment in 1922. In 1938 and 1939 there was a reorganisation of the Territorial Army as the threat of a new European war re-emerged. Many infantry battalions were converted to an anti-aircraft role: in 1938 the 1st Battalion became a searchlight regiment as 1st (Rifle) Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (68th Searchlight Regiment) . In March 1939 it

946-794: The Battle of Broekhuizen (also known as the Battle of the Venlo Pocket). In February 1945 they broke through the Schlieffen line after which they were withdrawn to Belgium where they were re-equipped for the advance into Germany. In April 1945 they crossed the Rhine into the Teutoburg Forest where they had the task of clearing the road to Ibbenbüren . The battalion encountered very heavy resistance and failed to achieve its objective. Corporal Edward Thomas Chapman

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1032-699: The Castlemartin Training Area in West Wales , which was within the brigade's geographical area. The battalion was equipped with the Leopard 1 main battle tank and its personnel rotated through for gunnery and/or manoeuvre training. After the end of the Cold War, the government published the Options for Change reform which saw several districts either merge or reduce in size, with some having both. Wales District

1118-752: The Crimean War , it was painfully clear to the War Office that, with half of the British Army dispositioned around the Empire on garrison duty, it had insufficient forces available to quickly compose and despatch an effective expeditionary force to a new area of conflict, unless it was to reduce the British Isles' own defences. During the Crimean War , the War Office had been forced to send militia and yeomanry to make up

1204-878: The Crimean War , the British military (i.e., land forces ) was made up of multiple separate forces, with a basic division into the Regular Forces (including the British Army , composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, and the Ordnance Military Corps of the Board of Ordnance , made up of the Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers , and the Royal Sappers and Miners though not including the originally civilian Commissariat Department , stores and supply departments, all of which, with barracks and other departments, were absorbed into

1290-535: The Isle of Man , and consequently the 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion of The King's (Liverpool Regiment) continued to serve as the only remaining unit of the Volunteer Force until disbandment in 1922. (1868–1922) According to the Territorial Year Book 1909 , the Volunteer Force had the following strength over its existence: 160th (Wales) Brigade 160th (Welsh) Brigade or Brigâd 160 (Cymru) ,

1376-467: The Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army. Many units initially favoured green and grey (colours until then used by British and German rifle units in the army) rifleman uniforms as opposed to the red coats of the infantry and engineers of the army and militia. In turn, the army was glad not to have amateur volunteers wear the scarlet of the regulars . The provisions of

1462-681: The Netherlands . By October they had reached the Nederrijn and took part in the attack on 's-Hertogenbosch . In December 1944 they took part in the counter offensive against the German advances in the Ardennes forest. In January 1945 they moved to The Netherlands for a period of training prior to Operation Veritable , also known as the Battle of the Reichswald. They entered Germany on 8 February, taking part in

1548-696: The Reserve Forces , most of these had been allowed to lapse after the Napoleonic Wars, although the Yeomanry was maintained to potentially support the civil authorities against civil unrest, as at the 1819 Peterloo massacre , the Militia remained as a paper tiger , and rifle clubs were encouraged as the backbone against which the Volunteer force might be re-raised. The Militia and Volunteer Force were both re-organised in

1634-608: The River Odon . They next saw action in the Battle of the Falaise Gap in August 1944, where the battalion suffered heavy casualties and 'A' and 'B' Companies had to be amalgamated. 'B' Company was soon reformed again from a large number of men from the now disbanded 5th East Lancashire Regiment of the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division . The battalion later advanced with the 53rd (Welsh) Division, liberating Merville and crossing into

1720-620: The River Rhine into Germany over a month later, where it took part in the Western Allied invasion of Germany , finally ending the war in Hamburg , Germany. 160th Brigade remained in Germany on occupation duties until it was demobilised in late 1946. 160th Infantry Brigade was composed as follows during the war: The following officers commanded 160th Infantry Brigade during the war: Following

1806-556: The Second Boer War , when the prolonged campaign necessitated an increase in the size of British forces in South Africa. Volunteer Battalions formed Volunteer Active Service Companies that joined the regular battalions of their county regiments. Following the war, the battle honour "South Africa 1900–02" was awarded to the volunteer units that provided detachments for the campaign. By 1907, when its civilian administration teetered on

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1892-531: The Volunteer Act 1804 ( 44 Geo. 3 . c. 54), which had been used to form local defence forces during the Napoleonic Wars . Alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under

1978-506: The Women's Royal Army Corps were integrated into the regiment). It continued to wear the distinctive silver or white metal cap badge of the 1st (Rifle) Bn, Monmouths, together with the Royal Artillery's collar badges. In addition, the buttons and non-commissioned officers' chevrons were black, to denote the unit's ancestry as a Rifle battalion. After the abolition of AA Command on 10 March 1955,

2064-617: The bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham . The perceived threat of invasion by the much larger French Army was such that, even without sending a third of the army to another Crimea, Britain's military defences had already been stretched invitingly thin. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire (the Second Italian War of Independence ), and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in

2150-698: The 1/4th and 1/5th battalions of the Welch Regiment , attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division . After a long period of training in Northern Ireland and England, they landed in Normandy on 28 June 1944, twenty-two days after the initial D-Day landings , with the rest of 53rd Division and fought in the Normandy Campaign in the Battle for Caen . Soon after arrival, they took part in Operation Epsom , spending two weeks in trenches between Hill 112 and

2236-529: The 159th Brigade, were transferred to the 11th Armoured Division and trained for another two years before, on 14 June 1944, the battalion landed in Normandy , just eight days after D-Day . They spent several weeks attempting to break out of the bridgehead in the vicinity of Caen as part of Operation Goodwood and Operation Bluecoat . On 5 August they were nearly surrounded by enemy forces on Bas Perier Ridge and suffered heavy casualties and were reduced to half strength, forcing them to temporarily amalgamate with

2322-520: The 1850s. These forces were originally local-service, embodied during wartime or emergency, and placed under the control of Lords-Lieutenant of counties, and, in British colonies , under the colonial governors . After the British Army's Regular Reserve was created in 1859, by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert , and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 110),

2408-470: The 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment of the 185th Brigade , of 3rd Division , which was temporarily attached to the 11th Armoured. It was during the fighting that eventually lead to Corporal Sidney Bates , of the 1st Royal Norfolks, being posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . Reinforced, the battalion advanced after the retreating German forces, passing through Belgium and taking part in

2494-527: The 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers (and were often referred to as the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps), and the Victoria Rifles (descended from the Duke of Cumberland's Sharpshooters , formed in 1803) who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for ninety-two other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps

2580-514: The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Monmouthshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. In the following year the Childers Reforms of line infantry saw the three Monmouthshire corps becoming volunteer battalions of the regular South Wales Borderers . In 1885 they were redesignated as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Volunteer battalions of the South Wales Borderers (the 1st Volunteer Battalion being formed at the same time from the 1st Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers). Although

2666-746: The 1st-3rd Battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment, along with the 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment , formed the Welsh Border Brigade , part of the Welsh Division . With the outbreak of war in August 1914 the Territorial Force was mobilised. In all the Monmouthshire Regiment formed battalions, most of which fought on the Western Front , during the conflict as follows: All units of the Territorial Force were disbanded soon after

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2752-740: The British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855). and the Reserve Forces . After the 1855 consolidation of the Regular Forces (ignoring minor forces such as the Yeomen Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard ) into the Regular Force (i.e., the British Army ), there still remained a number of British military (not to be confused with naval ) forces that were not part of the British Army; specifically

2838-627: The Corps of Rifle Volunteers and volunteer regulations were published in 1859 and 1861 respectively. From 1860 Cadet Corps were also formed, consisting of school-age boys, which were the forerunners of the Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force . Like the adult volunteers, the boys were supplied with arms by the War Office, for which they had to pay a fee, which reduced the longer they remained members. Cadet Corps were usually associated with private schools. They paraded regularly in public. In 1862,

2924-505: The Force. The lord-lieutenant of a county, or the commanding officer of a corps or administrative regiment was empowered to appoint a court of inquiry into any corps, officer, non-commissioned officer or volunteer. Part II of the Act dealt with "Actual Military Service". The terms for calling out of the force were altered: this would now happen in "the case of actual or apprehended invasion of any part of

3010-468: The Regular Army. This culminated in the Childers Reforms of 1881 which nominated rifle volunteer corps as volunteer battalions of the new "county" infantry regiments, which also consisted of regular and militia battalions within a defined regimental district. Over the next few years many of the rifle volunteer corps adopted the "volunteer battalion" designation and the uniform of their parent regiment. This

3096-688: The Reserve forces, to avoid confusion, were generally known as the Auxiliary Forces or Local Forces . The Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 removed the Lord-Lieutenant as head of the county reserve forces and they were increasingly integrated with the British Army. A large number of Volunteer Corps were formed during the French Revolutionary War but were stood down afterwards. Following

3182-476: The Special Reserve, which provided a body of trained men available for drafting to regular battalions as required during wartime). The total cost of the TF was to be met in future by central government. In addition to the introduction of terms of service for volunteers, most of the units lost their unique identities, becoming numbered territorial battalions of the local army regiment, albeit with distinctive badges or dress distinctions. The 1907 act did not extend to

3268-455: The United Kingdom (the occasion being first communicated to both Houses of Parliament if parliament is sitting, or declared in council and notified by proclamation if parliament is not sitting.)" As well as being entitled to pay and billets, relief was also to be given to the wives and families of volunteers. A bounty of one guinea was to be paid to volunteers on release from actual military service, such release being notified in order by writing by

3354-417: The Welsh Volunteers and in TAVR III, B and C Companies of the 4th (Territorial) Battalion of the Welch Regiment. Finally, the 5th Welch was reduced to two units: in TAVR II, part of C (Welch) Company, and in TAVR III, B Company in Bridgend part of the 5th/6th (Territorial) Battalion, The Welch Regiment. With the wholescale reductions of the TA, the fully territorial brigades and divisions were disbanded and

3440-425: The above changes, the old Division/Districts were renamed as 'Districts', with the 53rd (Welsh) Division/District becoming Wales District and now oversaw all units within Wales, with the TA brigades disappearing shortly thereafter. These changes caused little or no direction in doctrine and training from above the battalion level, thus creating a complicated atmosphere. In 1967, with the Territorial Army reorganised,

3526-402: The act abolished the Volunteer Force and replaced it with a new Territorial Force . Units were transferred, with changes in nomenclature, to the new force on 1 April 1908. The three Monmouthshire volunteer battalions were redesignated (and partially reorganised) as battalions of a new territorial-only Monmouthshire Regiment : The Territorial Force was organised into 14 infantry divisions, and

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3612-419: The battalion had suffered 1,156 casualties, including 67 officers, 25 killed, and 1,089 other ranks, with 242 (of 267?) of them paying the ultimate price. The 4th Battalion , which had been created on 1 June 1939 as a duplicate of the 2nd Battalion, was mobilised in August 1939 as part of 113th Infantry Brigade , serving with the 15th and 2/5th Welch Regiment, part of the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division , which

3698-593: The brigade became a regional brigade now just tasked with home defence. As a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper , the TA became the 'TAVR' (Territorial & Army Volunteer Reserve) and was organised into four categories: TAVR I: those units tasked with quick-deployment support, ie: SAS and NATO-specific units; TAVR II: Units tasked with NATO-support and/or deployable as normal TA units were; TAVR III: Home defence infantry and light-equipment only units (reduced to cadres in 1969 and disbanded in 1975), and TAVR IV: Sponsored bands, UOTC, and miscellaneous units. Following

3784-422: The brigade soon followed suite. In 1984, as a result of the 1981 Defence White Paper , many of the old disbanded territorial brigades were reformed as part of their respective regional districts. These brigades were not like their predecessors however, as with the enhancement of the TA, the brigades became purely administrative headquarters for training. As part of these changes, 160th (Welsh) Infantry Brigade

3870-408: The brigade was mainly involved in anti-invasion duties and exercises training to repel a potential German invasion of Northern Ireland . In late 1941 160th Brigade, and the rest of the 53rd Division, were sent to Southeast England , where they began years of training for Operation Overlord , the planned Allied invasion of Northern France . On 14 January 1944 Brigadier Lashmer 'Bolo' Whistler

3956-442: The brigade's battalions were completely reorganised too. The 2nd Monmouths was disbanded and concurrently reconstituted as two units in TAVR II, B (South Wales Borderers) Company in the Welsh Volunteers based in Newport and in TAVR III, forming the whole unit, the Monmouthshire (Territorial) Battalion, The South Wales Borderers also based in Newport. The 4th Welch was reduced to three companies: in TAVR II, C (Welch) Company in

4042-415: The brink of insolvency, the Volunteer Force had become indispensable to British defence planning, as well as an enabler of the Regular Army's drawing its own forces away from home defence stations. Consequently, the government passed the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 , which merged the Volunteer Force with the Yeomanry to form the Territorial Force in 1908 (while the Militia was re-organised as

4128-402: The command of a captain, with some localities having subdivisions of thirty men under a lieutenant. The purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy's flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the circular letter, engineer corps were also formed, principally to place underwater mines for port defence. Stretcher-bearers attached to

4214-431: The division in the First World War , in the Middle Eastern theatre . The brigade was reconstituted as a result of British troops being sent to the Western Front during the emergency following the German March 1918 Spring Offensive . After the war the brigade and division were disbanded as was the Territorial Force. However, both the brigade and division were reformed in 1920 in the Territorial Army . The brigade, now

4300-458: The end of the war in 1918 and 1919. Early in 1920 recruitment restarted and in October 1920 the force was renamed to the Territorial Army . The three battalions were reconstituted in February 1920: In 1921 it was announced that there would be a reduction in the size of the Territorial Army with a number of pairs of infantry battalions amalgamated. The 3rd Battalion was amalgamated with the Brecknockshire Battalion , South Wales Borderers to become

4386-568: The end of the war. The Territorial Army was re-established in April 1947, although there was a considerable reconfiguration with some pre-war units not reformed, or converted to a different role. The Monmouthshire Regiment was reduced to a single battalion: the 2nd Battalion , based in Pontypool . The former 1st (Rifle) Battalion did not return to the regiment after the war, but remained in Anti-Aircraft Command as 603rd (1st Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment) (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery ('Mixed' indicating that members of

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4472-406: The following September. The 3rd Battalion was mobilised at the same time as the 2nd Battalion as part of the 159th Infantry Brigade , alongside the 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment , part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and trained alongside it in Northern Ireland and England. In May 1942 the battalion, together with the rest of

4558-490: The grouping. However the individual corps were to continue to exist. As in the earlier legislation, a volunteer could resign with fourteen days notice, with the addition that if a commanding officer refused to remove a volunteer from the roll of the corps, then he could appeal to two justices of the peace of the county. An annual inspection by an officer of the regular army was instituted, and efficiency standards were to be set by Order in Council , as were regulations for governing

4644-443: The guise of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division during this time. Though the TA seemed stable in 1947, it was continually cut and reduced in size time and time again from 1950 onwards. In 1961, the first wave of major cuts came when the old territorial divisions were merged with their local districts to become 'Division/Districts', thus the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division became the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division/District that year and

4730-460: The invasion on D Day (6 June). 160th Brigade began loading men and equipment aboard its ships on 20 June, but that night Brig Whistler was called away to take over 3rd Division whose commander had been wounded in the early fighting in Normandy. Lieutenant-Col Charles Coleman of the 4th Welch, who had been acting-Brigadier before Whistler's arrival, was now promoted to take command permanently. 160th Brigade landed in Normandy on 28 June and with

4816-433: The liberation of Antwerp in early September 1944. They moved into the Netherlands as part of the force protecting the flanks of the airborne troops that had landed in Operation Market Garden . The commanding officer of the battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Gerald Orr, was killed on 25 September 1944 at Sint Anthonis along with the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment . In November 1944 they took part in

4902-418: The lineage of all Welsh territorial infantry battalions. The successor unit today is the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Welsh . The regiment was awarded the following battle honours . Those shown in bold type were selected for display on the colours or appointments. Volunteer Force (Great Britain) The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as

4988-409: The lord-lieutenant. If disabled on service, officers and volunteers were to receive a pension. Part III dealt with discipline and part IV with the rules and property of the corps. Part V dealt with the process of acquiring land for shooting ranges. Apart from the corps taking ownership of the land, a municipal corporation or private company could grant a licence to the volunteers to use their land for

5074-436: The lord-lieutenant. The Isle of Man was also to dealt with as if it were a county of England, with the Lieutenant-Governor performing the same role as a county lord-lieutenant. In 1872, under the provisions of the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871, jurisdiction over the volunteers was removed from the county lord-lieutenants and placed under the Secretary of State for War . Volunteer units became increasingly integrated with

5160-438: The part-time Reserve Forces , which had at various times included the Honourable Artillery Company , Militia Force (also referred to as the Constitutional Force , and originally an infantry force), the Yeomanry Force (made up of mounted units, organised similarly to the Volunteer Force), Volunteer Force , and Fencibles . Equivalents were also raised in the Crown Dependencies and many colonies. Known collectively as

5246-446: The purpose. Justices of the peace were given the power to close rights of way adjacent to ranges. The Act concluded by defining the counties to which the corps were to belong: for the purposes of the Act the Isle of Wight , the Tower Hamlets and the Cinque Ports were separate counties, with the Governor of the Isle of Wight, the Constable of the Tower of London and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports commissioning officers in place of

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5332-410: The recommendations of the commission, and to replace the 1804 legislation, the Volunteer Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. 65) was passed. Part I of the Act dealt with the organisation of the Volunteer Force. It became lawful for "Her Majesty to accept the services of persons desiring to be formed under the Act into a Volunteer Corps, and offering their services to Her Majesty through the Lieutenant of

5418-461: The reformation of the Territorial Army after the end of the war, the brigade was reformed as the 160th (South Wales) Infantry Brigade on 1 April 1947. The brigade was organised as a 'three-battalion' brigade with the 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment in Pontypool , 4th (Carmarthenshire) Battalion, The Welch Regiment in Llanelli , and 5th (Glamorgan) Battalion, The Welch Regiment in Pontypridd under its command. The brigade itself remained under

5504-474: The regiment formed 'P' (1 Monmouth) Battery in 283rd (Monmouthshire) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery , later 'R' (1 Monmouth) Battery in a combined 282nd (Glamorgan and Monmouthshire) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery . When the TA was reduced into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1967, 282 Regiment became 211 (South Wales) Battery in 104th Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery , with D (Monmouthshire) Troop at Newport. The 3rd Battalion

5590-421: The rest of the 53rd (W) Divisionwas almost immediately involved in severe attritional fighting around the French city of Caen , facing numerous German panzer divisions , in what came to be known as the Battle for Caen . 160th Brigade later participated in the Second Battle of the Odon , sustaining heavy casualties, which resulted in the 1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment being transferred to the 158th Brigade of

5676-416: The rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps . In a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force. These were the Exeter and South Devon Volunteers , formed in 1852, who became

5762-400: The same division and replaced by the 6th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers . The decision was made by the divisional commander, Major-General Robert Ross (a former commander of the brigade), due to an acute shortage of infantrymen in the British Army at this stage of the war, even more so in finding sufficient numbers of battle casualty replacements (or reinforcements) for three battalions of

5848-436: The same regiment all serving together in the same brigade, which, like 160th Brigade, had also suffered heavy losses. The brigade went on to fight in the Battle of Falaise , capturing large numbers of German troops as prisoners of war (POWs) and the subsequent Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine , later playing a minor role in the Battle of the Bulge , a large role in Operation Veritable in February 1945 and crossing

5934-411: The same year. The brigade, now composed of two battalions of the Welch Regiment and one of the Monmouthshire Regiment , together with the rest of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, was mobilised in late August 1939 and soon afterwards Britain declared war on Nazi Germany . In April 1940 160th Brigade was sent to Northern Ireland and, after the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated from France ,

6020-423: The shortfall of soldiers in the Regular Army . The situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair , an assassination attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the would-be assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have

6106-412: The volunteer battalions saw no active service as units, during the Second Boer War they provided volunteer Active Service Companies to serve in South Africa, all of which were attached to the regular 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers, and they received the battle honour "South Africa 1900-02". Reserve forces were reorganised under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 . Among other provisions

6192-466: The volunteers having to purchase their own rifles and uniforms was felt by some to exclude the lower classes. Unlike regular rifle regiments, the volunteer units had colours often made and presented by the women of the community. These were unauthorised, however, with the Volunteer Regulations stating "Neither Standards nor Colours are to be carried by Corps on parade, as the Volunteer Force

6278-624: The war in Anti-Aircraft Command until in November 1944 it reverted to infantry as 68th (Monmouthshire) Garrison Regiment, RA (later 609 (Monmouthshire) Regiment, RA) and carried out duties on the Lines of Communication for 21st Army Group in North West Europe. The 2nd Battalion was mobilised on the outbreak of war in September 1939, as part of 160th Infantry Brigade , which also included

6364-469: The whole division was engaged in 'Exercise Henry' on the South Downs training area; this included a river crossing and full-scale simulated attack. In May 'Exercise Bud' practised loading vehicles on to landing craft. Finally, in the last week of May, the brigade began moving into its concentration area at Herne Bay , ready for the invasion. As a follow-up formation, 53rd (W) Division did not take part in

6450-509: Was announced that the size of the TA was to be doubled, with each existing unit forming a duplicate. By June 1939 the regiment comprised four battalions: On 1 August 1940 all the infantry battalions that had converted to anti-aircraft roles transferred to the Royal Artillery (RA) and from that date ceased to be part of the corps of their parent regiments. 68th Searchlight Regiment (which regained its Monmouthshire Regiment subtitle in 1942) served through

6536-504: Was appointed to command 160th Bde. He had just returned to the UK after a successful year commanding the lorried infantry brigade of the famous 7th Armoured Division in North Africa . General Sir Bernard Montgomery regarded Whistler as 'the best and most experienced Brigadier in the British Army' and had earmarked him for a future divisional command. Meanwhile, Whistler's appointment to 160th Bde

6622-457: Was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during this action. Such were the battalion's casualties (40 killed in action, 80 wounded) that it took no further part in the conflict and was replaced in the 159th Brigade by the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment . The battalion was transferred to the 115th Independent Infantry Brigade . It was disbanded in January 1946. Throughout the whole campaign,

6708-472: Was converted to form 637th (3rd Bn The Monmouthshire Regiment) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (TA) and similarly ceased to be part of the regiment. It was eventually amalgamated in 1955 with 638th (Brecknock) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (TA) and ceased to exist as a separate unit. In 1967 the remaining battalion was disbanded. A new unit, the Welsh Volunteers , continued

6794-475: Was far from universal, however, with some corps retaining their original names and distinctive dress until 1908. The artillery volunteers were similarly remodelled as reserve formations of the Royal Artillery , eventually being redesignated as Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) in 1902, while the Engineer Volunteers became Royal Engineers (Volunteers). The volunteers finally saw active service during

6880-453: Was in line with Montgomery's policy of giving experienced leadership to the inexperienced formations in 'Overlord'. Whistler took over command of 160th Bde on 28 January, and the brigade was immediately involved in two corps-level training exercises. In March the 53rd (W) Division's HQ and all its brigade and ancillary HQs took part in 'Exercise Shudder' to study 'thrust line' technique, then in April

6966-476: Was itself formed as a duplicate of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. The battalion did not leave the United Kingdom, performing guard duty and acting as a training unit. On 12 December 1942 it was redesignated the 1st Battalion, South Wales Borderers ; the original 1st SWB having been disbanded after most of the unit was captured in North Africa . All Territorial and war-formed units were disbanded soon after

7052-615: Was originally raised in 1908, upon creation of the Territorial Force , and was part of the Welsh Division. The brigade was composed of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Volunteer battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment along with the 1st Battalion of the Herefordshire Regiment . In 1915 the brigade was re-designated the 160th (1/1st South Wales) Brigade and the Welsh Division the 53rd (Welsh) Division . The brigade fought with

7138-505: Was part of this later group and on 1 April 1992 merged with West Midlands District to form the new Wales and Western District. Following these changes, the brigade was moving under the new district which, in March 1995, was merged with North West District and consequently reduced to 5th Division in 1995. By 2003, the brigade was organised as follows: Under the Army 2020 programme, the brigade

7224-547: Was reformed as the operational formation of Wales District with its headquarters at The Barracks in Brecon. The brigade's task was to protect Wales in its role of a home defence brigade. If mobilised, the brigade would have been the 8th Regional AF Headquarters. In 1989 the brigade's structure was as follows: By the end of the Cold War, the German Army ( Bundeswehr ) had a battalion-sized tank ( panzer ) training unit based at

7310-539: Was renamed the 160th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Wales , retaining its regional commitments, but now commanding several regular and territorial (becoming the Army Reserve in 2015) units. By 2017, the brigade was organised as follows: Under the Army 2020 Refine programme, the brigade dropped its operational commitments and became simply 160th (Welsh) Brigade , responsible for regional duties within Wales. Since 2019,

7396-465: Was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on 2 August 1859. Initially, there were attempts at class distinction with the middle class seeing the formation of rifle units as a contrast with the strict class divide between the officers of the gentry and the other ranks of the working class and farm labourers of the militia and the standing army. Some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of

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