World War I member of British Royal Welch Fusiliers dies

Sac Bee ^ | 10/22/02 | The Associated Press - Napa, CA

[NormsRevenge]

NAPA, Calif.(AP) - Sgt. William Parkes, who served in World War I as a member of Britain's Royal Welch Fusiliers, has died. He was 106.

Born Jan. 18, 1896 in Newport, Monmouthshire, England, Parkes enlisted at age 19 with the South Wales Borderers, a unit of the Fusiliers. He was trained as an infantryman and machine gunner and fought in the trenches in Belgium and France.

[NormsRevenge]

106 ! Wow!

He was trained as an infantryman and machine gunner and fought in the trenches in Belgium and France.

God Bless You, Mr. Parkes..

I don't think I would have been a good trench fighter ...

[ClearCase_guy]

So he would have joined up in 1915 and spent part of the next 3 years as a machine gunner. Amazing! Life expectancy for a machine gunner was pretty short.

[nofriendofbills]

World War I member of British Royal Welch Fusiliers dies

My Grandparents were from Wales, they were WELSH, not Welch.
Sheeesh.

[NormsRevenge]

Agreed.

Darn AP. I just post the titles the way I find 'em. ;-)

[Peter Libra]

Proper designation for this regiment - header is accurate. Author Ford Madox Ford (No More Parades) served in this regiment.

[omega4412]

"Welch" is an old spelling, from the days of free-form spelling. They used "Welsh" for a while but in 1920 restored the old spelling. See http://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/en_faq.html#welch

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Welsh (as I prefer to spell it) have never been very fussy spellers. There are Davis, Daves and Davies last names in the same family.

[Johnny Gage]

Thank you for your service Mr. Parkes.

Rest Peacefully, In the arms of God.
Job well done.

[Consort]

[Non-Sequitur]

The Royal Welch Fusiliers and the South Wales Borderers were separate regiments.

[Non-Sequitur]

So did Sigfried Sassoon and Robert Graves.

[ameribbean expat]

ever seen the welsh language? you wouldn't be a very fussy speller either.

[BlueLancer]

"...they were WELSH, not Welch."

Well, maybe they drank a lot of grape juice.
8')

[ServesURight]

World War I is the most understudied, forgotten war in history.

FReepers should take a few moments and read some books about WWI. It was a very bloody and ghastly conflict, yet it was also the most romanticized.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My dad's family came from Wales. Interestingly, the race seems to have first appeared in central Europe in what is now Hungary.

[Peter Libra]

Yes indeed, re Sassoon. Dabble in family histories myself by the way. Ford's indictment of the rot, waste, and corruption of the war machine are contained in his four part series (Parades End, No More Parades etc). He took too much mustard gas and got invalided out in 1917. Maybe crossed paths with this valiant Welshman. (P) I presume Parkes may have had Pennsylvania Welsh relatives of mining stock and got a sponsor to immigrate. His luck really turned out well. The impoverished Welsh miner in South Wales between wars had a life expectancy of about 47 years. Another betrayal of heroes who had served.

This man found himself in the balmy environment of Napa- my wife tells me that an occupational therapist(his lifes work) usually helps disabled persons to rehabilitate themselves. So he paid back his adopted country in spades. His reward- long life. Cheers PL.

[NormsRevenge]

Might you know if is Ross a surname in the Welsh;Welch realm?

Did some Pennsylvania Welch end up farming on the Great Plains?

Just curious. My Dad's mum, me grannie, may have a bit of Welch in her from way back. Damn fine spirited woman, made me wash me little mouth out with Lava soap one time. Excellent cook. She grew up on a farm in South Dakota, late 1800's. BTW, She would have kicked Tiny Tom D'A$$hole's butt .. or made him eat soap at least ;-)

[Valin]

Go here
http://users.tibus.com/the-great-war/numbers.htm

[NormsRevenge]

From Customs And Traditions of the Regiment

When you see a soldier in the street or anywhere else with five black ribbons fluttering from the back of his collar you will know that there is only one regiment to which he can possibly belong, and that regiment is the Royal Welch Fusiliers. No one, whether soldier or civilian, can fail to notice it, and the first time he sees it, is almost sure to ask what it is and to expect the wearer to be able to tell him all about it.

"Relic of many a fight and siege and sack. It points a moral and adorns the back."

The Royal Welch Fusiliers was the last regiment which wore the pigtail. These pigtails used to be powdered and greased, and in order to protect the red tunics, or rather coatees, from the grease, the tail of the wig was enclosed in a bag called the queue-bag. The wearing of the pigtail was discontinued in 1808 but the Regiment, being in Nova Scotia at the time and the last to wear it, retained the ribbons in imitation of the queue-bag. On arrival at Gosport from Gibraltar in 1834, at the marching-in inspection, the peculiarity of dress was noticed by the General, and an order was issued that the flash was to be taken off. Colonel Harrison, who was commanding the Battalion at the time, at once drove to London, and returned in one day with letters which announced that His Majesty King William IV had been pleased to grant the flash as a peculiarity whereby to mark the dress of that distinguished Regiment."

Until 1900 it was worn only by officers, warrant officers and staff-sergeants, but in that year orders were received that it was to be worn on the tunic by all ranks of the Regiment. When the 1st Battalion was at Aldershot (1904-07) vigorous and, for the time, successful efforts were made to prevent the flash being worn in Service Dress by the officers, warrant officers and staff-sergeants. Yet another attack was made on the privilege in 1915, but met with complete defeat, and sanction has now been given for other ranks also to wear the flash in Battle Dress, when used as review order or for walking out.

[Tony in Hawaii]

Agreed. France lost an entire generation of her best men. France has yet to recover from the loss.