Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
| The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Cap Badge of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment |
|
| Active | 9 September 1992-Present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | 1st Battalion — Light Infantry 2nd Battalion — Light Infantry 3rd Battalion — TA Reserve |
| Size | Three battalions |
| Part of | Queen's Division |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Canterbury 1st Battalion - Paderborn, Germany 2nd Battalion - London 3rd Battalion - Canterbury |
| Motto | "Honi soit qui mal y pense" "Evil be to him who evil thinks" |
| March | Quick - The Farmer's Boy/Soldiers of the Queen Slow - The Minden Rose |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Brigadier Richard William Dennis OBE ADC[1][2] |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical recognition flash |  Blue from The Queens Regiment Yellow from The Royal Hampshire Regiment Worn on combat jackets and smocks |
| Tiger badge |  From Royal Hampshire Regiment Worn on combat shirts |
| Abbreviation | PWRR |
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR, known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of The Queen's Regiment and The Royal Hampshire Regiment and holds the earliest battle honour in the British Army (Tangier 1662–80) which was not awarded until 1909. Through its ancestry via the Queen's Regiment to the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), the PWRR is the most senior English line infantry regiment. The current regiment was named in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The PWRR is the London and county regiment of the following:
Upon its creation, HRH The Princess of Wales and HM The Queen of Denmark were Allied Colonels-in-Chief of the PWRR. When the Princess divorced HRH The Prince of Wales, she resigned as Colonel-in-chief and the Queen of Denmark has remained its Colonel-in-Chief since.
The regimental headquarters (RHQ) is in Canterbury, whilst the regiment itself comprises three battalions:
- 1st Battalion — Light infantry to re-role to Armoured Infantry (20th Armoured Brigade)
- 2nd Battalion — Light Infantry (20th Armoured Brigade)
- 3rd Battalion — Territorial Army Light Infantry (2 (South East) Brigade)
There is also a single Territorial Army company, B (Queen's) Company of the London Regiment.
Contents |
Recent and future postings [edit]
The regiment's 1st Battalion served a seven-month tour of Iraq in 2004 with a second tour following in 2006, and finally a tour in 2009 where the battalion was split between Afghanistan and Iraq (last combat operation in Iraq). Many of the operations carried out by the battalion during the first tour were named after stations on the London Underground.[3]
The regiment's 2nd Battalion moved from Alexandria Barracks, Dhekelia after two years in Cyprus to Woolwich Garrison, London, to take up a Public Duties role as of August 2010 with the battalion's corps of drums performing at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. This ended on Sunday 3rd February 2013, with the battalion being the last light role infantry unit to perform Public Duties; this will now revert full-time back to the Household Division. The corps of drums attained the role of best in the British Army. Prior to Cyprus, 2PWRR were based in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, the last resident battalion deployed in this role under Operation Banner.
Elements of both regular battalions were recently deployed to Afghanistan. Other elements of 1 PWRR were deployed to Iraq, where they helped train the Iraqi National Army and oversaw the withdrawal of UK Forces from Basra. Members of the 3rd Battalion were deployed to both theatres alongside their regular colleagues.
1st Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in August 2011, while 1st and 2nd Battalion will be deployed in 2014 for the last combat tour in Afghanistan.
1st Battalion will re-role as a Warrior Armoured Infantry Battalion under Army 2020 and will be stationed at Bulford.[4][5]
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Museum [edit]
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Museum is located in Dover Castle, Dover, Kent. Exhibits trace the regiment's history, and include displays of photographs, paintings, weapons, badges, medals, uniforms and regimental regalia.[citation needed]
Victoria Cross and other decorations [edit]
The regiment as a whole has attained fifty-seven Victoria Cross awards making it the British Army's most decorated Regiment.
21st Century [edit]
A total of thirty-seven medals and awards were awarded to the regiments 1st Battalion for their service during operations in Iraq in 2004, including a Victoria Cross, two Distinguished Service Orders, two Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, one Member of the Order of the British Empire for gallantry, ten Military Crosses, and seventeen were Mentioned in Despatches, making the regiment the most highly decorated serving regiment in the British Army at that time.[3]
Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry of the 1st Battalion, PWRR was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during his unit's deployment to Al-Amarah, near Basrah.[6]
Whilst attached to the 1st Battalion, Michelle Norris of the Royal Army Medical Corps became the first woman to be awarded the Military Cross following her actions on 11 June 2006.[7]
Danish connection [edit]
The PWRR is one of only two regiments in the British Army that has a foreign monarch as its Colonel-in-Chief (the other is The Light Dragoons). Queen Margrethe II was previously the Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Regiment, continuing a tradition in her family dating back to the appointment of King Frederick VIII as the Colonel-in-Chief of The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), one of the ancestor regiments of the PWRR, in 1906.[citation needed]
Battle honours [edit]
- (combined battle honours of The Queen's Regiment, and The Royal Hampshire Regiment, with the following emblazoned:)
- The Regimental Colours1: Tangier 1662-80, Namur 1695, Gibraltar 1704-5, Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen, Minden, Louisburg, Guadeloupe 1759, Quebec 1759, Belleisle, Tournay, Barrosa, Martinique 1762, Seringapatam, Maida, Corunna, Talavera, Albuhera, Almaraz, Vittoria, Peninsula, Punniar, Moodkee, Sobraon, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Lucknow, Taku Forts, Pekin 1860, New Zealand, Afghanistan 1879-80, Nile 1884-85, Burma 1885-87, Relief of Ladysmith, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899-1902, Korea 1950-51
- The Queen's Colours: Mons, Retreat from Mons, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17 '18, Hill 60, Festubert 1915, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Cambrai 1917 '18, Hindenburg Line, Italy 1917-18, Doiran 1917-18, Landing at Helles, Gaza, Jerusalem, Palestine 1917-18, Kut al Amara 1915 '17, Mesopotamia 1915-18, North West Frontier India 1915 1916-17, Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, Caen, Rhine, North-West Europe 1944-45, Abyssinia 1941, El Alamein, Tebourba Gap, Hunt's Gap, Longstop Hill 1943, North Africa 1940-43, Sicily 1943, Salerno, Anzio, Cassino, Gothic Line, Italy 1943-45, Malta 1940-42, Malaya 1941-42, Hong Kong, Defence of Kohima, Burma 1943-45
- 1. also emblazoned:
- The Naval Crown superscribed "1st June 1794" - from the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
- The Sphinx superscribed "Egypt" - from the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) & Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
- The Royal Tiger superscribed "India" - from the Royal Hampshire Regiment
Order of precedence [edit]
| Preceded by The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
Infantry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment |
Lineage [edit]
Alliances [edit]
Canada - The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment)- Canada - The South Alberta Light Horse
- Canada - 49th (Sault Ste Marie) Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
- Canada - The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
- Canada - The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
- Canada - 1st Battalion, Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton and York)
- Canada - The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment
Australia - The Royal New South Wales Regiment- Australia - The Royal Western Australia Regiment
- Australia - University of New South Wales Regiment
New Zealand - Hauraki Regiment- New Zealand - Waikato Mounted Rifles
Pakistan - 12th, 14th, 15th, and 17th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment
France - Le 35e Régiment d'Infanterie - Bond of Friendship
Denmark - Den Kongelige Livgarde - Bond of Friendship
See also [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment |
References [edit]
- ^ Colonel of the Regiment—Brigadier Richard Dennis OBE ADC, British Army website
- ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59382. p. 5833. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ a b Sniper One by Sgt Dan Mills, August 2007 ISBN 978-0-7181-4994-9
- ^ http://www.aff.org.uk/linkedfiles/aff/latest_news_information/cregulararmybasingannouncementgridunclas.pdf
- ^ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136406/regular_army_basing_plan.pdf page 3
- ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57587. pp. 3369–3370. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
- ^ Bunyan, Nigel (2007-03-22). "Big day for 5ft Army medic who won MC". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
External links [edit]
- Official site
- British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945
- Princess of Wales Royal Regiment Museum - museum information
- Princess of Wales Royal Regiment Museum - local tourism information
- 6/7 PWRR Regimental Association
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