Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Light
From Zulu? Same unit?
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Men of Harlech was a Regimental March of my former unit the Royal Welch Fusilers and we marched off the parade square to it at my Passing Out Parade, so it means a lot to me.
(Incidently the Royal Welch Fusiliers fought at Bunker Hill and York Town to name a couple of battles you may have heard of! So I guess you can say you have a former Red Coat in your ranks!
)
With regards Rorke's Drift, the film is not entirely accurate. The unit that fought there was the 24th of Foot.
British Regiments weren't stricktly recruited on geographical basis, despite their names. In this case, the 24th Regiment of Foot was an English regiment that had been stationed in South Wales a few years before this action and it was ome years later renamed "The South Wales Borderers".
In later years, and especially through the film "Zulu!" the Welsh aspect has been played up, when in fact the nationalities of the Regiment were mixed.
There is a good write up about the film
here:
Still, what ever the fine detail of the history, the battle exemplified the epitome of bravery by both sides. 140 odd British troops armed with Martini Henry rifles against 4500 Zulu's, mostly with just hand weapons. 11 Victoria Crosses "were earned before breakfast"
In 2006, on a very sad day, the Royal Welch Fusiliers ceased to exist after 317 years of continous service to the Crown when they were amalgamated with the Royal Regiment of Wales (its self a decendent of the South Wales Borderers)
The new unit is the The Royal Welsh Regiment and is a light infantry unit that has already served with distinction in Afghanistan.
Sorry for going off topic!
Regards,
Peter