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Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum

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Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum

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We are Wales' leading military museum and home to one of the richest heritage collections. Regimental museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Open all year round.

The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum
The Castle, Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL55 2AY

27/10/2026

27 OCTOBER 1944 | THE LIBERATION OF ’s-HERTOGENBOSCH

On this day in 1944, after days of bitter street fighting, soldiers of the 53rd (Welsh) Division secured the liberation of the Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch from German occupation.

However, the battle, as part of Operation Alan, was anything but straightforward. Tasked with capturing a heavily defended city, Royal Welch Fusiliers serving as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division faced determined German resistance. Every street, building and strongpoint presented a potential danger as the men fought their way through the city, supported by the Dutch Resistance.

Among those at the forefront were the three battalions of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, whose soldiers endured fierce fighting in their efforts to overcome the German defenders.

One of the most remarkable actions of the battle came on 24 October. Under orders not to surrender the city, German defenders demolished the bridges spanning the Zuid-Willemsvaart Canal, threatening to bring the British assault to a standstill.

At approximately 4:35pm on 24th October, Major John Dugdale led men of A Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, in a daring assault across a narrow footway on the canal’s lock gates.

Under the cover of smoke, and supported by Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tanks, the Fusiliers advanced across the exposed crossing under direct German fire. The men successfully established a bridgehead on the opposite bank, breaking through a formidable defensive obstacle and opening the way for further British troops to enter the city.

By the evening of 27 October 1944, organised resistance had largely collapsed. After days of intense combat, ’s-Hertogenbosch was finally in Allied hands.

The Royal Welch Fusiliers suffered approximately 200 casualties during the fighting — a stark reminder of the human cost of liberating occupied Europe.

For the people of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the battle marked the end of more than four years of German occupation. For the men who fought there, it would remain an enduring part of their wartime experience.

More than eight decades later, the bond between the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the people of ’s-Hertogenbosch lives on and we remain proudly and fondly connected to the town.

Today, we remember the courage, sacrifice and determination of those who fought for the city’s liberation — and those who never returned.

Their sacrifice is not forgotten.

23/10/2026

This we are reflecting on our recent workshop for the Royal Society of Chemistry where we utilised artefacts from our collection to help educators link history, real world experiences of soldier survival, battlefield medicine and STEM, alongside practical experimentation.

As Storm Austen and Storm Boelo hit, it is a good opportunity for us to reflect on our activity 'how to keep your soldier warm and dry' which tested materials and properties whilst telling the story of military innovation, survival and technological development across time.

Here's Sgt Davis of the 1st Battalion in typically Western Front, waterlogged conditions.

22/10/2026

22nd October 1914; on this day in Royal Welch Fusiliers history....

2 RWF were in action at La Cordonnerie Farm, near Givenchy in France.

The battalion was in the line continuously from 22 October to 14 November during the race to the sea. It was under almost non-stop artillery bombardment and subjected to frequent attacks, mainly at night. It was cold and wet and as all the kits were three miles away washing and shaving was impossible. Four officers and 62 other ranks were killed; details of the wounded are unknown. This aerial image clearly shows shell holes and a series of trenches.

8784 Pte Gregory Higgins was one of the 2 RWF men killed on the 22 October 1914.

20/10/2026

On this day in Royal Welch Fusiliers history....

Private Rhys Pugh Gittens received a gunshot wound to the shoulder whilst serving with the 14th Btn. He had enlisted at Shrewsbury in November 1915 and embarked for France on 10th December 1916, joining the Lewis Gun detachment of the 14th Btn in the north sector of Ypres.

Rhys survived the Battle of Passchendaele and was demobilised on 21st January 1919. Sadly, he succumbed to tuberculosis and did on 25th January 1920, aged 31.

Like several CWGC headstones in Wales, his is uniquely carved from slate, rather than the more traditional Portland stone.

16/10/2026

It's a family today!

Here's C.S.M. Alfred Smith with his stepfather, R.S.M. S. Sherrif, both of whom
Served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Their combined service to the Regiment totalled over 43 years!

15/10/2026

Out and about in North Wales this coming October half term? Our team will be running object handling and outreach sessions across selected dates- remember entry to the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum is free when included with your ticket to Caernarfon Castle!

12/10/2026

12th OCTOBER 1702 – ON THIS DAY IN ROYAL WELCH HISTORY

RWF participated in capture of Liège, Belgium, in 1702
the Duke of Marlborough was appointed Allied Commander-in-Chief in June, determined to invest Liège. The French, determined to prevent it, arrived too late and were forced to withdraw. The town quickly surrendered but the citadel refused to capitulate. Marlborough’s terms were refused, so a general assault by eight battalions, including the 23rd, carried the citadel in less than an hour. Marlborough was full of praise for the bravery of the storming troops.

09/10/2026

Second Lieutenant Henry Turner

Second Lieutenant Henry Turner was a courageous Royal Welchman whose gallantry earned him the Military Medal (MM) while serving as a sergeant in 1 RWF in 1916, followed by a Mention in Despatches (MiD) in 1917. He was later commissioned into 2 RWF and awarded the Military Cross (MC) for gallantry in 1918.

Turner survived the war and went on to become chairman of the Birmingham branch of the Old Contemptibles Association.

The name ‘Old Contemptibles’ arose from an Order of the Day issued by the Kaiser, referring to ‘Sir John French’s contemptible little army’. All ranks of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) who served in France and Flanders within range of enemy artillery between 5 August and 22 November 1914 were entitled to call themselves ‘Old Contemptibles’.

Within the RWF, only those who served with the 1st, 2nd and 4th Battalions and met these criteria qualified as Old Contemptibles. The 4th (Denbighshire) Battalion, a Territorial unit, landed in France on 6 November 1914, shortly before the qualifying period ended.

Turner’s Military Cross citation reads:

“For ability, initiative, and gallantry during the attack on Villers Outréaux on the morning of 8 October 1918. He led his company most resolutely to their objective and forced 21 of the enemy to surrender after killing and wounding several, enabling the company on his flank to advance. The success of the operation, which was carried out under very heavy machine-gun fire, was due to his gallant leadership.”

#1918

07/10/2026

We were delighted to host Erik Goldstein, Senior Curator at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, USA and to hear his excellent talk, “Relics of the Regiment”, at RWF FEST this year.

The Museum Trustees are extremely grateful to Erik for his incredibly generous donation to the Museum of a small, simple pewter button. Dating from c.1778, it is now the oldest item of Fusilier clothing in the Museum’s collection.

Erik explained the circumstances in which the button was found and the possibility that it was carried as a souvenir or repurposed by an American soldier of the Continental Army.

Erik said “Though the 23rd Fusiliers spent almost a decade in America during the Revolutionary War, very little left behind by the Regiment remains today. However, a precious few pewter uniform buttons worn by RWF enlisted men have been recovered from period military sites spanning New England to South Carolina.
This small button, originally worn on a Fusilier’s waistcoat, was found around 1992 in a location the Regiment had never been near. It came from a site known as West Camp, occupied by General Israel Putnam’s division of three battalions of Continental Army troops from Connecticut. Situated on Avon Mountain in West Hartford, Connecticut, the camp was occupied only during the last week of October and the first week of November 1778, pinpointing when the button was lost. Other buttons of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers were also found at this campsite, along with those of the 40th and 62nd Regiments. While we will never know how this little relic of the Regiment got into enemy hands, it may represent the rebels’ use of material captured from the British Army.”

06/10/2026

Recent Acquisition – 2 RWF & HQ 29 Independent Brigade Photo Album

Personal photo albums from the Second World War are few and far between. We are therefore delighted to have recently acquired just such an album at auction.

The album was compiled by RWF regimental officer Captain N. L. A. Vosper, from Ruthin, North Wales. Norman Vosper saw active service with 2 RWF during the Burma Campaign of 1943–45. He also served as a staff officer with HQ 29 Independent Brigade, of which 2 RWF formed part.

The images include photographs of brigade units and men taken during active service in the Arakan in 1944, including rare shots of the aftermath of the capture of the Razabil Railway Tunnels, which linked Maungdaw with Buthidaung. In heavy fighting against well prepared Japanese positions in and around the tunnels, 2 RWF and 29 Brigade helped capture some of the tunnels between March and June 1944.

After the Second World War, Capt Vosper worked as an Architect in the Vale of Clwyd. He passed away on 18 October 1987 in Rhuddlan, Clwyd, Wales, at the age of 72.

Address

The Castle
Caernarfon
LL552AY

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 6pm
Thursday	9:30am - 6pm
Friday	9:30am - 6pm
Saturday	9:30am - 6pm
Sunday	9:30am - 6pm

Telephone

01286 673362

Website

http://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/

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