71st (City of London) Yeomanry Signal Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1969 – present |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Combat Support |
Size | Regiment of appx. 381 personnel [1] |
Part of | 7th Signal Group |
Regimental HQ | Bexleyheath, Kent |
Insignia | |
Tactical Recognition Flash |
71st (City of London) 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.
The regiment was formed as 71st (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment, Royal Signals in 1969. [2] [3] The squadrons at that time included HQ (London and Kent) Squadron, 70 (Essex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron, 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron and 68 (Inns of Court & City Yeomanry) Signal Squadron. [2] HQ Squadron converted to a communications role and was re-designated 265 (Kent and County of London Yeomanry) Squadron in 1970. [2]
In 2006, 47 (Middlesex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron transferred from 39th Signal Regiment (The Skinners). [4] [5]
In 2014, under Army 2020, 36th (Eastern) Signal Regiment reformed as 36 (Essex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron and transferred from 37th Signal Regiment. [6] Also in 2014, under Army 2020, 47 (Middlesex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron (already part of the regiment) amalgamated with 41 (Princess Louise's Kensington) Signal Squadron (previously part of 38th (City of Sheffield) Signal Regiment) to form a new entity, 31 (Middlesex Yeomanry and Princess Louise's Kensington) Signal Squadron. [6]
The regiment's current structure is as follows: [7] [8]
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 Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force. The unit evolved several times until 1935, after which the name was lost during one of many reorganisations.
The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as artillery in World War II. Its lineage is maintained by 36 Signal Squadron, part of 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals.
The Inns of Court & City Yeomanry is a British Army unit formed through the amalgamation of The Inns of Court Regiment and The City of London Yeomanry in 1961. Its lineage is maintained by 68 Signal Squadron and the Band of the Royal Yeomanry.
Several British Army regiments have borne the title County of London Yeomanry (CLY). Most have been mounted, then armoured regiments.
The Inns of Court Regiment (ICR) was a British Army regiment that existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on today within 68 Signal Squadron, as part of 71st Yeomanry Signal Regiment.
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.
The 31st Signal Regiment was a territorial communications regiment of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. The regiment first formed following the creation of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967 after the 1966 Defence White Paper. After seeing limited reserve support during the Cold War, the regiment was disbanded in 2010 following the initial Army 2020 reform.
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 Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in the First World War at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its officers won a Victoria Cross at the Battle of Buqqar Ridge and the regiment rode into Damascus with 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Between the world wars the regiment was converted to the signals role and it provided communications for armoured formations in the Second World War, including service in minor operations in Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Iran, as well as the Western Desert, Italian and North-West European campaigns. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army and its lineage is maintained today by 31 Signal Squadron, Royal Corps of Signals, which forms part of the Army Reserve.
The Kensington Regiment (Princess Louise's) is a unit of the British Army, which originated in the Volunteer Rifle Corps' movement of the 1850s. In 1908 it became a battalion of the London Regiment in the Territorial Force. It was an infantry regiment from 1908 to 1940, a heavy fire support unit from 1940 to 1945, and has been a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals since 1945.
101 Engineer Regiment is a regiment of the British Army's Royal Engineers. Under Army 2020 Refine, the regiment moved from a hybrid regiment to a reserve EOD&S regiment with the regimental headquarters established in Catford. It is part of 29th Group, 8 Engineer Brigade. The Honorary Colonel of the regiment is Col Jools Holland.