A Very British Civil War 1938: Royalist Forces

Royalist Welsh Administration Forces in Pembrokeshire

The Royalists, led by Lord Tenby, hold the central belt of Pembrokeshire, stretching from Tenby and Saundersfoot in the east to Dale and Marloes in the west, including Haverfordwest, Narberth, Kilgetty, Spittal, Johnston and Little Haven.  They also have a tenuous hold on Whitland in Carmarthenshire, as its railway junction is vital to maintaining rail communications between Tenby and Haverfordwest.

The Whitland-Haverfordwest railway line pretty much marks the northern border with Welsh Nationalist territory and the area needs constant patrolling by flying columns, cavalry and armed/armoured trains to prevent sabotage to the vital rail link.  Welsh Administration forces have attempted to push west from Swansea in order to re-establish territorial integrity and rail-links, but Llanelli remains resolutely Socialist and the Royalist garrisons at Cardigan, Carmarthen and Llandeilo remain besieged.

The Royalist administration controls much of the lucrative Pembrokeshire anthracite mining industry.  This is mainly concentrated in the south-eastern corner of the county, with the largest mines at Saundersfoot, Kilgetty and Loveston.  While they have plenty of access to coal, the Royalist forces have no immediate access to fuel oil, as the Albertines control the two huge RN fuel depots at Pembroke Dock and the Socialists control the large RAF reserve fuel depot at Milford Haven.  Consequently, the railway remains vitally important to communications within the Royalist enclave.

In general, the Royalist forces in Pembrokeshire are reasonably well-equipped and morale remains high, despite the setbacks.  While the Royalists have some of the best regular troops in the county, a lot of the minor units are little more than rabble, while some (especially the Loyal Landsker Legion and BUF Militia Units) are merely armed thugs.

GHQ, Royalist Welsh Administration, Pembrokeshire – Major-General, Lord Margam

Commander of Pembrokeshire BUF Forces – BUF Brigade-Commander William Joyce

Royalist Landsker Frontier Force – The Marcher-Lord of Narberth, Baron Kylsant

BUF Independent Cohort ‘Sir Thomas Picton’, XIII Legion ‘Prince of Wales’ – BUF Storm-Commander, Baron Kylsant

Loyal Landsker Legion – Lt Col Bannister Templeton

Loyal West Carmarthenshire Greenjackets – Lt Col, Sir Howard ‘Honker’ Foley MC

Dungleddy Free Company, The English Mistery – Baron de Loutson

Frei-Jäger-Korps Von Lützen – Major Eberhard, Freiherr von Lützen

Slebech Castle Finishing School for Young Ladies’ Cadet Corps – Lt Col Lady Aisling Keir

1st Great Western Railway Volunteer Company – Major John Morris TD

 

Royalist 1st Pembrokeshire Infantry Brigade – Brigadier Edward L Armitage OBE

2nd Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry – Lt Col Thomas Knox

4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Welch Regiment – Lt Col Sir John Colby DSO

Loyal Narberth Volunteer Militia (West Wales Borderers) – Lt Col Thomas Thomas

Picton Estate Volunteer Militia (Lord Milford’s Own) – Lt Col, Sir John Wogan

‘C’ Squadron, 1st The King’s Dragoon Guards (Light Armour) – Major Sean Oriel

‘B’ Squadron, Pembrokeshire Yeomanry – Major Martin James

Royalist 2nd Pembrokeshire Infantry Brigade – Brigadier, Sir Gerard Higgon DSO MC

1st Battalion, Loyal Haverfordwest Volunteer Militia – Lt Col Joshua Roch

2nd Battalion, Loyal Haverfordwest Volunteer Militia – Lt Col William Bowen

3rd Battalion, Loyal Haverfordwest Volunteer Militia – Lt Col Andrew Clark

Loyal Milford Haven & Neyland Volunteer Militia – Lt Col, Sir Henry Hamilton

Compagnie Oyal des Chasseurs-Cyclistes – Major Richard Auguste de Ferrars LdH

Loyal Slebech Hussars – Major Richard Foley

 

Royalist 3rd Pembrokeshire Infantry Brigade – Brigadier, Sir John Perrott DSO

1st Battalion, Loyal Tenby Volunteer Militia – Lt Col, Sir Paul d’Axon

2nd Battalion, Loyal Tenby Volunteer Militia – Lt Col Anthony Radcliffe

Loyal Saundersfoot Volunteer Militia (‘The Wallet-Kickers’) – Lt Col Michael Hickling

Loyal Tenby Lodge Rifle Volunteers (Prince Walter’s Own) – Lt Col, Sir David Griffiths VC DSO* MC

South Pembrokeshire Cricketer Volunteers – Major Christopher Jones

Carew & Cresselly Morris Volunteers – Major D’Arcy de Ferrars

Loyal South Pembrokeshire Hunt Lancers – Major Henry Allen

GHQ Pembrokeshire Artillery (HQ 102nd (Pembrokeshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA) – Colonel John McCormack CRA

406 Field Battery (Pembrokeshire Yeomanry), RA (4x QF 4.5-inch) – Major Jeremy Devereux

1st Haverfordwest Volunteer Horse Artillery (2x 18pdr) – Major, The Hon. Richard Boulton MC

2nd Haverfordwest Volunteer Horse Artillery (2x 18pdr) – Major Thomas Brennan

 

GHQ Pembrokeshire Troops

‘A’ Company, Royal Pembrokeshire Volunteer Tank Corps – Major Patrick Green

Loyal Kilgetty Sappers & Miners – Major Frederick Price

Loyal Loveston Sappers & Miners – Major Roger ‘Boggy’ Lewis MC

Pembrokeshire Auxiliary Constabulary – Chief Superintendent Robert Evans

Pembrokeshire Company, National Defence Corps (The ‘Hugheseliers’) – Major Thomas Hughes

 

BUF Local Defence Militia Forces – BUF Brigade-Commander William Joyce

1st Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (1st Tenby)

2nd Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (Narberth)

3rd Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (1st Haverfordwest)

4th Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (2nd Tenby)

5th Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (Pembroke) (now stationed at Manorbier)

6th Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (2nd Haverfordwest)

7th Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (Milford Haven) (now stationed at Johnston)

8th Pembrokeshire BUF Militia Storm-Troop (Saundersfoot)

Royal Air Force Units in Royalist Pembrokeshire

RAF Manorbier – This small RAF Station is home to No.1 Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Unit (1 AACU).  It has a small grass airfield for operating target-tug aircraft, though it is suitable for modern fighters such as the Hurricane and single-engined light bombers such as the Battle, but nothing heavier.  The current order of battle for 1 AACU includes 2x 3-inch AA Guns, 4x Bofors 40mm Light AA Guns, 2x Hawker Fury Fighter Aircraft and 4x Hawker Audax Army Co-operation Aircraft, plus sufficient personnel and smallarms to field a company-sized ground defence force.

Tenby Airstrip – This small airstrip (originally built by the Army to service Penally Camp) is only suitable for light aircraft such as the Tiger Moth.  There are no units, aircraft or personnel permanently assigned to Tenby Airstrip.

Profiles and photos of individual units to follow…

This entry was posted in 28mm Figures, VBCW - A Very British Civil War, VBCW Royalist. Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to A Very British Civil War 1938: Royalist Forces

  1. Rhys Lewis-Jones says:

    Lovingly done, a real treat coming upon your blog. I live only up the road from Fishguard, (well in countryside terms), Hermon near Crymych. I’m really surprised how in depth you’ve gone, amazing. Would you mind if I painted up the Loyal West Carmarthenshire Greenjackets for my games? I’m also tempted to start a force of Welsh Nationalists for my area (North Pembrokeshire). All the best, Rhys

    • jemima_fawr says:

      Hi Rhys, I live in Clunderwen… 😉 My step-daughter lived in Hermon for a while, as did a member of the club (Roger something… he was a builder or plumber or summat). By all means use them! As it happens, I need to catch up with uploading my old VBCW forum posts on to the blog, because I think you’ll like the Army of the Republic of Cantref Cemaes and ‘The Daughters of Rebecca’… 😉

      • Rhys says:

        Oh great stuff, maybe we can get a game in sometime. I’m back and forth to Uni in Cardiff and then home in Hermon (studying History). And thank you, you’ve written an amazing amount of stuff and the detail is superb. I just saw your Cantref Cemaes and other stuff in VBCW in Pembrokeshire (Miniatures page) and its jaw dropping. My YouTube currently is: Rhys Lewis-Jones and I will definitely be posting anything I paint for the VBCW on there. All the best

        • jemima_fawr says:

          Great stuff! Yes, my nonsense is all out there somewhere, but I’m trying to collect it all together here – you’ve just prompted me to make a start on collecting together the writings of Huw Puw (if you haven’t seen it, he’s based on a TV character of the same name by the great John Sparkes and his TV series ‘Barry Welsh is Coming’ – there was a website devoted to it, but sadly now dead – I wish I’d saved their ‘Look Out Wales’ title gif, as the hotlinks don’t work any more 🙁 ). A game or two would be great! 🙂

          • Rhys says:

            Great 🙂 And I’ll have to look into that. I was so buzzing with starting a new project today that I barely noticed the biting cold Pembrokeshire air whilst paintstripping Footsore BUF with a toothbrush 😂 How about the Royal Mail Rifles with some Artizan foreign legion I have? I like their greatcoats, thinking dark blue and red facings for a postie uniform.

          • jemima_fawr says:

            Biting cold?! That’s just the snowy wastes and tundra of Hermon & Crymych… I’ve been outside with the dog in glorious sunshine for most of the day and have spent the evening eating and drinking outside a series of SOUTH Pembrokeshire pubs… I’m now thawing the dog, my hands, feet and wife out in front of the Rayburn…

            Yeah, the Post Office are very VBCW… I’ve got a Post Office rocket battery and a mate has the Pembroke Dock Post Office Lancers. 🙂 Historically their uniform of the period was indeed dark blue, with red piping round collar and cuffs and featured a tapered kepi/shako-type cap in blue, again with red piping.

          • Rhys says:

            I can confirm we’re in a different climate up here 😂 As for pubs I’m afraid I have to concede, the local ‘Lamb inn’ has been closed for years 😂😭😭

            At least we have a cracking butcher 😀 Well it sounds great, I’ll definitely be trying my hand at those!

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