Welsh Guards Association

Within six months of the end of the 1914-18 War, senior Welsh Guardsmen met under the chairmanship of the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel Murray-Threipland, to consider the formation of a Welsh Guards Comrades Association “to maintain connection between the past and serving members of the Welsh Guards and thereby promote their mutual interest and welfare of the Regiment generally”.

There were other objectives, which included “the circulation of information concerning the regiment and to encourage desirable candidates to join” and “to arrange social gatherings in suitable places”. At a meeting in Cardiff on 29th November 1919, it was agreed to form local Branches.  A copy of the Minutes from this very first General Meeting of the Association can be read here.  In 1965, “Comrades” was omitted from the Association title to encourage serving soldiers to be active members and the links between past and present have continued and are greatly enjoyed.

Until 1992 the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel was President, and the Superintending Clerk at Regimental Headquarters was the General Secretary. In that year a regimental office was opened at Maindy Barracks, Cardiff and a past-serving Guardsman from within the Association became General Secretary, a position later changed to Secretary-General. Newsletters were introduced in the 1970s and at the same time the Association Report became the Welsh Guards Magazine.

Association events have included a biennial dinner, darts and shooting competitions, battlefield tours and numerous of other occasions which bring past and present Welsh Guardsmen together, none more so than on St David’s Day. The branches form the heart of the Association and are administered by enthusiastic volunteers who arrange many social events and uphold the standards and traditions of the Regiment in their areas.

Following a reorganisation of the regimental funds in 2014 it was agreed that the Association Fund would be transferred to the Welsh Guards Association and used for the purposes of that charity. The Welsh Guards Association was registered with the Charity Commission on 9 October 2014 and as a result of a uniting direction (made on 29 October 2014) made by the Charity Commission it is regarded as part of the Welsh Guards Charity for registration and accounting. The Welsh Guards Association is thus linked to the Welsh Guards Charity but it still retains its own charitable status, as Charity Commission number 1152766-1. However, it continues to be governed by the terms of its Constitution and is administered by its own Trustee body. The purposes of the Welsh Guards Association are:

• To promote the efficiency of the Welsh Guards by fostering esprit de corps and by such other means as the trustees shall from time to time determine.
• To assist persons who are currently serving or who have served in the Welsh Guards and the dependants of such persons who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress.
• To commemorate and remember those members, or former members, of the Welsh Guards who have lost their lives or suffered injury, or put themselves at risk of loss of life or injury, in service to the public.

2017 saw further changes within the Association, not least the amalgamation of several branches (the details of which can be read in the Summer 2017 Newsletter here), the formation of a new voluntary post of Deputy Secretary General and the cessation of the posting of hard copy Newsletters (at a cost of over £3,000), to be replaced by a downloadable newsletter which is sent electronically to all Branch Secretaries (and held on this website) and which can be either read online or printed and handed to those not connected.

2019 saw the Association celebrate its centenary and the details of the celebratory lunch held at the Angel Hotel, Cardiff on Friday 20th September can be found here with the Centenary Brochure available to read online here. 

Battlefield Tour

Each year the Association conducts a Battlefield Tour and the details of this will be found in the events section of this website about 9 months prior to the tour.  Spaces are limited and those wishing to attend should reserve their seat as soon as details are released.  The Terms of Reference can be found here.

There are a number of association branches around the UK. Their details are listed below.

Download the latest Association Newsletter