Prince of Wales's Division

The Prince of Wales's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all land force units in the West of England and Wales. It merged with the Scottish Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division; at the same time the Mercian Regiment joined with the King's Division.[1]

Prince of Wales's Division
Active1968–2014
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeAdministrative Command

History
Arms of the British Army
Combat Arms
Combat Support Arms
Combat Services

The Prince of Wales's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Mercian Brigade, Welsh Brigade and Wessex Brigade. The depot was established at Whittington Barracks in Staffordshire.[2]

Under the restructuring announced in 2004, the Prince of Wales's Division lost the remaining Westcountry infantry regiments and was reorganised into two large regiments:[3]

The Division maintained a regular army band, The Band of The Prince of Wales Division through the amalgamation of the two former divisional bands, the Clive Band and the Lucknow Band.[5]

Under the Army 2020 reorganisation, the 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Staffords) and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales) will both be disbanded, while the Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) will be transferred to the administration of the Prince of Wales' Division.[6]

In December 2016, the government announced changes to the administrative structure of the infantry as part of the continuing reorganization of the Army under "Army 2020". This saw the Mercian Regiment being moved to the King's Division, with the Royal Regiment of Scotland (which encompassed the entirety of the Scottish Division) transferred to a single administrative formation with the Royal Welsh and the Royal Irish Regiment. This new administrative formation became known as the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division.[7]

Past Units

Past units include:[8]

References
  1. "Strategic Defence and Security Review - Army:Written statement - HCWS367 - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  2. "The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment". Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  3. "Future Structure of the Army". Ministry of Defence. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  4. Heyman, p. 89
  5. "The Band of The Prince of Wales's Division". Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  6. "Army 2020 announcement". British Army. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  7. "Strategic Defence and Security Review - Army: Written statement - HCWS367". Hansard. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  8. Whitaker's Almanack 1969

Sources
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