Last month, 37 soldiers from 3rd Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (3 PWRR) based in Kent and Sussex deployed to Cyprus as part of the UK’s long-standing mission to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The soldiers, now deployed until the autumn are part of the 240 strong contingent led by 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (5 RRF) one of our sister Army Reserve battalions in 20th Armoured Brigade.
The battlegroup took command of Operation TOSCA late in March following a 6-month tour led by a regular unit. The UK’s contingent has responsibility for an area of the buffer zone known as sector 2. The buffer zone runs east to west across the entire island and is between 7.4km and 3.3m wide. One of the challenges our soldiers face is the portion that runs through the capital Nicosia where the zone is at its narrowest, thus facing significant pressures due to the proximity of the opposing forces. The role of the battlegroup is to monitor their sector of the buffer zone and report where violations are committed by either side so that the UN can work with the political leadership in the North and South of the island to find a political solution to the ‘Cyprus question’
In addition to their UN duties soldiers from Kent and Sussex have also taken part in UN humanitarian support helping to distribute food, medicine and gas bottles to some remote villages in the northern part of Cyprus. The communities they delivered to are populated by people from the Maronite community, a Roman Catholic group of people who have lived across the island for generations, but without extra help people in these villages would struggle to get by day to day.
Soldiers from 3 PWRR are no strangers to Operation TOSCA or Cyprus, personnel have routinely deployed on the operation over the last decade, and we have visited the island for annual training exercises. Indeed, our Band were on the island in 2024 working with our regular soldiers in the 1st Battalion, who have been based in Cyprus since summer last year.
3 PWRR are currently ‘paired’ with 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment as part of the restructured Army under the Army 2020 concept. Thus, we are now on the cutting edge of Army Reserve units with the very latest kit available across the Battalion.
The Battalion also boasts a fine Regimental Band and Corps of Drums based at its Headquarters in Canterbury.
Officers and Soldiers of the Battalion take time away from their normal civilian employment to train every Wednesday evening and one to two weekends each month.
There is also a two week training period conducted annually that can take place either in the United Kingdom or abroad, previous trips have included large battalion exercises in Spain and Estonia, the Battalion has also taken part in Exercise NORTHERN STRIKE in Michigan, USA .
Find out more below: