Welcome, Here are all (thus far) the relevant National Archive documentsrelating to 53rd Welsh Division. Some documents may miss Appendix, traces etc - these are available in the original sources and I recommend going to the National Archives at Kew if you want to view these, as I do not yet have a suitable camera! Basic Background 53rd Welsh Division changed many times prior to its deployment to Normandy with the one real constant being the 158 (Royal Welch) and 160 (South Wales) Brigades being the reliable Terrier background. These Brigades performed exceptionally well - alongside the Royal Engineer Companies pre-war and are highly praised in contemporary articles for the times. They were joined ultimately by 71 Infantry Brigade: 1st Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Regiment (refered to as 1 Ox and Bucks for simplicty's sake.) 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment (refered to as 1 East Lancs) 1st Battalion Highland Light Infantry (refered to as 1HLI) With the other Brigades enjoying titles, and the men of 71 Infantry Brigade were 'foreigners' within the 53rd Welsh Division they adopted the humourous, unofficial but most definately important title of 'International' Brigade. Each Battalion retained its pre-war identity and traditions, with 4th Welch even taking the specially made 'Sospan Fach' to Normandy with them. I hope this area gives any veterans from the 53rd, their decendants, families and the students of history the chance to learn the story of this great Division in its rawest form. This is not all the information out there however, there are several acceptable books, a few good books, and a couple of excellent books on the Division (which will be linked to later). And hopefully mine can one day join the ranks of the better books! Any C+C/Queries please pop them in the 53rd Documents Queries sticky so that I can address them. Finally any stories, copies of photos etc drop me a PM or email. Regards, Jonathan
Hi Swiper Thankyou for all your work on the 4th Battalion Welch Regiment. I wondered if you planned to put any more of the Battalion's diary on the net - Nov 1944 to May 1945? Regards and thankyou A. Jones
hi was the 6th field regiment with the 53rd. my father was with them at maidstone just before d-day , thanks. ps is that the 53rd welsh arm patch?