The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales (3 RRW) was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, part of the Royal Regiment of Wales. The battalion was formed during the expansion of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1971, and later disbanded and merged with the 4th (V) Battalion of the same regiment to form the new 2nd (V) Battalion. The battalion's lineage is currently carried on by two company-sized units: C (Royal Regiment of Wales) Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh and 580 (Glamorgan) Transport Squadron of 157th (Wales and Midlands) Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.

History

On 1 April 1971, the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales was formed as part of the expansion of the

Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Ter ...

(TAVR) after the major reductions of just a few years prior, in 1967. In theory the battalion was in-fact not a new formation, as the headquarters was formed by expansion of the cadre (a formation of just a few soldiers). The cadre which formed the 3rd (V) Battalion was the 3rd (Monmouthshire) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales, and therefore had an indirect connection to the late Monmouthshire Regiment, which itself had disbanded in 1967.Drenth, p. 118Frederick, pp. 354–355 The structure of the battalion on formation was as follows:Drenth, p. 118Frederick, pp. 354–355 * Battalion Headquarters, at Maindy Barracks,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

* Headquarters Company, at Maindy Barracks, Cardiff ** Anti-Tank Platoon, in

Pentre Pentre is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as ...

** Mortar Platoon, in Cwmcarn * A Company, in

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. ...

** Platoon, in Blackwood * B Company, in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

** Platoon, in

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

* C Company, in Pontypridd ** Platoon, in Pentre The battalion's companies were formed from the following: Battalion HQ and HQ Company formed by redesignation of HQ Company,

Welsh Volunteers The Welsh Volunteers, was a short-lived Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, that existed from 1967 to 1971. History Upon the creation of the TAVR in 1967, 5 of the Territorial Army infantry batta ...

; A Company new formed; B Company formed by redesignation of B (South Wales Borderers) Company, Welsh Volunteers; Pontypool Platoon formed by expansion of the 3rd (Monmouthshire) Btn, Royal Regiment of Wales; C Company formed by redesignation of C (Welch Regiment) Company in Pontypridd; and the Pentre Platoon formed by reformation of the 5th/6th (Territorial) Battalion, Welch Regiment cadre expansion.Drenth, p. 118Frederick, pp. 354–355 After the

1981 Defence White Paper The 1981 Defence White Paper (titled "The UK Defence Programme: The Way Forward" Cmnd 8288) was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy brought about by the Conservative government under the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The main ...

, the '

Home Service Force The Home Service Force was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. Each HSF unit was placed with either a Regular Army or Territorial Army regiment or battalion for administrative purposes and given that formation’s ...

' was formed, as a home defence lightly armed group, eventually forming a company in almost every territorial battalion. The new force were primarily tasked to defence key points (KPs) throughout their area against sabotage from enemy special forces (most probably the Russian

Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the So ...

). The force comprised ex-regular, ex-territorial, and ex-uniformed service personnel including those with a minimum of two years experience. As a result of this expansion, a new E (Home Service Force) Company was formed with its headquarters at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff with a platoon in

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

. In addition to the formation of the Home Service Force, the Territorial Army (as the TAVR was now known) was given roles of increased priority, and more emphasis was placed on supporting BAOR. Therefore, following the paper, another new company, D (City of Cardiff) Company was formed in Cardiff by expansion of the defence platoon of HQ Company on 1 April 1985.Drenth, p. 118 If mobilised, the battalion would have been sent to the British Army of the Rhine as an anti-tank armoured reserve unit for the 4th Armoured Division.British Army, ''1991 Master Order of Battle'', Ministry of Defence, London. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

Further lineage

In 1991, following the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the Options for Change paper was published which saw a major reorganisation of the armed forces, especially the British Army. As a result of this programme, the Home Service Force was disbanded, with E (HSF) Company disbanding in May 1992. In addition, many of the regular regiments gained their territorial battalions back, and many of the old territorial regiments disbanded.Drenth, p. 118 Therefore, on 1 October 1993, the battalion was disbanded and consequently merged with the

4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

to form the new 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales. The following company changes consequently occurred: Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company merged to form the new Battalion HQ and HQ Company of the 2nd Battalion at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff; A and B Companies merged to form a new B (Rorke's Drift) Company in

Cefn Fforest Cefn Fforest is a community and an electoral ward in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales. A wholly urbanized community, it forms the western fringes of the town of Blackwood. By area, it is the smallest of all of the communities of Wales. Educati ...

and

; C Company became C (Pontypridd) Company in Pontypridd and Pentre; and finally D (City of Cardiff) Company was reroled to become 580 Ambulance Squadron in Cardiff and Bridgend, which consequently amalgamated with C Company of the 4th (V) Battalion.Drenth, p. 118Drenth, p. 117 Following the announcement of the decision to reduce the two territorial battalions of the Royal Regiment of Wales, some Members of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

(MPs) presented petitions signed by over 33,000 people of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

protesting the disbandment of these battalions.

580 Transport Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps

Following the conversion of D (City of Cardiff) Company into 580 Ambulance Squadron, the new squadron came under control of the 157th (Wales and Midlands) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps based in Cardiff with a troop in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. In 1999 however, following the

1998 Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of t ...

, the squadron was transferred to the 152nd (Ulster) Ambulance Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps. The squadron was then consolidated in Bridgend, and now became the only ambulance squadron not based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 2006, as a result of the

2003 Defence White Paper The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to ...

and subsequent Future Army Structure programme, 580 Ambulance squadron was transferred back to the now redesignated 157th (Wales and Midlands) Transport, Royal Logistic Corps. The squadron then was redesignated as 580 Transport Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps and consolidated back in Cardiff. Shortly thereafter, the squadron was renamed as 580 (Glamorgan) Transport Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps, though retained its same role and stayed in Cardiff. Under the Army 2020 programme, the squadron was consolidated in Cardiff, losing its Bridgend Troop. Today the squadron still retains its location at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff and is still part of 157th (Welsh) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.

The Royal Welsh

Following the reductions of the Options for Change, A and B Companies of the old 3rd RRW formed the new B (Rorke's Drift) Company in Cefn Fforest and Pontypool along with C (Pontypridd) Company in Pontypridd and Pentre. These companies however wouldn't last long as on 1 July 1999, as a result of the

, the 2nd (V) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales was disbanded to form part of the new

Royal Welsh Regiment The Royal Welsh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1999, until it was re-designated as the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh in 2006. History The regiment was formed in 1999 as part of th ...

. As a consequence, B (Rorke's Drift) Company was disbanded, while HQ Company and C Companies merged to form the new C (Royal Regiment of Wales) Company at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff with a platoon in Pontypridd.Mackinlay, p. 229 Under the Future Army Structure announced in 2004, the Royal Regiment of Wales was merged with the Royal Regiment of Wales and Royal Welch Fusiliers to form the new Royal Welsh. As a result of this merger, the Royal Welsh Regiment became the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Welsh on 1 March 2006 with no changes in companies.Mackinlay, p. 229 Under the Army 2020 programme announced in 2012, the company was to be consolidated, and is currently based at the Army Reserve Centre on The Broadway in Pontypridd. Under the

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reac ...

announced in 2017, the company was expanded and a new platoon was formed at the Bethesda Street drill hall in Georgetown,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

( Mid Glamorgan).

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

* * *{{Cite book, last=Mackinlay, first=Gordon Angus, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LVn8vgEACAAJ, title="A Moment in Time", The British Army at a Moment in Time – 1 July 2007: A Look at and from it of the makeup of the Regular and Territorial Army, publisher=University of East Anglia, year=2007, location=Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1971 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom 1971 establishments in Wales Battalions of the British Army