Riflemen bid fond farewell to South East Wales – for now

Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles have paraded through Chepstow days before embarking on a two-year deployment to Cyprus. 

The battalion has been based at Beachley Barracks since 2007 and will return to Wales in 2025. They will then remain at Beachley until new multi-million-pound facilities are in place at what will be a refurbished Caerwent Station.  

As part of the Future Soldier announcement, Wales will see an increase in the percentage of the Army from 1.7% to 2.4%. The increased Army footprint in Wales will be supported by £320 million worth of investment.  During the parade in Chepstow Town Centre, soldiers also had the pleasure of meeting The Duke of Kent, who is Royal Colonel of 1 Rifles.

 Lieutenant Colonel Colin Oliver said his soldiers will conduct a move to Dhekelia – part of the sovereign base area of British Forces Cyprus, which is run and administered on behalf of Defence and the United Kingdom. 

He said: “Cyprus is a hugely significant location for the UK, sitting as it does on the nexus of three continents, with Turkey around 50 miles to the north, Syria and Lebanon approximately 70 miles to the east and Egypt 240 miles to the south.    

“Whilst there, we will be asked to do a number of important tasks, including security for the strategic military sites and critical national infrastructure.   

Chepstow has been extremely good to this battalion since its arrival in 2007.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL COLIN OLIVER, COMMANDING OFFICER 1 RIFLES

“We will also act as the Regional Standby Battalion, based at high readiness to act as a versatile, forward-based, acclimatised infantry battalion able to undertake a wide range of short-notice, low-threat, niche or small operations, primarily focused on the Middle East and North Africa.”  
 
1 Rifles will take on this role from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment
 
Lt Col Oliver said: “Chepstow has been extremely good to this battalion since its arrival in 2007.  Whilst here, the battalion has deployed on numerous operational tours to Afghanistan and Iraq and to multiple overseas exercises in countries such as Kenya and Belize.  
 
“We have also supported numerous UK domestic efforts – in particular when there was flooding in Wales and also during the Covid-19 response in providing ambulance drivers and vaccination teams and, most recently, providing instructors to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces.   
 
“Throughout all that, Beachley Barracks and Chepstow has been our home and we have always been looked after and treated with respect. Rifleman have been married here, have had children here, have settled here and have died whilst based here and we have memorials to them, both in our own Remembrance garden and in the Commonwealth War Grave in Beachley.   

Rifleman have been married here, have had children here, have settled here and have died whilst based here and we have memorials to them, both in our own Remembrance garden and in the Commonwealth War Grave in Beachley. 

LT COL OLIVER

 

1 Rifles will return to Wales in the Summer of 2025 to take on a new role as a Light Mechanised Battalion driving Foxhound vehicles, prior to moving into a new station at Caerwent when the building project is complete towards the end of the decade, as will 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Cavalry).  

Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) is the single biggest estates change programme within Defence, bringing together an ambitious portfolio of interdependent programmes, construction activity, unit and personnel moves and land release. It will invest £5.1bn in a better-structured, modern and more sustainable estate that improves security, resilience, and military capability. 
 
A spokesperson for DEO said: "As part of the optimisation process, Defence will dispose of sites that are no longer suitable for military requirements. This is a natural by-product of the enhancement of the defence estate to provide the infrastructure needed by a modern expeditionary force. 
 
"Disposing of these sites create opportunities for alternative use, resulting in regeneration, business growth and job creation within the local area. 

"Beachley Barracks has historically been administered by HQ 160th (Welsh) Brigade due to its proximity to Wales across the River Wye, although geographically it is located in England."  
 
Under DEO plans, 1 Rifles will move to new build facilities at Caerwent Barracks. Their current location, Beachley Barracks – which is not suited to the modern needs to the Armed Forces and for this purpose is not cost effective to run – will be disposed of in 2029. 
 
The site has been identified for a mixed-use development of housing and employment, however, planning is still in the early stages. 
 
The units relocating to Caerwent are: 1st Battalion The Rifles, currently located in Beachley Barracks, Chepstow; 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Cavalry) currently located in Robertson Barracks, Swanton Morley, Norfolk: and a detachment from 20 Army Education Centre.