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The Royal Welch Fusiliers
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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar greatThe Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was raised in 1689.
Battalions during the Great War.
- 1st Battalion
- 2nd Battalion
- 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 1/4th (Denbighshire) Battalion
- 2/4th (Denbighshire) Battalion
- 3/4th Battalion
- 1/5th (Flintshire) Battalion
- 2/5th (Flintshire) Battalion
- 3/5th Battalion
- 1/6th (Carnarvonshire & Anglesey) Battalion
- 2/6th (Carnarvonshire & Anglesey) Battalion
- 3/6th Battalion
- 1/7th (Merioneth & Montgomery) Battalion
- 2/7th (Merioneth & Montgomery) Battalion
- 3/7th Battalion
- 8th (Service) Battalion
- 9th (Service) Battalion
- 10th (Service) Battalion
- 11th (Service) Battalion
- 12th (Reserve) Battalion
- 13th (1st North Wales) Battalion
- 14th (Service) Battalion
- 15th (1st London Welsh) Battalion
- 16th (Service) Battalion
- 17th (2nd North Wales) Battalion
- 18th (2nd London Welsh) Battalion
- 19th (Service) Battalion
- 20th (Reserve) Battalion
- 22nd (Reserve) Battalion
- 23rd Battalion
- 24th (Denbighshire Yeomanry) Battalion
- 25th(Montgomery & Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Battalion
- 26th (Service) Battalion
- 1st Garrison Battalion
- 2nd Garrison Battalion
- 3rd (Reserve) Garrison Battalion
- 4th Garrison Battalion
- 5th (Home Service) Garrison Battalion
- 6th Garrison Battalion
- 7th Garrison Battalion
Those known to have served with The Royal Welch Fusiliers during the Great War.
Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site.
- Cpl George Costall MM Read their Story.
- Pte. J. Davies (d.7th Jun 1917)
- Charles Leonard Doherty Read their Story.
- Pte. William Henry Dunnicliffe (d.27th Sep 1917) Read their Story.
- 2nd Lt. Thomas George Read their Story.
- Pte. Rhys Griffiths (d.24th Jul 1918) Read their Story.
- L/Sjt. Frank Mason Jenkins MM. (d.8th May 1918) Read their Story.
- Pte. William Kimber (d.26th Sept 1917) Read their Story.
- Major John Henry Langton DSO Read their Story.
- Pte. Thomas Milton "Hammie" Mason (John Davies) (d.7th Jun 1917) Read their Story.
- Sergeant John Thomas Nicholls DCM. Read their Story.
- Pte. Mathias Oliver Read their Story.
- Lt. Arthur Roberts Read their Story.
- Lt. James Chambers Sproule Read their Story.
- Pte. Ernest Strode (d.29th Apr 1917) Read their Story.
- Sjt. Isaac Waters Read their Story.
- H. Lloyd Williams
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add,, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
Announcements
Do you have any friends or relatives who are over 95 years old?Please could you ask them if they have any recollections of childhood during The Great War or in the years immediatley after the war? We would like to preserve these memories before it is too late. We are also looking for recollections from the previous generation, please do ask elderly relatives if they recall any tales of life during the Great War told to them by older family members or friends and enter their recollections so that they can be preserved in our archive.
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Cpl George Costall MM Welch Fusiliers
George Costal attested into the British Army on 12 Aug 1904. During World War One he was a corporal with the Royal Welsh Fusilliers, service number 8458. He was wounded and discharged from the army as a result of injuries on 17 Jul 1917. He was awarded the Military Medal, British War Medal and Victory Medal. Information from the Medal Index Card (The National Archive, London)
Pte. William Kimber 10th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusliers (d.26th Sept 1917)
My mum never knew her father, William Kimble, as she was 2 years old when he was killed in action but she had some photos, which she looked at every day but never talked much about him, so when she died I decided to find out about this man (my grandad) who gave his life for us.I cannot find out how and were he died. Mam said he got blown up but how could I find out were it was as we are going to Sanctury wood in a few weeks were he is buried. Mum says he was never found but I have found a grave number but would like to see were he was fighting and lost his life but need to find out were the 10th battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers were fighting that day. Can anyone help?
Update: William's service records are available online at Ancestry.co.uk He is listed as "wounded & missing" on the 26th Sept 1917. The cemetery in which he now lies was created after the war and many men who were buried in smaller cemeteries or recovered from the battlefield after the war were laid to rest there, it is very likely he was amongst their number.
On the day William was killed, his battalion were taking part in the Battle of Polygon Wood, the 10th RWF advanced over ground near Zonnebeke to the right of the railway and crossed the Steenbeek along with the 2nd Suffolks. After they had crossed the railway line they came under heavy machine gun fire from the railway station and were unable to capture it, though parties from the RWF did manage to enter the centre of Zonnebeke. The the 10th RWF held 150 yards of the road running north-west from the church.
2nd Lt. Thomas George 16th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Thomas was the Son of John and Lettice George, of Brynhir, Pembrey. He came from a coal mining family and was one of eight children. He had been commissioned into the 16th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who were attached to the 113th Brigade, 38th (Welsh) Division.The Division had landed in France during December 1915 and had spent their first winter in the trenches near Armentieres. In June they marched south to the Somme, where they were tasked with the capture of Mametz Wood. The attack on the wood began on the 7th July, but met with fierce resistance, and it took until the 14th July to clear the wood.
The Division suffered terrible casualties at Mametz, and were taken out of the line, and moved to Ypres to rebuild. Here they fought at Pilckem and Langemarck, then moved to Armentieres, where they remained from September 1917 until March, 1918 when the German Spring Offensive was launched.
The British had been over-run on the Somme, and so in April the Division was moved south, taking up positions North of Albert, from where they weathered the storm of the coming months, until the war turned during the Battle of Amiens, on the 8th August, 1918. The Germans had now lost the upper hand, and the British regained the lost ground on the Somme after an attack which began on the 21st August, with the 38th Welsh in the midst of the attack during the Battle of Albert.
Thomas was killed in action just 6 days into the attack, on the 27th August, 1918. He was 24 years old, and is buried at Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval. There is a a commemorative bronze candlestick to Thomas in St. Illtyds church, Pembrey. Thomas is cited on the Pembrey war memorial. I would welcome any further information.
Major John Henry Langton DSO 1/4th Btn. Welsh Fusiliers
Served with the 1\4 RWF 2nd February 1917 through to end of hostilities, leading the Battalion as Lt Col in the final 100 days.
Sergeant John Thomas Nicholls DCM. 9th Btn. Welsh Fusiliers
Sgt Nicholls was my great-grandfather, a coal miner from St Helens, Lancashire. He volunteered for service in 1914 and sailed for France on 19/7/15.On 28th August, 1917, the following appeared in the London Gazette: "13621 Sjt. J. T. Nicholls, R. W. Fus. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He reached the enemy's lines some distance ahead of his assaulting platoon, whereupon he attacked twenty of the enemy single-handed, bayoneted three of them and kept the rest prisoners until the arrival of his platoon. He later showed marked ability and coolness in assisting his company commander under heavy shell fire."
I am not certain of where this action took place, but as it usually took around 3 months for medal awards to appear in the Gazette, there is a good chance it was at Messines. Later in the war, John was posted as missing on 13/05/18, but there is no record of him having been a POW, so it is possible he managed to return to his unit- this being in the midst of the German Spring Offensives. He ws discharged on 25/3/19 and returned to St Helens and mining. He died in 1945, aged 59, leaving behind his wife Sarah and six daughters, including my grandmother, Ada.
Pte. Rhys Griffiths 9th Btn Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.24th Jul 1918)
Rhys Griffiths is buried in Niederzwehren Cemetery
Sjt. Isaac Waters Flintshire and Denbighshire Yeomanry
Sergeant 3177 Ike Waters was my grandfather. He was a member of the Denbighshire Yeomanry, a mounted Territorial Force, prior to WW1 and then at the outbreak of war the Yeomanry formed part of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He served in that regiment with service number 345393. I recall as a young boy seeing a photo of my grandfather on his horse in Egypt and I believe this was taken in 1915. He then went back to the Denbighshire Yeomanry with service number 340401 and ended his army service with the RASC, number T/232880. Unfortunately I've not been able to trace his war service record and assume it is amongst the many that were destroyed.
Pte. Mathias Oliver 6th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers
My great grandad, Mathias Oliver served with the Welsh Fusiliers during WW1. He was a miner before the war and joined up at the age of 25 we think. He was a private in the Fusiliers and ended up going to fight the Turks in Palastine. He was gased and captured by the Turks and we think he spent 2 yrs in a POW camp.He was released after the war but died 1 or 2 yrs later from gas poising leaving 3 children and a wife. On his death bed he asked his best mate to look after his family.That he did as a lot of folk did in those days. He has a plaque in Manchester (screen wall 1839) Philips Park Cemetery.
I would love to find out more about him and the battles the brave men fought on the campaign. I'm sure there's more to his story but it's quite hard to find out being it was so long ago. If anyone has any info on his Regiment and photos I would love to hear more, thanks.
Charles Leonard Doherty 5th Battalion, C Company Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Charles joined the 18th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment in December 1915 when aged 16, but was brought back by his Father as he was under age. He later went to France with the Welsh Regiment (no 73148) and then joined Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 5th Battalion, C Company (80223). He was wounded in France by shrapnel and gas. He was sent to Tralee near Limmerick during the troubles, after he was wounded.
Lt. Arthur Roberts 16th Battalion (Cardiff City) Royal Welsh Fusiliers
I have a old Ordnance Survey map of the Winchester area and on the front cover is written 'Lt. Arthur Roberts, 16th. Battalion/Welsh Regiment Cardiff City'. I believe they moved to Winchester in August 1915. I would be interested to know what happened to him in WW1 and whether he survived the war. Thanks
Pte. William Henry Dunnicliffe 10th Btn. Royal Welch Fusiliers (d.27th Sep 1917)
William Dunnicliffe was killed on the 27/9/1917, at the Battle of Passchendaele, 3rd Battle of Ypres, two months before his brother Harold. There is no known grave but his name is commemorated on panels 63/65 at the Tyne Cot Cemetary, Belgium.
Pte. Ernest Strode 10th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.29th Apr 1917)
The 10th Royal Welsh Fusiliers were in 76th Brigade of 3rd Division. They had been in action on the 9th April 1917 in the 1st Battle of the Scarpe, then relieved for a while but were back at the front on the 19th in the area east of Monchy-le-Bois in order to take part in the attack of the 3rd May. The divisional commander kept two of his brigades fresh for the attack whilst 76th held the line. It was constantly under bombardment and in the time between 24th April and 1st May when the two other brigades took over there were 464 casualties.My great uncle Ernest Strode, would have been one of them. The fact that he was killed in the British lines is why he has a grave, unlike so many who fell in April and May 1917. The war diary for the 10th for this time simply notes Fine (meaning the weather) Holding Line; two officer deaths the only other entries. Incidentally the CWGC has my great uncle's death as on the 28th, not the 29th.
The War Diary printed by Lt.Col. F.N. Burton gives the rank and names of the 10th RWF casualties on a day by day basis and shows Pte 15178 E Strode Died of Wounds on Sunday 29th April. On 1st May it is endorsed 'This eight day tour of duty in the Monchy trenches was a costly one to the battalion, the casualties amounting to 3 Officers and 24 other ranks killed in action: and one officer and 85 other ranks wounded. Ernest is not shown on the wounded list for any of the previous days.
Ernest Strode was born Caldicot, Monmouthshire, enlisted in Wrexham and was resident Loughop, Glamorgan. He is at rest a Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras
L/Sjt. Frank Mason Jenkins MM. 9th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers (d.8th May 1918)
Frank was the Son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jenkins, of 4, Nevill's Terrace, Dafen, and he enlisted at Llanelli into the 9th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, which were part of 58 Brigade, 19th (Western) Division. The Division crossed to France during July 1915, and moved to positions near Loos. The Division fought during the opening attack of the Battle of Loos, and then moved to the Somme, where they took part in the second wave of the attack on Ovillers-La Boiselle on the 1st of July 1916, capturing the village at heavy cost, and fought through the Somme Battles of Pozieres and the Ancre in 1916. They then moved North to Ypres, taking part in the Battle of Messines, and fought on the Menin Road and at Polygon Wood, before moving up to Broodseinde, Poelcappelle and Passchendaele Village itself. In 1918 they were caught up in the German Spring Offensive near St. Quentin, where they suffered terrible casualties. They moved to Ypres, but were caught up in the German attack at Messines. Frank was wounded here, and died on the 8th of May 1918. He was 27 years old, and is buried at Poperinghe New Military Cemetery, Belgium. Sadly Frank is not commemorated on the Dafem Memorial.
Recomended Reading.
Available at discounted prices.
Frank Richards
Frank Richards served in the 2/ Royal Welch Fusiliers along with (at one time or another) Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon, and Dr Dunn (compiler of the amazing 'The War That The Infantry Knew'- possibly THE best battalion history of WW1- and a good companion to this book as its interesting to cross reference small incidences somtimes...). Anyway, Richards was slightly different to his literary contemporaries in that he was 'Other Ranks', and a miner by trade. He was recalled to the colours in 1914 after several years on the reserve, and served as a Private right through to 1918. He writes his story as one would imagine he spoke- and for me as I read it, it was a style as if he was telling me his war history in anecdotes down the pub or something, supping over a pint of mild: theres no deep soul searching here, but plenty of bitterness, a lot of detail, and what an experience he had... So if you don't have this in your collection then get it now- one of the very few 'OR' books (IMore information on:
Old Soldiers Never Die
Llewelyn Wyn Griffith
Llewelyn Wyn Griffith s Up to Mametz, published in 1931, is now firmly established as one of the finest accounts of soldiering on the Western Front. It tells the story of the creation of a famous Welsh wartime battalion (The Royal Welch Fusiliers), its training, its apprenticeship in the trenches, through to its ordeal of Mametz Wood on the Somme as part of 38 Division. But there it stopped. General Jonathon Riley has however discovered Wyn Griffith s unpublished diaries and letters which pick up where Up to Mametz left off through to the end of the War. With careful editing and annotation, the events of these missing years are now available alongside the original work. They tell of an officer s life on the derided staff and provide fascinating glimpses of senior officers, some who attract high praise and others who the author obviously despised. The result is an enthralling complete read and a major addition to the bibliography of the period. Llewelyn Wyn Griffiths was born into a WelMore information on:
Up to Mametz - and Beyond
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