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By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
A NEW-LOOK British Army was unveiled yesterday, based on a handful of super- regiments, combining famous regimental names under new regional headings.
The long-awaited restructuring of the Army which has provoked emotive protests, particularly among supporters of The Black Watch in Scotland, was outlined by Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, and by General Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff and prime mover behind the changes. Some of the heat of the campaign in Scotland may be removed by the emergence of a special deal created for Scottish units.
After a request from the colonels of the Scottish Division, General Jackson agreed to preserve the identities of the present Scottish regiments using a formula that has not been followed elsewhere in the infantry. He added that the English divisions had not made the same request for this particular formula.
So, as an example: The Prince of Wales’ Division, The Cheshire Regiment will join with The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters and The Staffordshire Regiment to form the Mercian Regiment. They will become known as the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshires), 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) and 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords).
General Jackson confirmed that the Scottish Division was to be reduced from six battalions to five and then merged into a single Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The fourth battalion will be formed by reassigning the 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment to a new role as a support unit for the SAS. It will be formed into a tri-service “Ranger” unit, expected to be located somewhere near Hereford, where the SAS is based, to boost the availability of special operations troops.
General Jackson admitted yesterday that he had had to face some tough decisions and was well aware of the emotions generated when famous regiments were amalgamated.
Although The Black Watch was the regiment constantly in the forefront of publicity over the expected changes, General Jackson said one of the most difficult decisions was over the future of The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. It is a relatively new regiment but with legendary ancestors, notably the 1st Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment, which suffered 629 casualties during the battle at Imjin River in the Korean War in the 1950s.
The RGBW, as it is called, is now to be split up, with the Gloster element being transferred to the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, and the Berkshire and Wiltshire components being switched to The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. In addition, the newly amalgamated Devon, Dorset and Gloucestershire Regiment will be shipped over to join the Light Division, which consists now of two battalions of Light Infantry and two battalions of The Royal Green Jackets.
With the size of the Army coming down from 103,500 to 102,000 soldiers and the number of infantry battalions from 40 to 36, the Service is also going to lose six of its bands and one more will be reduced.
In the Commons Mr Hoon faced derision when he announced the biggest changes to the Army for a generation.
He told MPs the object was to make the Army more robust and to build up key specialist capabilities, such as engineers, logistics and intelligence experts. The “release” of 2,400 posts, arising from the reduction in the infantry battalions from 40 to 36, would make it possible to increase the number of specialists in these key areas.
Mr Hoon said that the infantry could be cut back because of the reduced requirement for troops in Northern Ireland. Now the new super-regiments would be given permanent bases, providing more stability and better arrangements for families.
The Foot Guards of the Guards Division, The Royal Irish Regiment and the two remaining Gurkha battalions have been excluded from the changes. The size of the Territorial Army will stay the same.
Regiments worst-affected by the changes:
The Royal Scots: Senior infantry regiment, dating from 1633 (originally as Sir John Hepburn’s Regiment). Headquarters: Edinburgh. Colonel-in-Chief: the Princess Royal. Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (No one touches me with impunity). Recruits from Lothians and Edinburgh. Battle honours include Waterloo, Somme and Passchendaele. Nicknamed Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard. Dress includes Stewart tartan kilts.
King’s Own Scottish Borderers: First raised in 1689 (as Leven’s Regiment or the Edinburgh Regiment). Headquarters: Berwick-on-Tweed. Colonel-in-Chief: was Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester until her recent death. Motto: Nisi dominus frustra (Without the Lord all is in vain). Recruits from Borders. Battle honours include Mons, Ypres, Passchendaele, Dunkirk and Burma. Dress includes the Leslie tartan and on August 1, to commemorate the Battle of Minden, a red rose in headdress.
The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment: Dates from 1680 (as the 2nd Tangier Regiment). Acquired its present name in 1959 when The King’s Own Royal Regiment and The Border Regiment merged. Headquarters: Carlisle. Colonel-in-Chief: Princess Alexandra. Motto: Honi Soit Qi Mal y Pense (Evil be to him who evil thinks). Recruits in Cumbria and north Lancashire. Battle honours include Waterloo, Sevastopol, Ypres, Somme, Dunkirk, Arnhem and Sicily.
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment: Formed in 1994 from The Gloucestershire Regiment and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment but its origins date from 1694 (as Sir John Gibson’s Regiment). Headquarters: Gloucester. Colonel-in-Chief: the Duke of Edinburgh. Recruits in the named county areas. Battle honours, producing 16 Victoria Crosses and one George Cross, include Waterloo, Sevastopol, Mons, Ypres, Somme and Burma. Dress distinctions include a Korean War citation patch on the top of the sleeve.
The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment: The senior county regiment dating from 1685 (as the Duke of Beaufort’s Regiment). Headquarters: Exeter. Colonel-in-Chief: the Duke of Kent. Battle honours include the Relief of Ladysmith, Mons, Somme, Gallipoli, the Normandy landings, Caen and Burma. Motto: Semper Fidelis (Ever Faithful). Dress distinctions include the Croix de Guerre ribbon.
December 17, 2004 at 12:33 AM in UK | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home