The Welsh Guards, Wooden Soldier - Trooping the Colour the Queens Birthday Parade, history of the Welsh Guards

The Welsh Guards - Trooping the Colour, the Queen's Birthday Parade.
My limited edition soldier depicts a Queens Guardsman c.1914

The Welsh Guards

Changing the Guard is one of the oldest and most familiar ceremonies associated with Buckingham Palace. The proper name of the ceremony known as Changing the Guard is actually Guard Mounting. In this process a New Guard exchanges duty with the Old Guard, drawn from one of the regiments of Foot Guards.

The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. Since 1660, Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry. They still mount guard at Horse Guards Arch today, although occasionally units such as The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, take over to enable the Household Cavalry to carry out their operational commitments.

In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today. When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building; when she is away there are two.

There are five Regiments of Foot Guards in the Houshold Cavalry. The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards, The Scots Guards, The Irish Guards and The Welsh Guards.

The Welsh Guards were formed after the Great War had been in progress for six months on the 26th of February, 1915, by order of HM King George V. The number of Welshmen transferring from other Regiments made it possible for the 1st Battalion to mount Guard at Buckingham Palace three days later on St. David's Day. The Regiment is thus one of the youngest in the British Army.

The Welsh Guards first saw action at Loos in September 1915, and fought with the Guards Division on Western Front for the rest of the Great War.In World War Two two battalions served with the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940, and went on to fight in the ranks of the Guards Armoured Divison in North-West Europe. The third battaltion fought in North Africa and Italy with the 8th Army.

The Welsh Guards Company moto is Hwy clod na hoedl - Fame lasts longer than life.

Strictly Limited Edition Welsh Guard - Wooden Soldier

Click here for details of the large hand carved wooden Welsh Guard along with our range of Ceremonial Soldiers.

Click here for my 17 inch, trophy sized Welsh Guard.

Wooden Soldier Regimental Histories

All of my wooden soldiers are made in strictly limited editions, click here for a regimental history of each soldier.