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The Welch Regiment (41st of Foot) were raised in in 1719 as Colonel Fielding's Regiment of invalids. They have seen active service in many campaigns.
During World War 2, the Welch Regiment consisted of 11 Battalions, of which 4 saw active service overseas, in Palestine, the Western Desert, Crete, Sicily, Italy, Burma, and France and Northwest Europe. The Regiment lost over 1,100 men between September 1939 and the end of hostilities.
The Welsh Regiment Football team in Burma, Sgt Charles Evans, back right.
Palaw, csm Fullwood b-coy, csm Davies hq, cqms Yates hq.
Burma 10th Sept. 1945, left is Sgt Haden then RSM Fullwood then Sgt Evans
A photo of one of his mates, taken in Tunggyi, 23.9.45, George Homer.
These photos belonged to my Grandfather. I also have a letter, sent to my nana from a lady who was a prisoner of war. My granddad was one of the first British soldiers to see her. It is a very heartfelt letter. My granddad was Sgt. Charles Evans who was in the Welsh Regiment from 17.12.42. Before that he was in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers from 26.7.40 – 16.12.42. He was also part of the Dagger Brigade, a service for which I still have his badge.
My father John Holland Wilcox survived the war, and according to my mother, she believe's he was a rank of Major at the young age of 22 by the end of the war. He served in North Africa and Italy during the fighting and received the British Military Cross. He passed away in 2000 and never talked much of his experences during the war. I have all his medals and I am hoping to find more about how he earned them and what was his highest rank.
I am enquiring about a young Private who was in the Welch Regiment and captured in Crete during 1941. His name was W J Daley and his prisoner of War No. was 6155. His son, who is a colleague of mine, has asked me to make enquiries about any info. regarding this time in his father's life. All info.gratefully received.
This is the story of my late Dads war service, Pte. Ben Evans. He joined up in 1939, aged 19, with the SWB 24th foot, then he transferred to 1st Welch Regt. After his basic training in Brecon they moved near Porthcawl to practice on sandy conditions, and then they moved to Plymouth and embarked on a troopship. They sailed the long way round Africa to avoid the hostilities in the Mediterranean and made port in Egypt.
After they acclimatised, they joined up with the 8th army and were soon in actions against Italian forces through the Libyan Desert, which included Bengazi Sidi Berani and Bardia. This went on until the Africa Corp arrived to push allied forces back towards Egypt, then just before the el Alemain offensive, my dad was captured by axis troops along with his company and they were moved via trucks all the way back through the enemy lines until they reached the coast.
Then by boat to Italy and on to a P.O.W camp until the Italians surrendered, and all the Italian camps were just abandoned by the guards so all the P.O.W’s were left to fend for themselves, they soon left the camps in search of food and water but the Germans rounded them up. My father was marched all the way over the Alps up to the German Polish boarder. During this hard march he suffered frostbite in both his feet and when he arrived at the new P.O.W camp it was discovered that both feet had developed gangrene, so he was operated on by German surgeons who had to amputate all of his toes, when he was 23 and he spent the rest of the war in hospital, until his camp was liberated by the Americans in 1945. He was flown straight back to the UK, but spent his time in a Liverpool hospital for amputees until 1946. He then came home and all the time that I was privileged to know him he never limped. He passed away in 1994 aged 74.
Richard Evans
My late father, Francis Daniel Johnson was captured in crete 1939, taken to Stalag 8b was pow for 5yrs, and put to work in salt mines in poland, he faked an appendix while pow,and germans operated using lid from an empty can, then he tried to escape with three mates and was shot through the foot,and punished, when my Dad died, I was clearing out a box and found a map of all german pow camps, we took a copy to welch reg museum in Cardiff Castle, and John Dart was asking did we know how my Dad came to have it ,it is on show in glass case.
Lynn O'Hagan
My Grandfather fought in Burma he was in the Welsh Regiment, I have been going through some of his things that he left me, and I came across a badge of a hand holding a dagger, would you have any idea what the badge would be for, I think it would have been stitched above his stripes.
Photographs
If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.
List of those who served.
- Jim Baxter
- Pte. W J Daley Read his Story
- CSM Davies. hq coy. Read his Story
- Pte. Ben Evans. 1st Btn. Read his Story
- Sgt. Charles Evans. Read his Story
- Lanc Cpl. Walter Robert Filby. 1/5th Bn. (d. 18th August 1940)
- CSM Fullwood. B-coy Read his Story
- Sgt Haden. Read his Story
- George Homer. Read his Story
- Capt Bert Hyde. Read his Story
- Francis Daniel Johnson Read his Story
- Frank "Knocker" Johnson. Read his Story
- Pte Sidney Crowther Kinsey. 1st Bn. (d. 19 September 1944)
- Richard Maryan Read his story
- Warrant Officer W. Merriman (d. 11th Apr 1945)
- Lance Cpl. T.W. Rees.
- Pte. George Hislop Mitchie Roberts. (d. 11 Aug 1940)
- Sgt John "Jack" Rogers
- Pte Samuel Welbourne. Read his Story
- John Holland Wilcox. Read his Story
- CQSM Yates. hq coy. Read his Story
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to an airfield or aircrew, please get in touch.
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