5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment

Last updated

5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment
Crest of the Ulster Defence Regiment.svg
Regimental Insignia
Active1970–1992
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army (1938-present).svg British Army
Type Infantry battalion
RoleInternal Security
Size750
Regimental Headquarters Lisburn
Motto(s)"Quis Separabit" (Latin)
"Who Shall Separate Us?"
March(Quick) Garryowen & Sprig of Shillelagh.
(Slow) Oft in the Stilly Night
Commanders
Colonel CommandantFirst: General Sir John Anderson GBE, KCB, DSO.
Last: General Sir Charles Huxtable, KCB, CBE, DL
Colonel of the RegimentColonel Sir Dennis Faulkner CBE

5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (5 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 [1] and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. [2] [3] It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

Contents

Recruitment

Recruitment for 5 UDR was initially slow. The battalion began its duties on 1 April 1970 with only 200 men to patrol Derry city and a further 300 to cover the rest of the county as opposed to the Ulster Special Constabulary (which the UDR replaced) figures for the previous day of 600 and 1,200 respectively. [4] Catholic recruitment was on a par with Protestant figures however and the two city companies of 5 UDR were 50/50 in makeup, with John Hume known to have signed at least one application and told the recruit to "go out and find all the decent Catholic people he could to enlist". [5]

Sir Robin Chichester-Clark complained asked in the Parliament of the United Kingdom why one of his constituents was turned down for the force as he was a churchwarden and a local government official. [6] The reply by Roy Hattersley stated that the vetting team had been instructed to err on the side of caution and that two clergymen had also been refused because the new force was to be "isolated from political and sectarian influence". [6]

Intimidation

Protestant and Catholic soldiers were both intimidated out of the regiment. [7] Following the introduction of internment however more Catholic soldiers found themselves the subject of intimidation from within their own community. [7] One captain in 5 UDR, who had been a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and had taken part in the Derry march, was intimidated out of the regiment, out of his job and out of Derry. [7]

The OC of the Waterside Company commented that it was "very, very soul destroying" to lose good men this way, especially when they so obviously enjoyed being soldiers in the regiment. [8]

History

With the other six original battalions, 5 UDR commenced operational duties on 1 April 1970. Battalion Headquarters was established at the former anti-submarine warfare school but was later moved to more suitable accommodation in Shackleton Barracks, Ballykelly, County Londonderry [9] which they shared at various times with the Royal Air Force, the Army Air Corps and various units of the British Army.

The battalion had the largest Tactical Area of Responsibility in the regiment which covered parts of two counties (Londonderry and Antrim) as well as three police divisions 1,600 square miles in total. [9]

The first commanding officer of 5 UDR [10] was Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Bulstrode Lloyd Davidson JP, MID who had seen action in World War II as an officer with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He had been Deputy Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff for County Londonderry and later, Commandant of the City of Derry Ulster Special Constabulary between 1968 and 1970. [11]

Following his retirement after his agreed one year of service he was replaced by the battalion's first regular commanding officer, Lt Col John Lys. [12]

The second in command (2 i/c) of the battalion upon formation was Major George Lapsley, the son of a police inspector, graduate of Magee College, World War II veteran of the Royal Navy (Far Eastern campaign), and officer of the Territorial Army. He was responsible for recruitment in the early stages. [13] The job of 2 i/c was usually given to the senior part-time officer of the battalion until 1991 when the post was changed to one for a regular officer.

The first Training Major (TISO) was Major LSTH Pelham-Burn of the Coldstream Guards. [14] Part of his job was to organise accommodation for all the companies of the new battalion. Where possible accommodation was sought in army bases and although the old Ulster Special Constabulary platoon huts were vacant and available, to have used those was politically undesirable. [14]

Companies

The battalion eventually had seven rifle companies which were based at: Ebrington Barracks, Derry (A, West Bank, Coy and B, Waterside Coy), C Coy in Claudy, D Coy in Shackleton Barracks, Ballykelly, E Coy at Laurel House, Coleraine, F Coy in Magherafelt. and G Coy in Maghera. [15]

G Coy was originally the B Coy of 1 UDR based in Ballymoney. It came under the command of 5 UDR in 1983. A further change in 1992 saw E and G Coys merge to form D Company. [16]

E Company

Raised in 1971 the first Officer Commanding E Company (E Coy) was Major George Lapsley who transferred in from battalion headquarters. [17]

The company was broken down into four platoons. The majority of soldiers in 21 Platoon came from Portrush, Portstewart (the Ports) and the Windyhall area of Coleraine. 22 Platoon's soldiers lived on the east side of the River Bann. 23 Platoon's men and women came from the west side of the Bann, known as "The Heights" whilst 24 Platoon recruited from Garvagh and surrounding areas. [18] The resulting platoon structure had soldiers from each area regular patrolling territory they were familiar with and where they knew most people from the locality. This was a hallmark of the early UDR part-timers: that they were able to tell when something was amiss in the areas they knew when out on patrol.

21 Platoon
The Ports
22 Platoon
East Bann
23 Platoon
West Bann
24 Platoon
Garvagh
No 1 SectionNo 1 SectionNo 1 SectionNo 1 Section
No 2 SectionNo 2 SectionNo 2 SectionNo 2 Section
No 3 SectionNo 3 SectionNo 3 SectionNo 3 Section

Company headquarters was established in the former USC Drill Hall in Macosquin. After discussion with a local property owner "Laurel Hill House", built in 1843, was purchased by the Army Property Services Department for £24,000 but required work in excess of £100,000 to make it fit for purpose. [19] The house had been military accommodation in the past when it was requisitioned for the United States Army in World War II. [19] It was also reputed to be haunted.

By the time E Company took possession of the house and outbuilding they had been converted into a barracks which contained all the facilities expected to be found in UDR company and battalion locations, including a guardroom, armoury, Motor Transport (MT) section, 25 metre indoor rifle range (for .22 Long Rifle .22 calibre only), Officer's Mess, Warrant Officers and Sergeant's Mess, Junior Ranks Bar, snooker room, stores, lecture rooms, offices, operations room, sangars and a pipe range. [20] A pipe range consists of a 30-metre section of concrete pipe of 1 metre diameter, set onto the ground and covered substantially with earth. It was used in military bases in Northern Ireland for rifle practice when surrounding buildings made it unsafe to establish an open shooting range.

A helicopter pad was also established in the grounds of the house and a drill hall built close by. The drill hall also doubled as a room for large functions. [21]

The house and 4.5 acres of grounds were placed on the market again in 2012 and sold at auction for an undisclosed sum although the guide price was listed at £190,000. [22]

Uniform, armament and equipment

Initially, arms had to be drawn from the North Irish Horse barracks in Ballymoney, which by that time had become B Coy 1 UDR (see also Ulster Defence Regiment#Uniform, armament and equipment).

Greenfinches

Music

5 UDR had a number of champion pipers and drummers who, apart from local performances, represented the regiment at the Horse Guards Parade, the Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall, London, [9] the Colchester Tattoo, the Queen's Birthday Celebrations in York, an International Air Show at Aldergove and on a tour of the British Army of the Rhine. [23]

In the World Pipe Band Championships of 1978, the pipes and drums of 5 UDR won the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association championship against 126 other entrants. [24] In the World Pipe Band Championships of 1979, competing against 260 other bands, they won both the "Piping and Marching" and "Discipline" trophies, improving on their 1978 placings of second and first respectively in those categories. [25]

The album 5 UDR Pipes & Drums "Irish & Scottish Pipe Music", which includes recordings of the regimental and battalion's marches as well as other popular tunes, was the only recording publicly released by regimental musicians. [26]

Casualties

28 soldiers from 5 UDR died whilst on active duty during the Troubles and a further 12 were assassinated after leaving the regiment. [27]

The first to die was Captain Marcus McCausland, a Catholic. McCausland had previously served with the Irish Guards. His family owned a large estate outside Limavady. He had served as high sheriff for the county and was also a member of Limavady urban district council. The Official Irish Republican Army abducted him and interrogated him for four hours before shooting him and dumping his body in the snow. [28]

The hooded body of Sergeant David C. Deacon, 38 (HQ Company), was found on 3 March 1973 near Derry. His hands were tied behind his back, and he had been tortured. Deacon had previous service in the Royal Navy, was married with four children and was off duty at the time of his abduction and death. [29] Eight years after his death, his wife and four other UDR and RUC widows formed The Widow's Mite to tell the world their side of the story and to counter IRA propaganda. She had her gold wedding melted down and recast as the ancient "mite" bearing the symbol of a lighted candle. [30]

Memorials

A number of memorials exist to the fallen of the 5th Battalion. The main memorial to the UDR was erected in Lisburn, unveiled on 12 June 2011 by Viscount Brookeborough, one of the trustees of the UDR Memorial Trust. [31] The memorial is "a 19-foot 'heroic scale' bronze sculpture" featuring "bronze figures of a male UDR soldier and a female 'Greenfinch' on operational duty...set upon an equally impressive Mourne granite plinth.". [32]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements, their official role was the "defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage" but unlike troops from Great Britain they were never used for "crowd control or riot duties in cities". At the time the UDR was the largest infantry regiment in the British Army, formed with seven battalions plus another four added within two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Irish Regiment (1992)</span> Infantry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Irish Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was founded in 1992 through the amalgamation of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment. Their oldest predecessor, the 27th Regiment of Foot, was first raised in June 1689 to fight in the Williamite War in Ireland. Other notable regiments in their lineage include the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headquarters Northern Ireland</span> Military unit

HQ Northern Ireland was the formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve formation, 38 (Irish) Brigade, in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenanne barracks bombing</span>

The Glenanne barracks bombing was a large truck bomb attack carried out by the Provisional IRA against a British Army base at Glenanne, near Mountnorris, County Armagh. The driverless lorry was rolled down a hill at the rear of the barracks and crashed through the perimeter fence. The bombing took place on 31 May 1991 and left three soldiers killed and 14 people wounded, four of them civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

1st Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the 7 original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was amalgamated with the 9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment in 1984 to form the 1st/9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in the Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received royal assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment. It had previously been amalgamated in 1991 with the 11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment to form the 2nd/11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Formation of the Land Forces in Northern Ireland (CLFNI)

The 11th (Craigavon) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed from companies of the 2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the 3rd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment in 1972. In 1991 under the reductions planned in Options for Change by the British Army, it again amalgamated with 2 UDR to form the 2nd/11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

3rd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1972 from two companies of the 1st Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment creating a second battalion in County Antrim. It was amalgamated with 1 UDR in 1984 to form 1/9 UDR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Ulster military unit of the British Army

4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was amalgamated with the 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the 4th/6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

7th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1970 as part of the 7 original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was amalgamated with the 10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment in 1984 to form the 7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1984 as a result of an amalgamation between the 7th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the 10th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment. The resultant 7/10 UDR was subsumed into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 as part of the amalgamation which formed the Royal Irish Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Military unit

The 10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1972 from elements of the 7th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment creating a second battalion in Belfast. It was again amalgamated with 7 UDR in 1984 to form the 7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st/9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment</span> Infantry battalion in the British Army

The 1st/9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1984 as a result of an amalgamation between the 1st Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the 9th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.

Brigadier Henry Joseph Patrick Baxter was an Irish born fourth generation soldier who overcame the handicap of being blind in one eye to join the army and rose to command one of the largest and most controversial regiments in the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attack on UDR Clogher barracks</span> IRA attack on a British Army barracks in Northern Ireland

On 2 May 1974 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked a British Army base manned by the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) near the Northern Ireland–Republic of Ireland border at Clogher, County Tyrone. The IRA unit engaged the small base with automatic weapons, rockets and improvised mortars. Ferret armoured cars were deployed to the scene and a fierce firefight erupted. The IRA withdrew behind the border with the Republic. The assault on the outpost killed greenfinch Eva Martin and wounded another UDR soldier.

The Band of the Royal Irish Regiment is a military band serving as the regimental band for Royal Irish Regiment and the chief Irish military reserve band in the British Army. Being a reserve band, with is composed of volunteer musicians with the exception of a permanent staff instructor.

References

  1. "No. 44996". The London Gazette . 29 December 1969. p. 129747.
  2. Statutory Instrument, 1969 No. 1860 (C. 58), The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969 (Commencement) Order 1969
  3. The New Law Journal, Volume 120, Part 1
  4. Potter p. 28
  5. Potter p. 29
  6. 1 2 Ryder p. 39
  7. 1 2 3 Potter p. 58
  8. Potter p. 59
  9. 1 2 3 Ryder p. 191
  10. Gamble p. 67
  11. Person Page 37972
  12. Potter p. 44
  13. Gamble pp. 58–61
  14. 1 2 Potter p. 27
  15. Gamble p. 68
  16. Gamble 2009, pp. 134–135
  17. Gamble p. 66
  18. Gamble p. 70
  19. 1 2 Gamble p. 75
  20. Gamble pp. 76–77
  21. Gamble p. 77
  22. Laurel Hill House and site sold to a ‘private buyer’ - Local - Coleraine Times
  23. Potter p. 382
  24. Potter pp. 283–284
  25. Potter p. 201
  26. Gamble p. 200
  27. Gamble p. 228
  28. Potter, p. 72
  29. "Ulster Defence Regiment". Palace Barracks memorial garden. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  30. McKitterick p. 337
  31. "Lisburn Site Approved For Northern Ireland UDR Memorial". Ulster Star. 11 February 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  32. ‘Fitting tribute’ to UDR heroes unveiled. News Letter, 13 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012.