Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment 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 Regular army units they were never used for "crowd control or riot duties". 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.
Recruiting at a time of intercommunal conflict known as the Troubles, the regiment was originally intended to reflect the demographics of Northern Ireland, and began in 1970 with Catholic recruits accounting for 16% of its soldiers; but by the end of 1972, after the introduction of internment this had dropped to around 3%, making it an almost exclusively Protestant regiment. In the early years some subversive elements were able to evade detection within the flawed vetting system leading to it accepting members of extremist organisations as soldiers. Some of these were subsequently convicted of serious offences, including sectarian murder. It is doubtful if any other unit of the British Army has ever come under the same sustained criticism as the UDR, particularly from the nationalist SDLP and republican Sinn Fein the latter having been the political wing of the Provisional IRA during the campaign.
It consisted mostly of part-time volunteers until 1976, when a full-time cadre was added. Uniquely in the British Army, the regiment was on continuous active service throughout its 22 years of service. It was also the first infantry regiment of the British Army to fully incorporate women into its structure. In 1992, the UDR was amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers to form the Royal Irish Regiment. In 2006, the regiment was retroactively awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.
Background
The UDR was raised in 1970, soon after the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Before then, the main security forces were the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Special Constabulary, otherwise known as the "B Specials". Catholics were reluctant to join these police forces as they were seen by many as a Protestant army.Large scale intercommunal rioting in 1969 stretched police resources in Northern Ireland, so the British Army was deployed to assist the police. On 28 August 1969 security in Northern Ireland, including the USC, was put under the direct control of the General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland, General Ian Freeland.
The USC, which had no training in riot control, was mobilised to assist the RUC. Several incidents ensued, such as Specials from Tynan shooting dead an unarmed civil rights demonstrator in Armagh on 14 August 1969. While the Northern Ireland cabinet remained supportive of the USC, it was put to them at a London meeting on 19 August that disbanding the USC was top of the British government's agenda.
The Hunt Report commissioned by the Government of Northern Ireland published on 3 October 1969, recommended that the RUC "should be relieved of all duties of a military nature as soon as possible". Further; a "locally recruited part-time force, under the control of the G.O.C., Northern Ireland, should be raised"... and that it "together with the police volunteer reserve, should replace the Ulster Special Constabulary". The new force was to be "impartial in every sense" and "remove the responsibility of military-style operations from the police".
The British government accepted the findings of the Hunt Report and published a Bill and white paper on 12 November 1969 to begin the process of establishing the UDR. Parliamentary debate in Westminster highlighted concerns that members of the USC were to be allowed to join the new force.
A working party was set up at Headquarters Northern Ireland chaired by Major General A.J. Dyball of the Royal Ulster Rifles, then the deputy director of operations in Northern Ireland. The team included a staff officer from the Ministry of Defence, a member of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Lieutenant Colonel S Miskimmon, the USC staff officer to the RUC. After discussions, they advocated a strength of 6,000 men, combat dress for duties, a dark green parade uniform, county shoulder titles, and a "red hand of Ulster" cap badge. The rank of "volunteer" was suggested for private soldiers. They recommended that each battalion should have a mobile force of two platoons, each equipped with a Land Rovers fitted for radio plus three "manpack" radio sets.
After the presentation to the Ministry of Defence, a government white paper confirmed the agreed aspects of the new force and its task as:
Name
When the Ulster Defence Regiment Bill, the legislation establishing the regiment, was being debated in Parliament there was considerable discussion about its proposed name. An amendment to the legislation was proposed that would have given the regiment the name "Northern Ireland Territorial Force". Proponents of this amendment were concerned to ensure that the word "Ulster" be removed from the name of the regiment. They argued that the name "Ulster" evoked emotive resistance from many Catholics in Northern Ireland and that the term "Ulster" had been associated with the Orange organisations and other organisations perceived as excluding Catholics e.g. the Ulster Protestant Volunteers, the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Special Constabulary. They argued "Ulster" had strong party political and partisan connotations and would deter Catholic participation in the new regiment. One speaker said the name "Ulster" would "frighten the Catholics away". They also argued that as three of Ulster's nine counties were not in Northern Ireland, the title was inaccurate, especially given that persons from outside of Northern Ireland would be prohibited by law from joining the regiment.For the British government's part, those defending the proposed name argued that the term "Ulster" should still be included because of precedent; in the past, it had been attached to certain regiments in Northern Ireland. He pointed to the Ulster Unionist Party as an example of an organisation that included the word Ulster and had many Catholic members. The Under-Secretary of State for the Army said "the Government considered that the use of the word 'Ulster' is, frankly, unimportant". Another speaker said a majority in Northern Ireland prefer the word "Ulster". The proposed amendment was defeated and the UDR got its name.
Formation and recruitment
The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969 received royal assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970.General Sir John Anderson GCB, KCB DSO was appointed as the first Colonel Commandant. He came to be known as the "Father of the Regiment". The first regimental commander was a WW2 veteran of some distinction, Brigadier Logan Scott-Bowden CBE, DSO, MC & Bar.
Regimental Headquarters was set up in a small bungalow behind the NAAFI shop at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn.
Recruitment began on 1 January with a press conference. Advertisements appeared in local newspapers informing the Northern Ireland public that: "There's a new regiment in the army. We want you to help us form it." A coupon was provided for applicants to fill in, alternatively, those interested could pick up an information leaflet and application form from their local army barracks, Territorial Army centres, post office, police station or library. A one-minute television commercial was produced which included a personal appeal by Brigadier Scott-Bowden. Recruiting was open to all "male citizens of good character" between the ages of 18 and 55. Application forms were sent to all members of the USC, which was soon to be wound up.
Vetting was carried out by a Regular Army team of mostly retired officers from outside Northern Ireland including a vice admiral and a number of major generals. Each applicant had to provide two references and the referees would be interviewed by a vetting officer. Applicants were divided into three categories: those who were immediately deemed acceptable, those who were to be immediately rejected, and those whose applications threw up doubt about their suitability. All applications were supposed to be submitted to the RUC Special Branch and Criminal Investigation Department, but in practice, this didn't always happen because of the initially high number of applicants.
On 13 January 1970 seven "training majors" from the regular army reported for duty. None had served in Northern Ireland previously. Their job was to raise each battalion and have it ready for duty on 1 April. These came to be known as TISOs. Each was assisted by a regular army quartermaster, a corporal clerk, a civil service Clerical Officer to act as Chief Clerk, and a typist.
Premises were acquired from diverse sources including wooden huts in army training centres, USC huts or whatever accommodation could be found in regular army barracks or Territorial Army centres.
Seven battalions were formed initially: 1st ; 2nd ; 3rd ; 4th ; 5th ; 6th and 7th. On 1 April 1970 the regiment joined the British Army's Order of Battle and became operational.
Commissioned officer recruitment
For each battalion there was a minimum requirement of:- 1 lieutenant colonel
- 6 majors
- 7 captains
- 25 lieutenants