Re-dedications of Welsh Soldiers from the Great War

Between 17-21 June 2019, members of the 1st Battalion (Bn) The Royal Welsh deployed to France and Belgium to lay to rest three soldiers of our antecedent regiments, the Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF) and the South Wales Borderers (SWB) who died during the Great War and were initially buried as unknown soldiers.

The Joint Compassionate Care Centre (JCCC) not only deals with the modern medical and welfare needs of the army, including repatriation, but also conducts investigations for historical cases involving British service personnel. It is from this role that the task of rededicating three Welsh soldiers came about. The first stop on the visit was the Mametz Wood memorial, a striking red dragon on white stone plinth, dedicated to the soldiers of the 38th Welsh Division. These Welsh soldiers faced a bitter struggle for control of the woods sustaining thousands of casualties – a stark awakening for those who deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, or more recently to Estonia, where this scale of combat could be re-lived if deterrence ever failed.