Does anything sing Wales more than the quintessential St David’s Day menu of leek and potato soup, lamb lunch and Welsh cakes for dessert?
Fusilier Llewellyn II, the Regimental mascot of 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh were presented with leeks to be worn on their berets.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh on parade.
Goat Major, Fusilier James Wright, with two-year-old Kashmir Regimental Goat, Fusilier Llewelyn II.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh on parade.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh on parade are presented with leeks.
This is what troops serving in Welsh units have enjoyed while celebrating the patron saint of Cymru, both on home soil and overseas.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh gathered for a parade at their base at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth with Goat Major, Fusilier James Wright, on his first official event with two-year-old Kashmir Regimental Goat, Fusilier Llewelyn II.
There is a lot of prestige that comes with the role of Goat Major and so much heritage to it."
James, from Bangor in North Wales, said: “To be stood in front of the battalion on St David’s Day is a very special as I’m a proud Welshman."
“There is a lot of prestige that comes with the role of Goat Major and so much heritage to it.”
The day started at dawn when the junior soldiers were woken by ‘Gunfire’, a term used for tea laced with rum.
Five of the youngest soldiers in each company then participated in a leek-eating ceremony, munching their way through whole raw pieces, before joining the rest of the battalion in a more flavoursome serving of leek and potato soup, roast lamb dinner and Welsh cakes.
Celebrating this day reconnects us with our heritage and those traditions which play a big part in our identity.
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Beard said: “Celebrating this day reconnects us with our heritage and those traditions which play a big part in our identity.
“St David displayed discipline, humility and courage – values that we hold dear in the British Army and in the Regiment, which are central to our Welsh Warrior ethos that enables our fighting spirit.”
Elsewhere, 60 soldiers from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards spent the day exercising their Freedom of Bridgend in front of family and loved ones, led by the Band of the Welsh Guards and joined by 50 cadets and 250 veterans from the Regimental Association.
The battalion, currently based in Windsor, was afforded the honour back in May, 2011, and regularly take part in parades in the other towns and cities across Wales.
Guardsman Iestyn Beach, who grew up in Bryncethin in Bridgend and has completed overseas training exercises and two Guard of Honour duties, described his pride in marching through his home town.
This gives me a real feeling of accomplishment in joining the battalion and is made even more special on St David’s Day by my family and friends watching on.
“This gives me a real feeling of accomplishment in joining the battalion and is made even more special on St. David’s Day by my family and friends watching on,” he said.
The Welsh Guards have a particularly busy year ahead, with upcoming deployments to Kenya, exercises on Salisbury Plain and a number of battlecamps in their midst.
And no matter where 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Cavalry) find themselves, they always take time out to ensure March 1st is celebrated.
C Squadron is currently on Operation Cabrit in Poland and are working alongside the US, Croatian, Romanian and Polish armies as a part of a multinational battlegroup.
St David’s Day is an important tradition for us, offering a vital connection to our Welsh heritage no matter where we are deployed in the world."
Lieutenant Isabella Mackenzie said: “St. David’s Day is an important tradition for us, offering a vital connection to our Welsh heritage no matter where we are deployed in the world.
“This year, our celebrations took place both back at Robertson Barracks in Norfolk, where we are based, and here in Poland.
“Marking this day whilst on operations serves as a reminder of who we are and where we come from, providing a connection back home and allowing the soldiers a bit of fun and down time during the busy operational schedule.
“We also have a leek-eating competition as well as some rugby games between QDG soldiers and the Rest of the World, which will be just as competitive.”
Operation Cabrit is a British military operation that helps defend NATO’s eastern flank in Europe.
British troops are stationed in both Poland and Estonia and have been present in both countries since 2016.
