8th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment

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8th (County Tyrone) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment
Crest of the Ulster Defence Regiment.svg
Regimental Insignia
Active1971–1992
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

The 8th (County Tyrone) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed on 1 December 1971 using companies, based in the east of the county, of the 6th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment. [1] It was, along with the rest of the regiment, subsumed into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment. [2]

Contents

History

Battalion HQ was based at Killymeal House, Dungannon, which was also home for the Commanding Officer and his family. The operations room was located in the stables. [3] 5 companies were dispersed between Killymeal House and the rest of the battalion area.

The first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel John Blackwell of the Royal Tank Regiment. [4]

On 7 November 1974, a gunman hijacked a van with its driver. A 500 pounds (230 kg) bomb was placed in the van and the driver ordered to take it to the local UDR base, which was J Company, 8 UDR. This was known in the terminology of the time as a proxy bomb. The base was prepared for such an attack, as were most bases. [5] When the van arrived at their base, a sergeant from J Company grabbed his SMG and forced the van driver to put his vehicle into what was known as a "Critpit" [6] (named after its originator, Colonel I.R. Critchley, (Black Watch), [7] deputy commander of 3 Infantry Brigade. [8] The Critpit was a deep pit, large enough to hold a lorry, and lined with sandbags. [6] The bomb exploded less than an hour later but the only damage done was a few shattered windows in the base and surrounding area. [6]

Uniform, armament & equipment

Casualties

The first soldier from the new battalion was killed on 7 December 1971. Lance Corporal Dennis Wilson, aged 31 J Company) had taken to his bed at home with a cold. At 10:30 pm, three armed men forced entry to his farmhouse near Caledon, County Tyrone, 300 yards from the border with the Republic of Ireland. One of them held his family at gunpoint in a downstairs room whilst the other two went upstairs and killed him. [9]

Notable personnel

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Ulster Defence Regiment Former infantry regiment of the British Army

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.

Glenanne barracks bombing

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.

1st Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

3rd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment Military unit

5th 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.

6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

7th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

2nd/11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment Military unit

The 2nd//11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1991 as a result of an amalgamation between the 2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment and the 11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment. The resultant 2/11 UDR was subsumed into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 as part of the Options for Change amalgamations and was renamed the 6th Battalion Royal Irish Regiment.

1st/9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment 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.

4th/6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment Military unit

The 4th/6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed in 1991 as a result of an amalgamation between the 4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment and the 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment. The resultant 4/6 UDR was subsumed into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 as part of the amalgamation which formed the Royal Irish 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.

Attack on UDR Clogher barracks

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.

References

  1. ↑ Potter P63
  2. ↑ "The Ulster Defence Regiment - British Army Website". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Potter p63.
  4. ↑ Potter p63
  5. ↑ Potter p137
  6. 1 2 3 Ryder p72
  7. ↑ "Person Page". thepeerage.com.
  8. ↑ Potter p410
  9. ↑ Ryder p47
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