The 1st Denbighshire Rifle Volunteers, later 4th (Denbighshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, was a Welsh unit of the British Army's auxiliary forces. First raised in 1860, it served as a pioneer battalion with the 47th (2nd London) Division on the Western Front during World War I and with the 53rd (Welsh) Division in North West Europe during World War II. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army through a series of mergers until finally amalgamating with another Welsh battalion in 1999.
Volunteer Force An invasion scare in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain, composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8. The following units were raised in Denbighshire, North Wales:Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 303.Westlake, Rifle Volunteers, pp. 57–8.Army List, various dates.4th Bn RWF at Regiments.org.Maude, Appendix F. 1st (Wrexham) Denbighshire RVC, formed with two companies on 30 June 1860, with Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 6th Baronet, in command (Williams-Wynn was the local MP and also lieutenant-colonel of the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry) 2nd (Ruabon) Denbighshire RVC, formed 12 April 1860; Lt-Col Richard Blackwood-Prce, retired from the Royal Artillery (RA), was commissioned as captain-commandant on 7 May 3rd (Denbigh & Ruabon) Denbighshire RVC, formed 21 July 1860, with its drill hall at 9 Love Lane, Denbigh 4th (Vale of Gresford) Denbighshire RVC, formed 10 September 1860, 5th (Gwersyllt) Denbighshire RVC formed in 1860 6th (Ruthin) Denbighshire RVC, formed 20 February 1861 under the command of Denbighshire landowner and politician William Cornwallis-West 7th (Chirk) Denbighshire RVC, formed 24 August 1861 8th (Llanrwst) Denbighshire RVC, formed 25 October 1861; disbanded after January 1865 9th (Wrexham) Denbighshire RVC, formed June 1861; disbanded in October 1861
These units were grouped into the 1st Administrative Battalion, Denbighshire Rifle Volunteers, formed at Ruabon on 10 September 1860. Williams-Wynn was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the admin battalion on 27 January 1862. A new 9th (Llangollen) Denbighshire RVC was formed on 6 June 1868.
When the RVCs were consolidated in February 1880 the admin battalion became the 1st Denbighshire Rifle Volunteers with the following organisation:
A & B Companies at Wrexham – from 1st Denbighshire RVC C Company at Ruabon– from 2nd Denbighshire RVC D Company at Denbigh – from 3rd Denbighshire RVC E Company at Gresford and Chirk – from 4th and 7th Denbighshire RVCs F Company at Gwersyllt – from 5th Denbighshire RVC G Company at Ruthin – from 6th Denbighshire RVC H Company at Llangollen – from 9th Denbighshire RVC
The consolidated battalion moved its headquarters (HQ) from Ruabon to Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn's house at Wynnstay. He remained in command until his death in 1885, when he was succeeded by William Cornwallis-West, who had raised the 6th (Ruthin) Denbighshire RVC.Burke's: 'Williams-Wynn'.
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Volunteers were brigaded with their local Regular and Militia battalions – Sub-District No 23 in Western District for the Denbighshire Battalion, grouped with the 23rd Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers).Spiers, pp. 195–6. The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, and the Volunteers were formally affiliated to their local Regular regiment, the 1st Denbighshire becoming a volunteer battalion of the RWF on 1 July 1881; it was redesignated 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers in June 1884.'Militia and Volunteers: Territorial Battalions of the RWF 1908–2008' at RWF Museum Archive.
While the sub-districts were later referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the RWF formed part of the Welsh Brigade, later moving to the Welsh Border Brigade (renamed the North Welsh Border Brigade in the 1900s).
After Black Week in December 1899, the Volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the Regulars in the Second Boer War. The War Office decided that one company 116 strong could be recruited from the volunteer battalions of any infantry regiment that had a regular battalion serving in South Africa. The RWF VBs accordingly raised a service company that joined the 1st Battalion and earned the volunteer battalions their first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–02.Beckett, p. 213. The 1st VB was expanded to 11 companies in 1900.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st VB became the 4th (Denbighshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, organised as follows:London Gazette 20 March 1908.Conrad, 1914.Denbighshire at Great War Centenary Drill Halls. Battalion HQ and A Company at Poyser Street drill hall, Wrexham B Company at Gresford, with a drill station at Ruthin C Company at Llangollen Road, Acrefair, near Ruabon D Company at Love Lane, Denbigh E Company at Coedpath F Company at Gwersyllt G Company at Rhosllanerchrugog H Company at Market Street Memorial Hall, Llangollen, with a drill station at Station Road, Chirk
The battalion formed part of the North Wales Brigade of the TF's Welsh Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 117–23.James, p. 67–8.RWF at Long, Long Trail.53rd (W) Division at Long, Long Trail.Ward, p. 10.
World War I Mobilisation On 3 August 1914 the Welsh Division's infantry brigades were at their annual camps when all training was cancelled and the battalions were ordered back to their HQs; war was declared next day. On 5 August they mobilised, and had concentrated at their war stations (at Conway in the case of the North Wales Brigade) by 11 August. On that date TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas ServiceWard, p. 11. and on 15 August the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas, and were quickly filled by the flood of volunteers coming forward. Later 3rd Line units were formed to train drafts for the 1st and 2nd Line.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
1/4th (Denbighshire) Bn, RWF The Welsh Division moved to Northampton at the end of August 1914, where on 18 November it was warned for service in India, but this was subsequently cancelled. Training was interrupted by periods spent digging trenches for the East Coast defences. 1/4th Battalion's offer of overseas service had been accepted, and the battalion left the Welsh Division on 5 November, travelled to France, and joined 3rd Brigade in 1st Division on 7 December.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 33–8.Ward, Appendix II. It was one of the first TF units to reinforce the hard-pressed Regular British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.Edmonds, 1914, Vol II, Appendix 4.
Givenchy The battalion first went into action at Givenchy on 20 December, when two brigades of the division were sent up to support the Indian Corps when it was heavily attacked. 3rd Brigade reached Béthune at 07.30, when it rested, and then moved to the counter-attack soon after noon. The battalions passed through the Indian troops, but were delayed by waterlogged ground and machine gun fire, and it was almost dark when they reached Givenchy, which had just been evacuated by a British battalion. The intended concerted attack was disrupted, and although the brigades recaptured most of the lost ground they were isolated in the dark. However the relief of the exhausted Indian Corps was successfully completed next day.Edmonds & Wynne, 1915, Vol I, pp. 20–2. The front in the Givenchy area was never at rest: 1st Division (already weak after the intense fighting in the autumn of 1914) was subjected to constant low-level Trench warfare. 3rd Brigade was attacked on a larger scale on 25 January 1915, but quickly regained its trenches.Edmonds & Wynne, 1915, Vol I, pp. 29–30.
Aubers Ridge The BEF launched a prepared offensive on 9 May 1915 with the aim of capturing Aubers Ridge, north of La Bassée. The infantry advanced at 05.30 when the preliminary artillery bombardment entered its intense phase. On 3rd Bde's front, 1/4th RWF was in support in the second line. As the leading companies left their breastworks they came under immediate machine gun fire and suffered heavy casualties, though they more or less reached their intended jumping-off line in No man's land, and the supporting battalions made some progress. When the artillery lifted, the leading waves attacked, but could not penetrate the barbed wire, which had been inadequately cut by the guns. A second bombardment did no better in suppressing the machine gun positions, and the leading waves were deadlocked by 07.20. The supporting battalions in the second line could not get forward over No Man's land, which was dominated by German artillery. A renewed attack in the afternoon was also unsuccessful, and the shattered leading units were withdrawn through the supporting battalions.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 7, 19–29. Although casualties in the second line had been less severe, 1/4th RWF lost its commanding officer (CO), Lt-Col Frederick France-Hayhurst, who was killed and was buried in Cabaret-Rouge Cemetery.Maude, p. 37.France-Hayhusrt at CWGC.France-Hayhurst at Cabaret Rouge Cemetery. 1st Division was relieved at the end of the day, and by 12/13 May returned to its former sector at Givenchy. It defended this position during the next offensive (the Battle of Festubert).Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp.44–5, 48–9, 66, 74.
Loos The BEF spent the summer of 1915 preparing for a much more ambitious offensive: the Battle of Loos. 1st Division was allotted a part in this attack,Edmonds, 1915, pp. 113, 148. but on 1 September 1915 the 1/4th RWF was transferred to be the Pioneer Battalion in 47th (1/2nd London) Division (a TF formation). The divisional historian believed that the battalion had been chosen for this specialist role because of the high proportion of Welsh miners among the remaining original personnel.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 69–75.47th (2nd L) Division at Long, Long Trail. The role of the pioneer battalion was to provide working parties to assist the divisional Royal Engineers (RE) in tasks ranging from trench digging and wiring, to road making, while remaining fighting soldiers. The men received extra pay and the battalion transport was augmented to carry the necessary tools and equipment.Dunn, p. 88. The preparations for Loos involved heavy labour for working parties, infantry as well as pioneers and RE, in carrying forward and emplacing gas cylinders in the front line trenches, as well as digging additional assembly trenches – including Russian saps – and creating dumps of stores and equipment.Cherry, pp. 105–7.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 159–62.Maude, pp. 25–6.