The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the English and British armies. It was raised in 1689 as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot and was renamed the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1751. In 1782, the regiment was renamed the 24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot.
Based at Brecon from 1873, the regiment recruited from the border counties of Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. It was renamed to the South Wales Borderers in 1881 as a result the Childers Reforms. The regiment served in several major conflicts, including the American War of Independence, various conflicts in India, the Zulu War, Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the Welch Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Wales.
History
Early history
The regiment was raised by Sir Edward Dering, 3rd Baronet as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot in 1689, becoming known, like other regiments, by the names of its subsequent colonels. The regiment served under the Duke of Schomberg during the Williamite War in Ireland and then saw action again at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704 and at the Battle of Blenheim in August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession.
The regiment was part of the British amphibious expedition to the Caribbean during the War of Jenkins' Ear which culminated in the disastrous Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741 . In 1751, the regiment was renamed the 24th Regiment of Foot. It took part in the siege of Fort St Philip in Menorca in April 1756 during the Seven Years' War, where the regiment was captured by the victorious French before eventually being released. The regiment was also took part in the British naval descents on the French coast which culminated in the disastrous Battle of Saint-Cast in September 1758.An Authentic Account of our last attempt on the Coast of France by an Officer who miraculously escaped being cut to pieces, by Swimming to a Boat at a considerable distance from the shore., London, 1758.
In June 1776 the regiment was sent to Quebec where it fought American rebels who had invaded the province as part of the American War of Independence. The regiment was part of the 5,000 British and Hessian troops under Lieutenant-general John Burgoyne which surrendered to the Americans in the Saratoga campaign in summer 1777 and remained imprisoned until 1783. In 1782 it was renamed the 24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot.
The regiment was deployed to Egypt in the aftermath of the Battle of Abukir in March 1801; a 2nd Battalion was raised in 1804 which suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809 during the Peninsular War. The regiment was involved in the 1806 invasion of the Cape Colony where it saw action at the Battle of Blaauwberg. The vast majority of the 1st Battalion was captured at sea by the French at the action of 3 July 1810 near the Comoro Islands; they had been on the East Indiamen Astell, Ceylon and Windham when a French frigate squadron captured the last two ships. They were released the following year. The 1st Battalion took part in the Anglo-Nepalese War in November 1814. The regiment was deployed to Canada in 1829 and remained there until 1842.
Second Sikh War and Indian Mutiny
The regiment returned to India in 1846 and saw action during the Second Anglo-Sikh War at the Battle of Chillianwala in January 1849, where the regiment fought off the enemy with bayonets rather than rifles and 255 of its men died. Meanwhile, five Victoria Crosses were awarded to men of the regiment who rescued their colleagues from cannibals on the Andaman Islands in May 1867. Some 35 soldiers of the regiment were killed by mutineers at their garrison in Jhelum in July 1857 during the Indian Rebellion: among the dead was Captain Francis Spring, the eldest son of Colonel William Spring.
Zulu War
Isandlwana
In 1879 both battalions took part in the Anglo-Zulu War, begun after a British invasion of Zululand, ruled by Cetshwayo. The 24th Regiment of Foot took part in the crossing of the Buffalo River on 11 January, entering Zululand. The first engagement (and the most disastrous for the British) came at Isandlwana. The British had pitched camp at Isandlwana and not established any fortifications due to the sheer size of the force, the hard ground and a shortage of entrenching tools. The 24th Foot provided most of the British force and when the overall commander, Lord Chelmsford, split his forces on 22 January to search for the Zulus, the 1st Battalion (5 companies) and a company of the 2nd Battalion were left behind to guard the camp, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pulleine (CO of the 1/24th Foot).
A Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians.Knight (2002), p. 49, Knight gives a total of 1,768 combat troops, not including wagon drivers and other civilians, of which there were some 350, Colenso, p. 263 During the battle Lieutenant-Colonel Pulleine ordered Lieutenants Coghill and Melvill to save the Queen's Colour—the Regimental Colour was located at Helpmekaar with G Company. The two Lieutenants attempted to escape by crossing the Buffalo River where the Colour fell and was lost downstream, later being recovered. Both officers were killed. At this time the Victoria Cross (VC) was not awarded posthumously. This changed in the early 1900s when both Lieutenants were awarded posthumous Victoria Crosses for their bravery. The Battle of Isandlwana was dramatized in the 1979 movie Zulu Dawn.
Rorke's Drift
After the battle of Isandlwana, some 4,000 to 5,000 Zulus headed for Rorke's Drift, a small missionary post garrisoned by a company of the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Foot, a few native levies, and others under the command of Lieutenant Chard, Royal Engineers. The most senior officer of the 24th present was Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. Two Boer cavalry officers, Lieutenants Adendorff and Vane, arrived to inform the garrison of the defeat at Isandlwana. The Acting Assistant Commissary James Dalton persuaded Bromhead and Chard to stay and the small garrison frantically prepared rudimentary fortifications.Knight (1996), p. 25
The Zulus first attacked at 4:30 pm. Throughout the day the garrison was attacked from all sides, including rifle fire from the heights above the garrison, and bitter hand-to-hand fighting often ensued. At one point the Zulus entered the hospital, which was stoutly defended by the wounded inside until it was set alight and eventually burnt down. The battle raged on into the early hours of 23 January but by dawn the Zulu Army had withdrawn. Lord Chelmsford and a column of British troops arrived soon afterwards. The garrison had suffered 15 killed during the battle (two died later) and 11 defenders were awarded the Victoria Cross for their distinguished defence of the post, seven going to soldiers of the 24th Foot.Whybra, pp. 71–72 The stand at Rorke's Drift was immortalised in the 1964 movie Zulu.
Childers Reforms The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at The Barracks, Brecon from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. However, it now had close links with South Wales, with a number of Militia and Volunteer battalions from the region linked to it. The 3rd (Militia) Battalion was formed of the former Royal South Wales Borderers Militia and the 4th from the Royal Montgomeryshire Rifles. It also had four (later five) Volunteer Battalions attached to it. The depot was the 25th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 24th Regimental District depot thereafter Under the reforms the regiment became The South Wales Borderers on 1 July 1881.
The 1st Battalion was stationed in Egypt from 1892, then moved to British India. The battalion had various postings, including at Peshawar until late 1902 when it was posted to Mian Mir outside Lahore. The 1st Battalion remained in India until December 1910, when it was redeployed to garrison Chatham.
The 2nd Battalion was deployed to Burma and saw action in November 1885 during the Third Anglo-Burmese War.
Second Boer War 2nd Battalion arrived in Cape Colony in early February 1900 and saw action at the Battle of Elands River in September 1901 during the Second Boer War. During its service in South Africa the 2nd Bn was supplemented by a Volunteer Service Company provided by the regiment's volunteer battalions, which served as 'I' Company.Owen, pp. 145–51.
The 3rd (Militia) Battalion was embodied in January 1900, and the following month embarked for service in South Africa, arriving in Cape Town on the SS Cheshire in early March 1900. The 4th (Militia) Battalion was embodied for garrison duty at home.
Haldane Reforms In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally (the Haldane Reforms), with the former becoming the Territorial Force (TF) and the latter the Special Reserve (SR). The regiment now had one SR battalion (the 3rd (Reserve) Bn at Brecon Barracks) and one TF battalion (the 1st Brecknockshire Bn at Conway Street drill hall, Brecon). The all-TF Monmouthshire Regiment comprising three battalions was also affiliated to it.Frederick, pp. 171–3.
First World War
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division with the British Expeditionary Force in August 1914 for service on the Western Front.James, p. 68.
The 2nd Battalion landed at Laoshan Bay for operations against the German territory of Tsingtao in September 1914 and saw action at the Siege of Tsingtao in October 1914. After returning home in January 1915, the 2nd Battalion landed at Cape Helles as part of the 87th Brigade in the 29th Division in April 1915; it was evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 and then landed at Marseille in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.
Special Reserve The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion served at Pembroke Dock and later at Hightown, near Liverpool in home defence while supplying thousands of reinforcements for the regular battalions overseas.
Territorial Force The 1/1st Brecknockshire Battalion sailed to India attached to the 44th (Home Counties) Division in October 1914. After arriving at Bombay in December it immediately moved to Aden. After seeing action at the Battle of Lahej in July 1915 it returned to Bombay. It remained in garrison at Mhow until October 1919, supplying reinforcement drafts to the 4th (Service) Battalion, SWB, in Mesopotamia and to the units involved in the Third Anglo-Afghan War.Fact Sheet B18 at South Wales Borderers Museum.|access-date=3 July 2016
The 2/1st and 3/1st Brecknockshire battalions were formed in September 1914 and April 1915 respectively to provide TF reinforcements. Both were absorbed into other Welsh reserve units as the war progressed.
New Armies The 4th (Service) Battalion was formed at Brecon in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's 1st Army ('K1'). It landed in Gallipoli as part of the 40th Infantry Brigade of the 13th (Western) Division on 15 July 1915; it was evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 and moved to Egypt and then to Mesopotamia.
The 5th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers), formed as a K2 unit in September 1914, landed at Le Havre as part of the 58th Infantry Brigade of the 19th (Western) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front.
The 6th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers), a K3 unit formed in September 1914, landed at Le Havre as part of the 76th Infantry Brigade of the 25th Division in September 1915 for service on the Western Front.