SILVER South Wales Borderers Regiment OFFICERS Cap Badge

NOT hallmarked, but definitely silver. Guaranteed original. Complete & intact.

This is an original South Wales Borderers Regiment Cap Badge for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other South Wales Borderers cap badges.

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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. The regiment served in a great many conflicts, including the American Revolutionary War, various conflicts in India, the Zulu War, Boer War, and World War I and II. The regiment was absorbed into the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1969. As its name suggests, the regiment recruited primarily from South Wales. The 1st Battalion was part of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) that was sent to France shortly after war was declared. In March 1916 the 2nd Battalion arrived into the carnage of the Western Front in France. Welsh poet and language activist Saunders Lewis served in the South Wales Borderers during World War I. The 2nd Battalion provided the only British contribution, a symbolic one, to the Japanese invasion of Tsingtaoea German naval base in China that was the base of the East Asiatic Squadron. Shortly after the capture of Tsingtao, the battalion arrived in Hong Kong and then back home in January 1915. As part of the 29th Division, the battalion took part in the Dardanelles Campaign, landing at S Beach, Cape Helles on 25 April 1915. Unlike other beaches, the 2nd South Wales Borderers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel H.G. Casson, met little opposition and the landing, supported by the battleship HMS Cornwallis, was completed by 7:30am. The 4th (Service) Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel F M Gillespie, landed at Anzac on the night of 3/4 August 1915, meeting heavy fire on the beach and suffering serious casualties, including their commanding officer, as they pushed forward on the left of the line.

During the 2nd world war, the 2nd Battalion, as part of 24th Guards Brigade (Rupertforce), took part in the Norwegian campaign, fighting the Nazi German invaders. In 1944 the 2nd Battalion had the distinction of being the only Welsh battalion to take part in the Normandy Landings landing under command of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. It was under command of 7th Armoured Division for a few days in June 1944, reverting to 50th (Northumbrian Division). In August 1944 it was briefly under command of 59th (Staffordshire) Division and on August 20 joined 49th Infantry Division. It ended its war in Germany, and remained there, as part of the occupation forces, until 1948 when it returned home. The 1st Battalion, as part of the Indian 10th Infantry Division, was sent to Iraq to quell a German-inspired uprising in Iraq. The battalion saw subsequent service in Iran. The 1st Battalion sustained enormous casualties in Libya near Tobruk when they lost around 500 officers and men captured or killed during a general retreat. The battalion found itself cut off when the German forces outflanked them, the commanding officer, Lt. Col. F.R.G. Matthews, decided to attempt to escape around the enemy and break through to British lines. It turned into a disaster with only four officers and around one hundred men reaching Sollum. To the surprise of the survivors the battalion was ordered to disband in Cyprus and the remnants of the battalion were transferred, with the exception of a cadre that returned to the UK, to the 1st Battalion, The King’s Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). A few months later the battalion was re-formed from the cadre and the 4th Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment though it would remain in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military cap badges for sale including other South Wales Borderers cap badges.