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The 38th Division's establishment was reduced to providing beach defence and to the training of recruits for other formations and from November 1941 to May 1943 it was stationed in Dorset.

In May 1943, the 15th Battalion was involved in the organisation and conduct of 'Operation Harlequin' - the full scale rehersal of the invasion of Europe.

In October 1943 the Battalion moved to Hertford and then to Northumberland where it acted as the 'enemy' for troops of the Second British Army.

In January 1944 the Battalion transferred to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles where it formed the defence garrison.

The Battalion was despatched to Ballyedmon in Northern Ireland where it was used as a training and draft finding unit until it finally disbanded.

Few if any of the soldiers who joined the 15th Battalion in 1939 remained with it throughout the war. Most if not all were posted to other Battalions of the Welch Regiment or to other arms and units of the British Army.

The role of the 15th Battalion was that of a defensive and recruit training arm of the army - an essential function but one denied the opportunity of battle honours.

A component of the overall Cockade plan designed to provide diversionary action against the German forces in France during 1943. Operation Harlequin was planned as an amphibious training exercise in the English Channel with a feint across the Channel towards German defences in the Pas-des-Calais. The operation was eventually called off for lack of adequate landing craft.

Source: The Encyclopedia of codenames of World War II