WW1 Welsh Guards Regiment Cap Badge

Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original WW1 Welsh Guards 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 Welsh Guards cap badges.

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The Welsh Guards (WG), (Welsh: Gwarchodlu Cymreig) part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V. The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, “..though the order to raise the regiment had been given by the King to Earl Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, on 6 February 1915.” They were the last of the Guards to be created, with the Irish Guards coming into being in 1900. Just three days later the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards mounted its first King’s Guard at Buckingham Palace on 1 March 1915 – St David’s Day. On 17 August 1915 the 1st Battalion sailed for France to join the Guards Division to commence its participation in the First World War. Its first battle was some months after its initial arrival, at Loos on 27 September 1915. The regiment’s first Victoria Cross came two years later in July 1917 awarded to Sergeant Robert Bye. Soon after the end of the war in 1918 the 1st Welsh Guards returned home and where they would be based for much of the inter-war period, performing training and ceremonial duties, such as the Changing of the Guard and Trooping the Colour. In 1929 the 1st Welsh Guards deployed to Egypt where they joined the Cairo Brigade where they stayed for only a brief period of time, returning home in 1930.

Just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War the 1st Welsh Guards were dispatched to Gibraltar where they remained upon the outbreak of war in September 1939. The 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards was created in 1939. The regiment was increased to three Battalions during the Second World War. The 1st Battalion fought valiantly in all the campaigns of the North-West European Theatre. The 2nd Battalion fought in Boulogne in 1940 whilst the 1st fought in Belgium as part of the British Expeditionary Force. In May 1940 at the Battle of Arras, the Welsh Guards gained their second Victoria Cross by Lieutenant The Hon. Christopher Furness who was killed in the action. The 1st Battalion subsequently part of the legendary Evacuation of Dunkirk that saw over 340,000 British and French troops return to the UK against all odds. The 3rd Battalion Welsh Guards, which was formed at Beavers Lane Camp in 1941, fought throughout the arduous Tunisian North African Campaign and Italian Campaigns in 1943. While they battled on in those theatres the 1st and 2nd joined the Guards Armoured Division, with the 1st Battalion being infantry and the 2nd armoured. The two battalions worked closely, being the first troops to re-enter Brussels on 3 September 1944 after an advance of 100 miles in one day in what was described as ‘an armoured lash unequalled for speed in this or any other war’ led by Major-General Sir Allan Henry Adair.

Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military badges for sale including other Welsh Guards Regiment cap badges.