page_title: 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Parachute troops, bare-headed and wearing 'jump jackets', in Norwich during exercises in Eastern Command, 23 June 1941.
context_page_description: The 6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment raised by the British Army during the Second World War.
  The battalion was created in 1942 by the conversion of the 10th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers to parachute duties. It was then assigned to the 2nd Parachute Brigade, at that time serving in the 1st Airborne Division in England.
  The battalion's first combat action was in 1943, when it participated in an amphibious landing, Operation Slapstick, at the port of Taranto in Italy. When the 1st Airborne Division left Italy, the battalion, still with the 2nd Parachute Brigade, remained behind, where it took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino.
  The battalion's first combat parachute jump was during Operation Dragoon the Allied invasion of the south of France. Soon after the invasion, the battalion returned to Italy and took part in a second combat parachute jump, Operation Manna in Greece.
  After the Second World War the battalion became part of the 6th Airborne Division and served in Palestine. Post war reductions in the British Armed Forces resulted in the battalion being amalgamated with the 4th Parachute Battalion in 1947.
context_section_description: Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. The standards set for British airborne troops were extremely high, and from the first group of 3,500 volunteers only 500 men were accepted to go forward to parachute training.
  Additionally, on 22 June 1940, a Commando unit, No. 2 Commando, was converted to parachute duties. On 21 November, it was re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion (later becoming the 1st Parachute Battalion), with a parachute and glider wing. These men took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941. The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment. In August 1942, a number of infantry battalions were converted into airborne battalions. In most conversions, the majority of the original battalion either did not wish to become paratroopers, or failed medical or other tests. The spaces in the battalion were filled with volunteers from other units.
caption: British paratroopers, in Norwich, during exercises, 23 June 1941.
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