Welsh Guards

Welsh Guards
Cap badge of the Welsh Guards[a]
Active	1915–present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	1st Battalion – Light Mechanised Infantry
Size	1 Battalion (579 personnel)[1]
Part of	Guards and Parachute Division
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – London 1st Battalion – Windsor
Motto(s)	Welsh: Cymru am Byth ("Wales Forever/Long live Wales")
March	Quick – Rising of the Lark Slow – Men of Harlech
Anniversaries	1 March (St David's Day)
Commanders
Commanding Officer	Lt Col Andrew Breach
Colonel-in-Chief	The King
Colonel of the Regiment	The Prince of Wales
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Plume	White/Green/White Left side of Bearskin cap
Abbreviation	WG

The Welsh Guards (WG; Welsh: Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. Shortly after the regiment's formation, it was deployed to France where it took part in the fighting on the Western Front until the end of the war in November 1918. During the inter-war years, the regiment undertook garrison duties in the United Kingdom, except between 1929 and 1930 when it deployed to Egypt, and late 1939 when it deployed to Gibraltar.

The regiment was expanded to three battalions during the Second World War, and served in France, North Africa, Tunisia, Italy and Western Europe. In the post war period, the regiment was reduced to a single battalion and saw service in Palestine, Egypt, West Germany, Aden, Northern Ireland, and Cyprus. In 1982, the regiment took part in the Falklands War. In the 21st century, the regiment has deployed as peacekeepers to Bosnia, and on operations to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).