37th Signal Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1967–present |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Role | Military communications |
Part of | 1st (United Kingdom) Division |
Regimental HQ | Redditch |
Commanders | |
Honorary Colonel | Major General Stephen Potter |
Insignia | |
Royal Corps of Signals cap badge | |
Tactical Recognition Flash |
37th Signal Regiment (37 Sig Regt) is a military communications regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals, part of the British Army.
The regiment was formed as the 37th (Wessex and Welsh) Signal Regiment, Royal Signals (Volunteers) in 1967. [1] It initially consisted of 43 (Wessex) Signal Squadron, 53 (Welsh) Signal Squadron and 57 (City & County of Bristol) Signal Squadron. [1] In 1969 67 (Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron joined the regiment. [1]
In 1992, under Options for Change, 43 (Wessex) Squadron transferred to 21st (Air Support) Signal Regiment, 57 (City and County of Bristol) Squadron transferred to 71 Signal Regiment and 93 (East Lancashire) Squadron transferred from 38 Signal Regiment. [1] In addition to squadron changes, the regimental title was changed when the regiment dropped the 'Wessex and Welsh' subtitle following the above changes. Therefore, it became known as the 37th Signal Regiment. [2]
In 2006, 93 (East Lancashire) Squadron transferred back to 38 Signal Regiment. [1]
In 2009, under a further re-organisation, 67 (Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry) Squadron was reduced to a troop (867 Troop) and 48 (City of Birmingham) Squadron joined the regiment on the disbandment of 35 (South Midlands) Signal Regiment. [3] At the same time 33 (Lancashire) Squadron was formed on the disbandment of 33 (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment. [3]
In 2014, under Army 2020, 53 (Welsh) Signal Squadron transferred to 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment. [4]
2016 - Army Reserve 2020 plans detail the restructuring to Royal Signals Reserve units, with the Leeds Troop transferring to 64 Signal Squadron.
2022 – Future Soldier programme saw the Regiment move from a UK Ops role and reduce its establishment to 409 (including the Royal Signals (Northern) Band; The Regiment is currently paired with 2nd Signal Regiment supporting 1st (United Kingdom) Division.
The current structure of the regiment is as follows. [5] [6]
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles.
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications and information systems essential to all operations. Royal Signals units provide the full telecommunications infrastructure for the Army wherever they operate in the world. The Corps has its own engineers, logistics experts and systems operators to run radio and area networks in the field. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems, providing command support to commanders and their headquarters, and conducting electronic warfare against enemy communications.
A stable belt is a striped coloured belt worn at times by the armed forces of the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries, and a few other countries including Denmark, Brazil and Lebanon. The stripes vary by regiment and corps, identifying the wearer's unit. In Brazil and Lebanon they are known as gymnastic belts.
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in Leicester, with squadrons in Fulham, Nottingham, Dudley, Croydon, Telford, and Leicester. The regiment is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is only reserve cavalry regiment to resubordinate into regular brigade as part of the Future Soldier Programme, which in turn arose from the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy published in March 2021.
The Royal Corps of Army Music is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.
The Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry (QOWWY) was a regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps, forming part of the Territorial Army (TA). Following reductions in 1969 and 1971 respectively the regiment was reduced to two and later one company sized sub-unit in 1999. Following a reorganisation in 2021, there are now two successors to the regiment: one squadron in the Royal Yeomanry as light cavalry, and one squadron in the 37th Signal Regiment as a support squadron.
The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1956. The lineage is maintained by B Squadron, part of The Royal Yeomanry.
The 2nd Signal Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army composed of Royal Corps of Signals units. The brigade was first formed following the reorganisation of the old Territorial Army in 1967, and was disbanded in 2012 under the Army 2020 programme. However, later the 2nd Signal Group was formed continuing the lineage of the old brigade, before it was disbanded in 2018.
36 (Eastern) Signal Regiment was a Territorial Army (TA) signal unit of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals (RCS). The regiment was formed following the formation of the TAVR in 1967, and was disbanded in 2009 following a reorganisation in the RCS. Though not disbanded, the regiment continues its lineage as a squadron, with its own former squadrons forming troops within said squadron.
71st Yeomanry Signal Regiment is an Army Reserve regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. The regiment forms part of 7th Signal Group, providing military communications for national operations.
39th (Skinners) Signal Regiment is an Army Reserve regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. The regiment forms part of 1 Signal Brigade, providing military communications for national operations. The Lynx badge is a reminder of the unit's connection with the Worshipful Company of Skinners.
The 38 Signal Regiment (Volunteers) was a regiment of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment's task was to "provide contingency communications throughout the whole of Northern England, from the Scottish Borders to the Northern Home Counties. In this role it provided direct support to 15th (North East) Brigade, the Preston-based 42nd (North West) Brigade and the Nottingham-based 49th (East) Brigade." The regiment formed part of 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade.
The Home Service Force (HSF) was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. Each HSF unit was placed with either a Regular Army or Territorial Army regiment or battalion for administrative purposes and given that formation's title, cap badge and recruited from volunteers aged 18–60 with previous British forces experience. It was introduced to guard key points and installations likely to be the target of enemy special forces and saboteurs, so releasing other units for mobile defence roles. It was stood down in 1992 due to budget cuts.
In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.
The British yeomanry during the First World War were part of the British Army reserve Territorial Force. Initially, in 1914, there were fifty-seven regiments and fourteen mounted brigades. Soon after the declaration of war, second and third line regiments were formed. However, the third line regiments were soon absorbed into the Cavalry Reserve Regiments, to supply replacements for the cavalry and yeomanry. Other horsed regiments in the British Army, during the war, were the regular cavalry regiments and the three regiments belonging to the special reserve: the North Irish Horse, the South Irish Horse and the King Edward's Horse. The senior yeomanry regiments could trace their origins back over 100 years; the oldest regiment, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, had been formed in 1794. The most junior regiment, the Welsh Horse, had only been formed on 18 August 1914, after the start of the war.
The 13th Signals Group was a military communications brigade sized formation of the British Army. The group was established in 1967 to control the territorial signals regiments with national communication duties in the United Kingdom. It was later disbanded in 1974, when it merged with the 2nd Signal Group.
The 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters was a former territorial infantry battalion that existed for a short time towards the end of the Cold War. Following reductions to the Territorial Army (TA) in 1992, the battalion was disbanded with elements helping to form RHQ & HQ Sqn of 37 Signal Regiment, and 96 Signal Squadron. This squadron was then reduced to a signal troop in 2009, but continues to exist as part of 48 Signal Squadron.
[i]A number of posts within TA signals units were formed to operate equipment that has now become obsolete. These posts will now be removed and include Headquarters 12 Signals Group and 33, 34 and 35 Signals Regiments. It makes sense to reallocate resources from these posts to higher defence priorities. This decision has not been taken lightly and we are very aware of the exceptional contribution made by the Royal Signals within the TA.