Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Ulster Defence Regiment
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==''Options for Change'' and amalgamation== After the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] the United Kingdom began to reduce the size of its armed forced under the working title of [[Options for Change]]. Army strength was to be reduced from 160,000 to 110,000; the infantry to reduce from 55 battalions to 38. The GOC saw this as a perfect opportunity to streamline the UDR and also remove some of the more "intractable problems" with regards to image and career prospects. In a revolutionary plan he decided to merge the UDR with the [[Royal Irish Rangers]]; incorporating part-time soldiers into the regular army for the first time in history.<ref name=Potter35962>Potter 2001, pp. 359β62</ref> The hope of the British Army's commander was that the process of amalgamation with the Rangers, coupled with the change of name, would be a fresh start for what he says was a "discredited UDR". The Rangers recruited from the South of Ireland, including many Catholics, and this would aid the process.<ref>Larkin p179</ref> [[File:Irish Ranger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Royal Irish Rangers]] in various forms of dress.]] "Project Infancy" would also ensure that the Royal Irish Rangers, the last Irish infantry battalion of "[[Line infantry|the line]]" did not lose their training facilities and presence in Northern Ireland. The UDR, which was not regular line infantry was, in the words of one commander, "like a fish without feathers". Incorporation as infantry of the line might provide UDR officers with career prospects which mirrored those of the regular army and hopefully resolve the problem of recruiting junior officers. To the GOC the prospect of having a larger number of Catholic officers and NCOs in the UDR would dampen much of the political furore surrounding the regiment.<ref name=Potter35962 /> In a private memo to [[John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market|John MacGregor]], [[Lord President of the Council]] in [[First Major ministry]], then Defence Secretary [[Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater|Tom King]] emphasised that the merger was primarily motivated by the political controversy surrounding the UDR locally and in Anglo-Irish relations, and it was hoped the move would do away with the UDR's "sectarian stigma."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/statepapers/2017/12/30/news/state-papers-udr-merger-into-rir-aimed-to-remove-sectarian-stigma--1221574/|title=UDR merger into RIR aimed to remove 'sectarian stigma' |first=Eamon|last=Phoenix|newspaper=The Irish News}}</ref> The plan was approved by early summer 1991 and proposed:<ref>Potter p360</ref> * The 2 battalions of the Royal Irish Rangers would amalgamate to create a single "General Service" battalion. * The existing nine UDR battalions would be reduced to seven and designated "Home Service". * The part-time element would remain in the Home Service element but the new structure provided for general reduction when the time was right. * The new regiment would be called the [[Royal Irish Regiment (1992)|Royal Irish Regiment]], reusing a name which had been lost on the disbandment of many famous Irish infantry regiments after [[Partition of Ireland|partition]] in 1922. In return the UDR would receive: * A royal title. * A direct line of succession through the regimental name to the [[Battle of the Boyne]] and other battles of the [[Williamite War in Ireland|Williamite Wars]].<ref name=Potter35962 /> The proposals were generally welcomed at senior level but there was predictable worry amongst the ranks that this was a precursor to disbandment. Unionist political parties protested, particularly the DUP who immediately relaunched their 1989 "Hands Off the UDR" campaign.<ref name=Potter35962 /> When it merged in 1992 the UDR had been on active service longer than any regiment since the [[Napoleonic Wars]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4736301.stm|title=Chequered history of Irish regiment|date=1 August 2005|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> having remained on operations from the day it was created to the day it was amalgamated.<ref name="history" />
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)