6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion 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 by the conversion of the 10th Battalion , 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 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 . Background . Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France , the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , 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 was 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 British Commando unit , No . 2 Commando was converted to parachute duties . On 21 November , it was re - designated the 11th Special Air Service 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 . 6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion . Under the command of Lieutenant - Colonel Charles Hilary Vaughan Pritchard , the 10th Battalion , Royal Welch Fusiliers was converted to the 6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion in August 1942 . It was then assigned to the newly raised 2nd Parachute Brigade , alongside the 4th Parachute Battalion and the 5th ( Scottish ) Parachute Battalion . On formation , the battalion had an establishment of 556 men in three rifle companies . The companies were divided into a small headquarters and three platoon s . The platoons had three Bren machine gun s and three 2 - inch mortar s , one of each per section . The only heavy weapons in the battalion were a 3 inch mortar platoon and a Vickers machine gun platoon . By 1944 a headquarters or support company , was added to the battalion . This consisted of five platoons : motor transport , signals , mortar ( with eight 3 inch mortars ) , machine - gun ( with four Vickers machine guns ) and anti - tank ( with ten PIAT anti - tank projectors ) . All members of the battalion had to undergo a twelve day parachute training course carried out at No . 1 Parachute Training School , RAF Ringway . The course began with parachute jumps from a converted barrage balloon and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft . Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit . Those men who successfully completed the parachute course were presented with their maroon beret and parachute wings . Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy armed with heavy weapons including artillery and tanks , so training was designed to encourage a spirit of self - discipline , self - reliance and aggressiveness . Emphasis was given to physical fitness , marksman ship and fieldcraft . A large part of the training regime consisted of assault course s and route marching . Military exercise s included capturing and holding airborne bridgeheads , road or rail bridges and coastal fortifications . At the end of most exercises , the battalion would march back to their barracks . An ability to cover long distances at speed was expected : airborne platoons were required to cover a distance of in 24 hours , and battalions to cover . Operations . Italy . The 1st Airborne Division , including the 6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion , was sent to Tunisia in 1943 , to prepare for operations in Sicily and Italy . During the Allied invasion of Sicily plans were formed for three brigade - sized operations over successive days . The first British landing , Operation Ladbroke , was carried out by the 1st Airlanding Brigade over the night of 9 – 10 July . The second operation should have been Operation Glutton , to be carried by the 2nd Parachute Brigade on the night of 10 – 11 July . It was intended that the brigade were to capture a bridge near Augusta , but circumstances changed and the operation was cancelled . The 1st Parachute Brigade were given the third mission Operation Fustian at Primosole Bridge on the night of 13 – 14 July . Both the 1st Airlanding Brigade and 1st Parachute Brigade suffered heavy casualties in Sicily , so when it was proposed that the division take part in Operation Slapstick , only the 2nd Parachute Brigade and 4th Parachute Brigade were up to strength . Operation Slapstick was an amphibious landing at the port of Taranto on mainland Italy . The 2nd Parachute Brigade left Bizerta on 8 September , the day before the Italian surrender , and landed unopposed . The only casualties incurred during the operation were fifty - eight men from the 6th Parachute Battalion who drowned after their transport ship HMS " Abdiel " hit a mine in the harbour . While the 4th Parachute Brigade pushed inland the 2nd Brigade assumed responsibility for securing the port and surrounding area . During fighting around the town and airfield of Gioia del Colle the divisional commander , Major - General Hopkinson , was killed and replaced by Brigadier Ernest Down . Lieutenant - Colonel Pritchard was promoted to Brigadier and given command of the brigade . He was replaced as commanding officer of the 6th Battalion by Lieutenant - Colonel J . R . Goodwin . The 1st Airborne Division was withdrawn to England soon after , The 2nd Parachute Brigade , which included the 6th Battalion , remained in Italy as an independent formation , initially under the command of the 2nd New Zealand Division . In June 1944 , a small detachment of sixty men commanded by Captain Fitzroy - Smith took part in Operation Hasty , a parachute landing behind German lines near Torricella . Their objective was to interdict supply lines and the movement of troops as they withdrew from Sora to Avezzano . France . The 6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion took part in its first combat parachute drop in Southern France from 04 : 40 on 15 August 1944 . During the landing the brigade was badly dispersed , with only Brigade Headquarters landing intact . The 4th Parachute Battalion could muster between thirty and forty per cent of its strength . The 5th ( Scottish ) Parachute Battalion were in the worst shape with only around a company of men at the drop zone , while around seventy per cent of the 6th Parachute Battalion arrived safely . The battalion then occupied La Motte and Clastron following the surrender of the German garrison . While the villages were being secured patrols were sent out to make contact with the American 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team in the area of La Motte . By 16 : 00 more men from the battalion had arrived at the drop zone , and now numbered seventeen officers and 300 other ranks . The men of ‘ C ’ Company were sent out to patrol the road between Le Muy and Le Luc to ambush any retreating Germans , but returned to the drop zone at 22 : 00 , without having come into contact with any Germans . The night of 15 / 16 August was quiet and a patrol sent to Le Muy returned with eleven German prisoners . Later that day an American battalion captured Lu Muy , and seventy Germans , with six anti - tank guns , surrendered to a four man patrol from the battalion . At 14 : 00 17 August two platoons from the battalion engaged Germans retreating from a small battle with the 5th Parachute Battalion , and by now the American 36th Infantry Division and 45th Infantry Division had advanced from their beach head to link up with the airborne forces . By 20 August the battalion was in the Frejus area , Cannes was liberated on 25 August and the 2nd Parachute Brigade sailed for Italy landing at Naples on 28 August . Greece . The 2nd Parachute Brigade was warned for an operation in Greece , Operation Manna , to replace the retreating German Army and ensure law and order was maintained until a government could be formed . The advance party from the 4th Parachute Battalion landed on 12 October on Megara airfield from Athens . Adverse weather affected the drop and caused a number of casualties , and prevented the remainder of the brigade landing . Plans were formed for a surgical team to travel by glider the next day to support the 4th Battalion ' s medical officer on the airfield . By 14 October the weather had improved and the majority of the brigade , less the glider force , was able to parachute onto the airfield . High winds caused a number of casualties ; from the 1 , 900 men taking part three were killed and ninety - seven wounded . The 4th and 6th Battalions then set out for Athens . The brigade became responsible for policing Athens and keeping both sides in the growing Greek Civil War apart . Then on 4 November the 6th Battalion moved to Thebes , while the 5th ( Scottish ) Parachute Battalion with brigade headquarters and 127th ( Parachute ) Field Ambulance moved to Salonika . It had been intended to withdraw the brigade but the situation deteriorated and they were sent back to Athens . The 2nd Parachute Brigade and 2nd Armoured Brigade moved into the city , holding the Acropolis of Athens and strategic junctions . In the sporadic fighting casualties were light but constant . The 6th Battalion had 130 casualties during the fighting in Greece . Post war . The battalion returned to Italy but did not see active service again . After the war they returned to England for a short time , before with the complete brigade joined the 6th Airborne Division serving in Palestine . In the post war reduction in the British Army , in December 1947 the battalion was amalgamated with the 4th Parachute Battalion as the 4th / 6th Parachute Battalion .