40th ANNIVERSARIES

[Rog Ball 01]

This year I have two anniversaries which are very dear to me. These are:

1. My 40th Wedding Anniversary, and

2. As you are all aware,the League of Friends 40th anniversary.

There are two further 40th anniversaries, one affecting the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Caernarvon and the other affecting our sister regiment. These are:

1. The investiture of the Princes of Wales; where the Royal Welch Fusiliers provided a Royal Guard of Honour for our Colonel in Chief at the susbstitute station, and provided a Royal Guard of Honour on the queyside in Caernarvon. This was also the last puiblic engagement of the 1st Bn prior to their departure to Hong Kong.

2. The amalgamation of the South Wales Borders and The Welch Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st). Once the Prince of wales had been crowned in the Castle, he became the Colonel in Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales.

It is nice to have one 40th in a lifetime, two have two is even nicer, but to have three is out of this world.

[davecrim]

Rog,

I 'un'fortunatly will be celebrating two 40th's on the same day (25 Apr 09);

My 40th birthday and the 40th Reunion of the League of Friends.

[jcj]

This year I have two anniversaries which are very dear to me. These are:

1. My 40th Wedding Anniversary, and

2. As you are all aware,the League of Friends 40th anniversary.

There are two further 40th anniversaries, one affecting the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Caernarvon and the other affecting our sister regiment. These are:

1. The investiture of the Princes of Wales; where the Royal Welch Fusiliers provided a Royal Guard of Honour for our Colonel in Chief at the susbstitute station, and provided a Royal Guard of Honour on the queyside in Caernarvon. This was also the last puiblic engagement of the 1st Bn prior to their departure to Hong Kong.

2. The amalgamation of the South Wales Borders and The Welch Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st). Once the Prince of wales had been crowned in the Castle, he became the Colonel in Chief of the Royal Regiment of Wales.

It is nice to have one 40th in a lifetime, two have two is even nicer, but to have three is out of this world.

Two of the above events bring the memories flooding back for me. On the Amalgamation of the 24th & 41st in Cardiff Castle I was a Pte soldier in the 24th and no 7 front rank no 1 Guard.At the investiture of HRH POW in Caernafon I was a Pte soldier in A Coy 1RRW and we were tasked as street lining troops in Caernafon on route to the castle (nearly got trampled by some Household Cavalry pillocks, sure they did it on purpose) Was it really forty years ago it seems like yesterday.