Do keep checking this site for more news on the Battalion’s 2012 tour as we have it,
as well as developments for the Appeal.
For fundraising and other events, see the Events section.
• Welsh Guards’ return to Afghanistan March 2012.
Three years after its launch in summer 2009, the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal is re-mobilising in anticipation of the Welsh Guards’ return to Afghanistan in March of this year. Much has been done to date to help Welsh Guardsmen and dependants in need of support, but we know that another tour inevitably means that others will need help, both for the short and long term. Like any professional military unit lst Battalion Welsh Guards will face the challenges of its forthcoming operational tour with confidence and we can be sure that they will serve with distinction. While doing so they will take comfort from knowing that a truly effective support network is there for each of them and their dependants if needed – the Appeal is designed to help ensure that they get all the help they need.
• Lance Sergeant Dan Collins
All of us at the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal were very distressed to hear about the suicide of Lance Sergeant Daniel Collins on New Year’s Day in Wales. Dan was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was receiving treatment and other help from a number of sources, including the Welsh Guards family. His death is a painful reminder that our veterans sometimes need complex long-term support, which is just what the Appeal seeks to help provide.
• Welsh Guards march on Red Square. 09 May 10.
Dressed in ceremonial red tunics and bearskins, Welsh Guardsmen made history on 9th May as they marched in Red Square for Russia’s Victory Day celebrations marking the anniversary of the end of the Second World War, their first major parade since returning from Afghanistan.Members of Number 2 Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards were the first British soldiers to join the annual military parade, which commemorates victory over Nazi Germany in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.
> See link for more on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8669975.stm
• Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe’s father pays tribute to his son and to the Welsh Guards. 30 Apr 10.
Maj John Thorneloe spoke movingly after his son’s inquest on 30th April.
> See video clip on the BBC website at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8669975.stm
• Welsh Guardsmen receive standing ovation from 21,000 Cardiff City fans. 18 Oct 09.
A group of Welsh Guardsmen received a 5 minute standing ovation from Bluebirds fans at Cardiff City’s home match against Crystal Palace on Saturday, 18 October. The group, including injured Guardsmen, were treated as VIP guests by the club and scores of wristbands were sold in aid of the Appeal.
> To read more click here
> To see a clip of the Welsh Guardsmen marching onto the pitch and receiving their heroes’ welcome click here
• Welsh Guards return to Aldershot after completing their operational tour. 09 Oct 09.
The Battalion has now returned to Lille Barracks, Aldershot after completing their gruelling but successful tour. There were emotional scenes as families met some of those returning on a rainy night on Wednesday 07 October.
> For one video report and article: click here
• Commanding Officer reflects on his Battalion’s achievements after a ‘long and difficult summer’ as the Welsh Guards prepare to fly home. 24 Sep 09.
1st Battalion Welsh Guards Commanding Officer, Lt Col Charles Antelme has spoken about the Welsh Guards’ operational tour of Afghanistan as he prepares to bring the Battalion home. See the link below from Wales Online: Welsh Guards to fly home
BBC ’s Kate Silverton reports on the reopening of the school in Basaran as ‘a poignant legacy of two soldiers from the Welsh Guards who were killed in Afghanistan shortly before the school they had been helping to renovate was completed’. 10 Sep 09.
> See TV news report: click here
• Welsh Guards transform the ‘badlands’ of Afghanistan – 10 Sep 09:
IX Company, Welsh Guards have been fulfilling commitments made to the local people of Basaran, Helmand by their Company Commander, the late Maj Sean Birchall, before he was killed in a roadside explosion in June. The only school in the area is about to be reopened after IX Company provided security and funds for its reconstruction, as part of a stabilization package for Basaran.
> Click here to see this story
• Welsh Guards launch their Afghanistan Appeal to support both Welsh Guardsmen and the families of those Killed in Action or wounded in Afghanistan.
The Welsh Guards announce the launch of the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal (“the Appeal”) today, created to support Welsh Guardsmen and the families of soldiers killed or severely wounded in Afghanistan. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Regiment, is Patron of the Appeal.
All monies raised through the Appeal will be used towards ensuring that seriously wounded Welsh Guardsmen, particularly those who may have to leave the Army as a result of their injuries, and their families have access to the short and longer term rehabilitation programmes and facilities required upon their return from duty. This includes the provision of ongoing medical and psychological treatment often required in prolonged recovery situations, the search for new employment for Welsh Guardsmen no longer able to serve, and re-integration into family and community life.
Additionally, funds donated will be dedicated to helping the Welsh Guards shoulder Regimental responsibilities to the families and dependents of Welsh Guardsmen who lost their lives whilst serving with distinction on Afghanistan. This will include the provision of critical support to those suffering bereavement and hardship. Since the Regiment’s first full operational tour of Helmand Province began in March 2009, five Welsh Guardsmen have lost their lives and many others have sustained severe injuries, some of whom will require ongoing support for the rest of their lives.
The Welsh Guards Regiment takes the responsibilities to serving and former Welsh Guardsmen and their dependents extremely seriously. Those donating to the Appeal will help the Welsh Guards effect the rapid deployment of funds to Regimental casualties resulting from the Afghanistan conflict and their families so that they receive the comprehensive support that will be needed.
Commenting on the launch of the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards and Patron of the Appeal, said:
“As Colonel of the Regiment, I am proud to be the Patron of the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal. The Welsh Guards continue to serve with great distinction in Afghanistan. Like other Regiments, they have borne their share of casualties as they carry out their difficult and dangerous work.” “It is vital that those Welsh Guardsmen who have given so much to this country and their Regiment know that they and their dependents will be cared for and supported should the need arise. The Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal will play a key role in providing this support in the short and the long term, as the wider Regimental family plays its part. I commend the Appeal and ask all those who can to support its admirable work.”
Colonel Sandy Malcolm, Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Welsh Guards, said:
“The Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal is important to us as it will enable the Regiment to support the families of our soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan in the years ahead. The Battalion have had a very tough tour and losing so many and taking so many casualties means that the more support we receive, the greater the benefits we can give to those in need and who deserve our help. We are a very close Regiment who care passionately about our men and families. Any support, large or small, would be hugely appreciated – thank you if you are able to do so.”
Sally Thorneloe, wife of the late Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards who was killed on 1st July 2009, said:
“My husband, Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, Commanding Officer 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in action in Afghanistan on July 1st 2009. It is a cause he deeply believed in. To this end my admiration and adoration of both him and the Battalion will be ever lasting. At home his death has given me and our daughters a life that we do not want. Sadly we are not alone in our loss.”
“Many Welsh Guardsmen and their families have suffered and will suffer this unbearable pain, or the loss of parts of theirs lives that will be changed forever. My wish is that their pain and suffering may be blessed with the amazing support that the Welsh Guards have given us. The loyalty, compassion and sheer determination of this Battalion to fight in the face of such adversity is truly outstanding.”
“I fully support the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal. The funds it raises will go a long way towards helping the welfare of those families whose lives have been touched by this campaign forever.”