West Wales has an illustrious and rich military heritage, and this heritage was brought to the fore during the Great War, when several local units played their part in the successful winning of the greatest conflict the world had seen. As well as the Royal Naval Dockyards at Pembroke, and the various Royal Air Force bases throughout West Wales, the area also gave rise to several army units.
The Pembroke Yeomanry was the oldest of these units, fighting in Egypt before being merged with the Glamorgan Yeomanry to form the 24th (Pembroke and Glamorgan Yeomanry) Battalion, Welsh Regiment in 1917. It returned to its role of Yeomanry after the war, and during World War Two served as a Royal Artillery unit.
The 4th Battalion, Welsh Regiment was the local Territorial infantry unit, and fought in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine during the Great War. During World War Two it landed in Normandy at the end of June 1944, and took part in the advance through Belgium and Holland into Germany.
The 15th (Carmarthenshire) Battalion, Welsh Regiment was raised in 1914 and fought on the Western Front with great success, as part of the 38th (Welsh) Division, during the Great War. It was reformed during World War Two and remained on home service.
The Pembrokeshire Royal Garrison Artillery had originally been formed to guard the Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock defences, and during the Great War supplied many recruits to other Royal Garrison Artillery batteries.
The Welsh Field Company, Royal Engineers was a Llanelli based unit, which fought at Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division.
Some details of these and other local units can be found by clicking the appropriate links below. These pages are a work in progress and more information and photographs will be added as time allows.