Chatsworth Country Fair
The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh
Grand Ring
The Band
The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh has a versatility of style and repertoire, which is both unique and highly popular whether on parade as a marching band or on the concert platform. Their playing and marching portrays that musical quality for which the band is renowned throughout Wales. The band is the last surviving all-brass band within British Army Music.
On a number of occasions the band has played for the Royal Family. On 1st March 2006 they performed at the historic opening of the new Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff Bay in front of Her Majesty The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. They have also made many television appearances ranging from the spiritual series ‘Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol’ (S4C) and the ‘Codi Canu’ (S4C) search for a choir to perform at the Wales v England rugby match, to performing during the opening sequence of the 2005 Royal Variety Show.
The band has continued to play at many major sporting events, in particular during the Six Nation championship matches at the world-famous Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Their presence here has been greatly appreciated across the world.
The Band has also travelled extensively abroad, to such countries as Belgium, Germany, France and, on two occasions, to Canada; first in 1995 and more recently in 2004. Their latest tour took them to Australia in November 2007 where they performed in the fantastic Sydney Opera House, amongst other venues.
Many of the Band’s engagements are enhanced by the presence of The Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh. Their inimitable style and expertise always adds the final polish to any performance. The Band and Drums are very active in supporting the service charities, and pride themselves on supporting all the varying service units within Wales, as well as in a variety of activities both civil and commercial representing their Regiment, the Army and the people of Wales.
The Director of Music is Major Denis Burton MMus FLCM ARCM psm
Some Regimental History
St David’s Day 2006 saw the formation of a new Regiment – The Royal Welsh – that united the regular, reserve and cadet infantry battalions of The Royal Welch Fusiliers and The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) in the principality of Wales.
These parent regiments have a history and heritage that goes back over three hundred years. They were first mustered within days of each other in March 1689, when King William III, in a single commission parchment, charged Lord Herbert of Chirbury and Sir Edward Dering each to raise a regiment of foot for service in Ireland. Since those early days, these regiments have participated in many significant events in British history.
Over the years, these Regiments’ names have evolved to meet changing roles and national needs. The significant contribution by its soldiers in the two major World Wars alone ensure the names of the 23rd or The Royal Welch Fusiliers, 24th or The South Wales Borderers, and the 41st or The Welch Regiment will live in the hearts and memories of many people for a very long time. The last of the territorial battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment, inextricably parts of the Corps of the South Wales Borderers disappeared in 1967. In 1969, tinged with much sadness, the Borderers and the Welch amalgamated to form The Royal Regiment of Wales. For the Great War, the collective figures for these infantry regiments appear incomprehensible today with 250,000 men in 105 battalions, gaining 106 Battle Honours, at a cost of 25,886 lives with many more soldiers maimed and disabled for life.
This joining together of two distinguished line Regiments, each with its own distinctive characteristics, has created a Regiment rich in the traditions of both the old Regiments, bonded by their Welsh backgrounds, but a Regiment which will immediately develop its own distinctive style and customs.
A glance at the Royal Welsh’s history underlines the richness of the fighting heritage of the Regiment. There are numerous instances where the parent regiments found themselves fighting side by side, in Marlborough’s campaigns, in the Crimea, at Memetz Wood in the Great War and finally, in 1944, in giving freedom to the city of 's Hertogenbosch in Holland. Throughout time, individual officers and soldiers have been inter-posted between regiments contributing to a strong blend of mutual comradeship and understanding.
The Royal Welch Fusiliers distinguished itself in many campaigns; of note are Minden in 1759, Yorktown in America, Albuhera in the Peninsula, the saving of the Colours at Alma in the Crimea, the Relief of Lucknow during the Mutiny in India, the unique Honour gained after the Boxer rebellion in Peking and their heroic stand in 1944 at Kohima on the borders of India.
The South Wales Borderers are perhaps best remembered for Marlborough’s campaigns when the Duke was their Colonel, the American war of Independence, in the Peninsula at Talavera, and in the Sikh wars at Chillianwallah. Its involvement in the Zulu campaign was both tragic and glorious; Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift are likely to be remembered for a long time.
The Welch Regiment, formed in 1719 as a Regiment of Invalids for garrison duties, went on to distinguish itself in a wide variety of campaigns, most notably in Canada, in the Crimea, the Napoleonic wars (in which elements served at both Waterloo and with the Royal Navy as Naval Infantry) not to mention the two world wars and afterwards in Korea.
In more recent times, soldiers of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Wales have played a vital role during operational tours in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and in Iraq, gaining many honours, individual awards and much praise for steadfastness, sheer professional approach combined with their typical Welsh humour and sense of fair play.
The Regiment has gained 244 Battle Honours, far more than can be displayed on the Colours, and 43 of its soldiers have received Britain’s highest award for valour – The Victoria Cross. Above all else, the Regiment has today a strong sense of identity with Wales and its people, which gives all its Battalions (regular, reserve and cadet) a distinct flair and esprit de corps. It is predicted that The Royal Welsh will emulate the fine standards and traditions of its gallant forebears, to make it one of the finest Regiments in the British Army.