2nd BATTALION THE MONMOUTHSHIRE REGIMENT ..
.. Contributed by Lawrence Skuse ..
.. With `A` Company based at Cwmbran 1947-1967 ..
The battalion dates back to 1859 when it was raised as the 2nd Monmouthshire (1st Pontypool) Rifle Volunteer Corps, and by 1908 had become the 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment, or �2nd Mons� as it was known in army jargon. Since 1859, the battalion fought in South Africa (Boer Wars), and subsequently in both First and Second World Wars.
By 1947 it was located as a Territorial Army battalion as follows:
HQ Pontypool
�A� Company Cwmbran
�B� Company Blaenavon
�C� Company Crumlin
�D� Company Monmouth
�A� Company were based at �The Drill Hall� in Oldbury Road, Cwmbran, demolished some time during or after the 1970s, now the site of a large store which seems to change hands periodically. I personally have happy memories of the Drill Hall, as my father was the company Colour Sergeant (Staff Sergeant), responsible for running the company stores.
Probably the most enduring memory is that of the Christmas parties they used to organise in the 1950s, certainly in my memory, very lavish affairs. These were run on traditional lines, lots of jelly, cakes and trifle, games, sing-songs and of course, the arrival of Father Christmas. Gifts were always �quality� and eagerly awaited. What both my brother and I never caught on to was the fact that �Father Christmas� was in fact our father. (Years later, as a regular serviceman in Berlin, I did the same to my children; they never realised either. Clearly there is a �Ho Ho Ho!� gene in the family!). Probably the thing I remember most though is, towards the end of the party in the early evening, the children would drift away with parents, usually mothers, and the evening entertainment would be starting up. Doubtless with the bar opening, the scratchy 78 records came out; in particular, one I always associate with the Christmas parties, Anne Shelton belting out �Lay Down Your Arms� (and surrender to me).
Another tradition was our father taking us for a walk from Fields Road where we lived at the time, to the Drill Hall on Sunday mornings in order for him to fire the Mk 8 Lee-Enfield rifle (a .22� LR conversion of the famous .303�) in the indoor range and training theatre. Firstly we would go to the armoury to draw his rifle; this was wonderful for me, with the smell of gun oil and the standard .303� rifles in their racks, with the short �pig sticker� bayonets attached. Then, while our father ventilated targets, we would play behind the firing point with the various sand models and drill rounds. A very keen shot, my father was a member of the battalion shooting team, winning various medals and ashtrays. His speciality was the Bren gun, with which apparently, he was deadly. One competition was the �Falling Plates� where a row of heavy metal plates is set up on a bank. Then, a section of men would compete against another section, firing simultaneously in a race against each other to down their respective plates. One member of the section would fire the Bren gun, but he couldn�t open fire until either all the plates were down or the riflemen had fired all their rounds. My father�s instructions were for the riflemen to fire off their rounds as fast as they could without worrying about the targets, then, when they had finished, he would clear the plates with well aimed bursts. Later in my own service, in Aldershot, I too was the captain of a winning Falling Plates team (but only with rifles by then), carrying on the tradition. The highlight of the �Sunday range days� was my father fetching back any misfires, breaking them open, and pouring the charge onto the top of the �Aga� style range in the kitchen in Fields Road, it exploding harmlessly with a satisfying �pouff!� Our mother didn�t approve!
Another great event in the TA calendar was �Summer Camp�. In order to qualify for the annual �bounty�, a lump sum paid out to TA soldiers, it was necessary to attend so many �drill nights� a year, as well as weekend training and the summer camp. The bounty was paid out at the Summer Camp, and it was this that made it such a joy for us and our mother. Camps were usually held on Salisbury Plain or the Thetford Training Area in Norfolk. On return from �camp� there was always a good present for us, a William Tell crossbow (of surprising power for a child�s toy) one year, a Davy Crockett hat another. For our mother, there would be a trip to the shops for some appliance or other, e.g. the Servis washing machine one year, with integral electric mangle � state of the art! Also, since our father was the Colour Sergeant, in charge as you remember, of the stores, there would be the tins of chocolate and boiled sweets from the 10-Man ration packs, presumably nobody else in the company got these! We were very lucky since apparently some members of the company would gamble their bounties away in the mess tent.
Highlights of the 2nd Mons calendar were the dedication and unveiling of the 2nd Mons War Memorial in Trevethin Church on 7 Jul 1951, and the presentation of new Colours by the Queen at Ebbw Vale in about 1955/6. Born in April 1951, I have no memories of the Dedication Ceremony, but we were taken to see the ceremony in Ebbw Vale. On reviewing the troops, the Duke of Edinburgh commented to my father that he had more campaign medals than he did. (He still had more than my father overall though!).
One �souvenir� of the Cwmbran Company I still have is an �A� Company pennant �acquired� by my father. As a child, attached to a broomstick, this featured heavily in our games, and it is a miracle it has still survived.
Today, there is no Monmouthshire titular infantry representation, although the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (the most senior of all reserve regiments, and the only unit with two �Royals� in its official title) still maintain the county name in the Army Order of Battle. Since 1 March 2006, all infantry units, regular and TA have been subsumed into the Royal Welsh Regiment (1st Battalion � the former Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion � the former Royal Regiment of Wales).
Brass `greatcoat` Button
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Colour Sergeant Skuse on Summer Camp. Mess Tent Ebbw Vale, Csgt. Skuse on far left with glass. Csgt. Skuse on Summer Camp
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Summer Camp, Salisbury Plain; back row, 3rd from left, Csgt. Skuse, 4th from left Private Ivor Skuse (brother)
Colour Party, Trevethin 1951; Csgt. Skuse last on right.