CROWDS came out to bid farewell to a battalion of soldiers who are leaving their Chepstow base and heading out on active deployment.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles paraded through Chepstow on Thursday evening, before leaving their base near the Welsh town and deploying to Cyprus on their next posting.

South Wales Argus: Soldiers from the Rifles march through Chepstow

The battalion, based at Beachley Barracks, will return to Wales in 2025 and then remain there until new facilities are in place at Caerwent.

The Duke of Kent, who is Royal Colonel of 1 Rifles, was present to meet troops at today's parade.

The soldiers began their march at the town's fire station, before heading through the medieval town gate and on to the war memorial.

Lieutenant Colonel Colin Oliver said his soldiers will conduct a move next month to Dhekelia – part of the sovereign base area of British Forces Cyprus, which is run and administered on behalf of Defence and the United Kingdom.

He said: “Cyprus is a hugely significant location for the UK, sitting as it does on the nexus of three continents, with Turkey around 50 miles to the north, Syria and Lebanon approximately 70 miles to the east and Egypt 240 miles to the south. 

“Whilst there, we will be asked to do a number of important tasks, including security for the strategic military sites and critical national infrastructure. 

“We will also act as the Regional Standby Battalion, based at high readiness to act as a versatile, forward-based, acclimatised infantry battalion able to undertake a wide range of short-notice, low-threat, niche or small operations, primarily focused on the Middle East and North Africa.”

1 Rifles will take on this role from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

South Wales Argus: Soldiers from the Rifles march through Chepstow

Lt Col Oliver said: “Chepstow has been extremely good to this battalion since its arrival in 2007.

"Whilst here, the battalion has deployed on numerous operational tours to Afghanistan and Iraq and to multiple overseas exercises in countries such as Kenya and Belize.

“We have also supported numerous UK domestic efforts – in particular when there was flooding in Wales and also during the Covid-19 response in providing ambulance drivers and vaccination teams and, most recently, providing instructors to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 

“Throughout all that, Beachley Barracks and Chepstow has been our home and we have always been looked after and treated with respect.

"Riflemen have been married here, have had children here, have settled here and have died whilst based here and we have memorials to them, both in our own Remembrance garden and in the Commonwealth War Grave in Beachley."

The Rifles will return to Wales in the Summer of 2025 to take on a new role as a Light Mechanised Battalion driving Foxhound vehicles, prior to moving into a new station at Caerwent when the building project is complete towards the end of the decade.

Beachley Barracks has been identified for a mixed-use development of housing and employment.

However, planning is still in the early stages.