Princess of Wales Royal Regiment on the frontline

Hampshire troops from the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment have seen action in some of the world’s most perilous places, confronted with fierce fighting and mortar attacks.

And when they are not risking their lives on the frontline, the Tigers are working hard to provide vital aid to those in need and training the next wave of recruits.

Currently more than 700 of our local troops are risking their lives on overseas operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, continuing the regiment’s reputation as one of the most decorated in the British Army.

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It has won more operational medals than any other infantry unit, including 57 Victoria Crosses, most recently awarded to Tiger Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry in 2004 for his gallantry in Iraq.

Their courage sees them spearhead frontline action, bearing the brunt of the fighting, finding themselves showered in small arms fire and under attack from rocket-propelled grenades.

The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment was formed in September 1992 by an amalgamation of The Queen’s and The Royal Hampshire Regiment.

The merger came as part of a major reorganisation of the British Army after the end of the Cold War in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the threat from the Warsaw Pact.

A great source of pride for the regiment was the appointment of Diana Princess of Wales as their first Colonel-in-Chief in 1992. She relinquished her post in 1996.

The regiment,which draws many of its officers and soldiers from Hampshire and the south east, has two regular battalions and a Territorial Army battalion.

Despite boasting the finest weapon systems, communications technology and transportation in the world, it is their expertise as infantry soldiers, trained and equipped to fight on their feet, to understand the battlefield and to work instinctively as an unbreakable team, that drives them to victory.

The first Battalion (1PWRR) is an Armoured Infantry battalion known as the Armoured Tigers currently based in Paderborn, Germany, after momentous tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The majority of their soldiers are mounted in Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles, a heavy metal beast that packs a punch with its 30mm Rarden cannon.

In the back of each Warrior sits seven highly-trained infantry soldiers ready to carry out their mission, be it taking enemy positions, distributing aid or trying to bring peace to war torn lands.

At the moment 500 of 1PWRR are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, with troops in Afghanistan set to head back to their German base in the spring and those in Iraq heading home in the summer.

As Colonel Mike Ball explains, their roles in those countries are very different.

“Our soldiers in Iraq are training Iraqis in Basra so that they are ready for the handover when we withdraw in June and July,” he said.

“It is very much a training facility and although they do sometimes face resistance from those who do not want the Iraqi Army to succeed, the level of violence has declined, whereas those in Afghanistan face fierce fighting on a daily basis in Helmand province.

“They are always involved with heavy, full on war fighting against the Taliban.”

Those in the second battalion (2PWRR) form the Light Infantry Battalion, ready to be deployed anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice.

Not equipped with heavy vehicles or equipment, these guys, based in Cyprus, fight on their feet, specialising in dismounted combat across all types of terrain, from open deserts to dense jungles and mountain peaks.

Today 200 soldiers from 2PWRR are supporting operations in Afghanistan until the autumn.

The third battalion (3PWRR) is the Territorial Infantry Battalion. On top of holding down full-time jobs, these men and women take part in weekly training sessions and weekend exercises to prepare for combat on the frontline.

Currently 26 are out fighting in Afghanistan.

Their tours and exercises have seen them work all over the world, from current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prolonged periods in Northern Ireland during the 1990s.

But when the battalions are not in the arena of war, the Tigers are kept busy with a mixture of training exercises, aid missions and recruitment roles.

“Warfare is not the only role we play,” said Colonel Ball.

“When not on operations there is a lot of training to be done to ensure our regiment is ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. This often sees us going to Canada at the British Army training facility there.

“In the past we have gone to the Balkans, the Congo and Sierra Leone to provide aid to the people there, caught up in emergency situations.

“But we also have a civilian role, recruiting the next generation of soldiers and to let our counties know who we are and what we are doing.

“We are always ready to help the civilian community whenever they need us.

“We were there during the Foot and Mouth crisis in 2001,we helped out during the firefighters’ strike in 2002 and if we had had any more snow last week, we would have been ready to use our equipment to get the county moving again.

“As your local regiment we want people to remember that although we are abroad at the moment, we are thinking about you and we hope you are thinking about us.

“The regiment is like a family. Serving with soldiers from local towns is important, looking out for our comrades.

“When our boys are away we look after their families, that is the glue that keeps the Tigers together.

“We are part of the British Army but it is the family spirit of the Tigers that makes our regiment so strong.”