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Date	Original Topic
7th May 2003	Confused By Peter Wilson Excellent and very informative site. Thank You to the creators. One question though. In the myths section it states that there few Welshmen present. The source was taken from below: Of the 24th Regt. at the defence, the numbers (Source: 'The Noble 24th. by Norman Holme), 49 were English, 18 Monmouthshire,16 Irish, 1 Scottish, 14 Welsh and 21 of unknown nationality. Why are the Welsh and Monmouthshire figures separate ? Isn't Monmouthshire in Wales ?
Date	Replies
7th May 2003	Martin Everett Dear Peter, In 1879, Monmouthshire was regarded as neither part of England nor part of Wales. In the local government changes in 1974 Monmouthshire was incorporated into the County of Gwent part of Wales. I am not really sure it matters as the 24th Regiment has served this country with distinction for over 300 years - its changes in structure and recruiting in over the years are largely political decisions. My own feel is that you cannot view warfare like a football match - Welsh v Zulus. The men of the 24th did their best in very difficult circumstances and conditions. After all the Zulus came from different tribes as well.
8th May 2003	Julian Whybra Administratively and judicially Monmouthshire was considered part of England in 1879 but geographically it was part of Wales. Without going over the same ground look for the detailed discussion on the subject of Monmouthshire earlier on this site.