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TRH visit the Welsh Guards in Bosnia and Herzegovina to mark St David's Day

1st March 2007

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall praised British troops who helped establish and maintain peace in Bosnia today when they marked St David's Day with the Welsh Guards in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Prince, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh Guards, flew into Banja Luka with The Duchess of Cornwall to present leeks, one of the national symbols of Wales, to the soldiers.

Their Royal Highnesses have just completed a 10-day tour of the Gulf which took in five states: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and The United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi amd Dubai).

Their visit came on the day the British Government confirmed that more than 600 British troops are to be withdrawn from Bosnia.

Brigadier General Christopher Murray, the commanding officer of British forces in Bosnia, praised the efforts of the Welsh Guards and other British units who have served in the country.

He highlighted the security situation in the region by stating: "Bosnia is safer today than many parts of our country."

The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards makes up a large part of the UK's battle group based in the country as part of Eufor - the military force which took over from Nato in Bosnia.

They have been engaged in peacekeeping duties and aiding reconstruction work since last September.

Bosnia Herzegovina endured three years of inter-ethnic war from 1992 between Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs, as Yugoslavia broke up.

The war left the infrastructure and economy in tatters and around two million people - about half the population - were displaced and unable to return to their homes safely.

The Prince last visited the 1st Battalion in March 2004 to present them with leeks.

During the ceremony, held in a large hangar, His Royal Highness returned the salutes of officers and warrant officers and then shook their hands as he presented them with small replica vegetables - made from ribbon and cloth.

The Duchess of Cornwall also made presentations of the national symbol of Wales to other members of the Welsh Guards as she walked along a row of soldiers from No 2, No 3 and headquarters companies, greeting the servicemen with a smile and a handshake.

The tradition of presenting leeks was started by King George V, who first handed out the items to Welsh Guardsmen on St David's Day 1915 when the regiment was officially formed.

Before the presentation of leeks, The Prince held discussions with Bosnia's three Presidents who each represent a different ethnic group and take it in turn to hold the post.

His Royal Highness met Nebojsa Radmanovic, the Serb representative and current holder, Haris Silajdzic, the Bosnian representative, and Zeljko Komsic, the Croatian representative, for talks.

The conversations were later described by British Ambassador to Bosnia Matthew Rycroft as "useful" and "constructive".

At the same time The Duchess met privately with women from various units attached to the Welsh Guards.

Following the leek ceremony, The Prince presented honours to some of the soldiers from the 1st Battalion.

Regimental Sergeant Major Alun Bowen, 39, from Monmouth, and Sergeant Major Peter Robinson from Swansea received the Meritorious Service medal.

His Royal Highness presented long service and good conduct medals to Colour Sergeant Steve Cook from Aberdare in South Wales, Sergeant Steve Shield from Mold in North Wales and Sergeant Daryl Lowden, a Welsh Guards bandsman from Plymouth.

Their Royal Highnesses also launched the Iron Guardsman challenge that will see 10 servicemen and women cycle 1,300 miles through the Alps, kayak across the English Channel, and then run a series of marathons to London in aid of charity.

The cyclists lined up and The Prince set them off on their gruelling task, which will take around four weeks. The team will raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund, the South Atlantic Medal Association and testicular cancer research.

Thomas Spencer-Smith, 26, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Welsh Guards from Abergavenny, South Wales said: "We're doing this because it's a challenge - to see how far we can push ourselves.

"We're raising £25,000 for our charities and we're pretty close to doing that."

The Prince and The Duchess travelled to Bosnia after completing a 10-day tour of five Gulf states - Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai).