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{{See also|Ulster_Defence_Regiment#Fast_boats}} {{See also|Ulster_Defence_Regiment#Fast_boats}}

==Intimidation==
Protestant and Catholic soldiers were both intimidated out of the regiment. <ref>Potter p58</ref> Following the introduction of ] however more Catholic soldiers found themselves the subject of intimidation from within their own community. <ref>Potter p58</ref> In ] one member of the conrate guard was Catholic. Some of his neighbours came to his home in the early hours of the morning and beat him as well as scrubbing his face with a hard brush. He was a frail man but was beaten black and blue and his face badly damaged by the brush. He resigned from the battalion the next day. <ref>Potter p59</ref>


==Uniform, armament & equipment== ==Uniform, armament & equipment==

Revision as of 13:22, 3 August 2013

4th (County Fermanagh) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment CGC
UDR InsigniaRegimental Insignia
Active1970–1992
Country United Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
TypeInfantry battalion
RoleInternal Security
Size750
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
Military unit See also: Ulster Defence Regiment See also: List of battalions and locations of the Ulster Defence Regiment

4th (County Fermanagh) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (4 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the 7 original battalions specified in the 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.

History

Along with the other 6 original battalions, 4 UDR commenced operational duties on 1 April 1970.

The first training Major (TISO) was Major KW Battison Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Part of his job was to find accommodation for the various companies of the new battalion. Where possible accommodation was sought in army bases although the old Ulster Special Constabulary platoon huts were vacant and available. To have used those would have attracted criticism from those who were already claiming that the UDR was the B Specials under a new name.

The battalion was initially based in the ladies rest room of the territorial armt centre in Enniskillen but was moved to Grosvenor Barracks, Coleshill, Enniskillen where a new "hardened" barracks was eventually built, partially underground, to withstand mortar attack. The modified barracks was opened by the Duke of Westminster in 1991 (Grosvenor being the family name of the Duke. He has long standing family and military connections with the area).

Most patrols from of Grosvenor Barracks went out by helicopter or boat. Because of the danger of ambush vehicles were only used in the urban area around Enniskillen. The county is surrounded on three sides by the Republic of Ireland. Boat patrols were common as the county contains upper and lower Lough Erne. The battalion performed this task when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made her last visit to the area just several days before her resignation.

See also: Ulster_Defence_Regiment § Fast_boats

Intimidation

Protestant and Catholic soldiers were both intimidated out of the regiment. Following the introduction of internment however more Catholic soldiers found themselves the subject of intimidation from within their own community. In Enniskillen one member of the conrate guard was Catholic. Some of his neighbours came to his home in the early hours of the morning and beat him as well as scrubbing his face with a hard brush. He was a frail man but was beaten black and blue and his face badly damaged by the brush. He resigned from the battalion the next day.

Uniform, armament & equipment

See: Ulster Defence Regiment Uniform, armament & equipment

Greenfinches

See also: Women's UDR

Notable personnel

See also

Bibliography

  • A Testimony to Courage – the Regimental History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969–1992, John Potter, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2001, ISBN 0-85052-819-4
  • The Ulster Defence Regiment: An Instrument of Peace?, Chris Ryder 1991 ISBN 0-413-64800-1
  • Lost Lives, David McKittrick, Mainstream, 2004, ISBN 184018504X

References

  1. "No. 44996". The London Gazette. 29 December 1969.
  2. Statutory Instrument, 1969 No. 1860 (C. 58), The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969 (Commencement) Order 1969
  3. The New Law Journal, Volume 120, Part 1
  4. Potter p27
  5. Potter p27
  6. Potter p345
  7. Ryder p191
  8. Potter p58
  9. Potter p58
  10. Potter p59
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