The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales (3 RRW) was an infantry battalion of the British Army, part of the Royal Regiment of Wales. The battalion was formed during the expansion of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1971, and later disbanded and merged with the 4th (V) Battalion of the same regiment to form the new 2nd (V) Battalion. The battalion's lineage is currently carried on by two company-sized units: C (Royal Regiment of Wales) Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh and 580 (Glamorgan) Transport Squadron of 157th (Wales and Midlands) Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.

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C (Royal Regiment of Wales) Company 580 (Glamorgan) Transport Squadron, RLC 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales
Active	1 April 1971–present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry and Logistics
Size	Battalion, later Company
Part of	160th (Welsh) Infantry Brigade
Battalion HQ	Maindy Barracks, Cardiff
Motto(s)	Gwell angau na Chywilydd "Death rather than Dishonour"
Anniversaries	St. David's Day, (1 March), Rorke's Drift, (22 January) Gheluvelt, (31 October)
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	HRH The Prince of Wales

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On 1 April 1971, the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales was formed as part of the expansion of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) after the major reductions of just a few years prior, in 1967. In theory the battalion was in-fact not a new formation, as the headquarters was formed by expansion of the cadre (a formation of just a few soldiers). The cadre which formed the 3rd (V) Battalion was the 3rd (Monmouthshire) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales, and therefore had an indirect connection to the late Monmouthshire Regiment, which itself had disbanded in 1967.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The structure of the battalion on formation was as follows:^[1][2][3][5]

• Battalion Headquarters, at Maindy Barracks, Cardiff
• Headquarters Company, at Maindy Barracks, Cardiff
  • Anti-Tank Platoon, in Pentre
  • Mortar Platoon, in Cwmcarn
• A Company, in Abertillery
  • Platoon, in Blackwood
• B Company, in Newport
  • Platoon, in Pontypool
• C Company, in Pontypridd
  • Platoon, in Pentre

The battalion's companies were formed from the following: Battalion HQ and HQ Company formed by redesignation of HQ Company, Welsh Volunteers; A Company new formed; B Company formed by redesignation of B (South Wales Borderers) Company, Welsh Volunteers; Pontypool Platoon formed by expansion of the 3rd (Monmouthshire) Btn, Royal Regiment of Wales; C Company formed by redesignation of C (Welch Regiment) Company in Pontypridd; and the Pentre Platoon formed by reformation of the 5th/6th (Territorial) Battalion, Welch Regiment cadre expansion.^[1][2][3][5]

After the 1981 Defence White Paper, the 'Home Service Force' was formed, as a home defence lightly armed group, eventually forming a company in almost every territorial battalion. The new force were primarily tasked to defence key points (KPs) throughout their area against sabotage from enemy special forces (most probably the Russian Spetsnaz). The force comprised ex-regular, ex-territorial, and ex-uniformed service personnel including those with a minimum of two years experience. As a result of this expansion, a new E (Home Service Force) Company was formed with its headquarters at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff with a platoon in Brecon.^[6][7][8]

In addition to the formation of the Home Service Force, the Territorial Army (as the TAVR was now known) was given roles of increased priority, and more emphasis was placed on supporting BAOR. Therefore, following the paper, another new company, D (City of Cardiff) Company was formed in Cardiff by expansion of the defence platoon of HQ Company on 1 April 1985.^[1][2][7][8]

If mobilised, the battalion would have been sent to the British Army of the Rhine as an anti-tank armoured reserve unit for the 4th Armoured Division.^[9][10][11]

In 1991, following the end of the Cold War, the Options for Change paper was published which saw a major reorganisation of the armed forces, especially the British Army. As a result of this programme, the Home Service Force was disbanded, with E (HSF) Company disbanding in May 1992. In addition, many of the regular regiments gained their territorial battalions back, and many of the old territorial regiments disbanded.^[1][2]

Therefore, on 1 October 1993, the battalion was disbanded and consequently merged with the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales to form the new 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales. The following company changes consequently occurred: Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company merged to form the new Battalion HQ and HQ Company of the 2nd Battalion at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff; A and B Companies merged to form a new B (Rorke's Drift) Company in Cefn Fforest and Pontypool; C Company became C (Pontypridd) Company in Pontypridd and Pentre; and finally D (City of Cardiff) Company was reroled to become 580 Ambulance Squadron in Cardiff and Bridgend, which consequently amalgamated with C Company of the 4th (V) Battalion.^{[1][2][12][13][14]}

Following the announcement of the decision to reduce the two territorial battalions of the Royal Regiment of Wales, some Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (MPs) presented petitions signed by over 33,000 people of South Wales protesting the disbandment of these battalions.^[15]