| Royal Irish Rifles Royal Ulster Rifles | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge | |
| Active | 1881–1968 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1793–1800) United Kingdom (1800–1968) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Rifles |
| Role | Light infantry |
| Size | 1-2Regular battalions 3Militia andSpecial Reserve battalions Up to 16 Hostilities-only battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ –Victoria Barracks, Belfast (1881-1937) St Patrick's Barracks,Ballymena (1937-1968) |
| Nickname(s) | The Stickies,[1] The Rifles |
| Motto(s) | Quis Separabit (Who shall separate us [from the love of Christ]) (Latin) |
| Colours | None as a rifle regiment |
| March | Quick: "The Ulster Rifles march 'Off, Off, Said the Stranger'" Pipes and Drums: "South Down Militia" |
| Anniversaries | Somme Day, 1 July |
| Engagements | Badajoz,Jhansi,Somme, Normandy Landings, Rhine Crossing,Korea |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | RUR (RIR) |
TheRoyal Irish Rifles (became theRoyal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was aninfantryrifle regiment of theBritish Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in theSecond Boer War, theFirst World War, theSecond World War, and theKorean War.
In 1968 the Royal Ulster Rifles was amalgamated with the other regiments of theNorth Irish Brigade, theRoyal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's), and theRoyal Inniskilling Fusiliers to create theRoyal Irish Rangers.
The regiment's history dates backs to the reign ofKing George III. In 1793 theBritish Army expanded to meet the commitments of the war with theFrench First Republic. As part of that expansion it raised two new regiments of foot, the83rd[2] and the86th.[3] In 1881, under theChilders Reforms, the 83rd and 86th were amalgamated into a single regiment, named theRoyal Irish Rifles, one of eight infantry regiments raised and garrisoned inIreland.[4] It was the county regiment of Antrim, Down, Belfast and Louth, with its depot located atVictoria Barracks, Belfast.[5] Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a single command within theUnited Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park)Dublin, directly under theWar Office in London.[6]
The regiment suffered serious losses at theBattle of Stormberg in December 1899 during theSecond Boer War.[7] In October 1905, amemorial was erected in the grounds ofBelfast City Hall in memory of the 132 who did not return. Field MarshalLord Grenfell unveiled the memorial while theTimes reported the event.[8]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force and the latter theSpecial Reserve;[9] the regiment now had three Reserve but no Territorial battalions.[10][11]
The 1st Battalion landed atLe Havre as part of the25th Brigade in the8th Division in November 1914 for service on theWestern Front.[12] It saw action at theBattle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915,[13] theBattle of Fromelles in July 1915 and theBattle of Loos in September 1915 before taking part in theBattle of the Somme in September 1916.[14]
The 2nd Battalion landed atRouen as part of the7th Brigade in the3rd Division in August 1914 and in the remainder of that year saw action at theBattle of Mons,Battle of Le Cateau,First Battle of the Marne,First Battle of the Aisne,Battle of La Bassée and theBattle of Messines.[12] By September 1914, only 6 officers and 200 men of the Battalion's original 1,100 men were still in active service.[15] By October the battalion had been further reduced to two officers and 46 men[16] and by the end of 1914, 97 per cent of the original battalion had been killed, injured or taken prisoner.[17]
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed atAnzac Cove as part of the29th Brigade in the10th (Irish) Division in August 1915 but moved toSalonika in October 1915 and to Egypt for service inPalestine in September 1917.[12] The 7th (Service) Battalion, which absorbed a company of theRoyal Jersey Militia, landed at Le Havre as part of the48th Brigade in the16th (Irish) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12]James Steele, a future general, served with the 7th Battalion.[18] The 8th (Service) Battalion (East Belfast), 9th (Service) Battalion (West Belfast) and 10th (Service) Battalion (South Belfast) landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of the107th Brigade in the36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12]
The 11th (Service) Battalion (South Antrim), 12th (Service) Battalion (Central Antrim) and 13th (Service) Battalion (1st County Down) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the108th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The14th (Service) Battalion (Young Citizens) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the109th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The 15th (Service) Battalion (North Belfast) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 107th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd County Down) (Pioneers) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as pioneer battalion for the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12]
Some 7,010 soldiers from the regiment were killed in action during the First World War.[19]
After the First World War theWar Office decided that Ulster should be represented on the Army List as Connaught, Leinster and Munster already had their own regiments and so, in 1920, a new name was proposed for the Royal Irish Rifles. From 1 January 1921 the regiment became the Royal Ulster Rifles.[11] The regiment moved toSt Patrick's Barracks in 1937.[20] In 1937 the already close relationship with theLondon Irish Rifles was formally recognised when they were incorporated into the Corps while still retaining their regimental identity as a territorial battalion. Two years later the London Irish formed a second battalion.[21]
When war was declared the 1st Battalion was serving inIndia, with the31st Independent Brigade Group, which was trained in mountain warfare. When the brigade returned to the United Kingdom, it was decided that, with its light scale of equipment, the brigade could be converted into aglider-borne unit. 31st Infantry Brigade, which also included the 1stBorder Regiment, 2ndSouth Staffs and2nd Ox and Bucks, was renamed1st Airlanding Brigade and trained asglider infantry.[22] They were assigned to the1st Airborne Division, part of the British Army'sairborne forces. The battalion, along with the 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, were later transferred to join the 12thDevonshire Regiment in the6th Airlanding Brigade as part of the newly raised6th Airborne Division which was actually only the second of two airborne divisions created by theBritish Army in World War II.[23]
Carried inHorsa gliders, the battalion took part inOperation Mallard, the British glider-borne landings in the later afternoon of 6 June 1944, otherwise known asD-Day. They served throughout theBattle of Normandy employed as normal infantry until August 1944 and the breakout from the Normandy beachhead where the entire 6th Airborne Divisionadvanced 45 miles in 9 days. They returned to England in September 1944 for rest and retraining until December 1944 when the 6th Airborne was then recalled to Belgium after thesurprise German offensive in the Ardennes which is now known as the Battle of the Bulge where the division played a comparatively small role in the mainly-American battle. They then took part in their final airborne mission of the war known asOperation Varsity, which was the airborne element ofOperation Plunder, the crossing of the RiverRhine by the21st Army Group in March 1945. The 6th Airborne was joined by theU.S. 17th Airborne Division, and both divisions suffered heavy casualties.[24]
The 2nd Battalion was part of the9th Infantry Brigade,3rd Infantry Division serving with theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France from 1939–1940.[25] The division was commanded by the thenMajor GeneralBernard Montgomery who would eventually lead the Anglo-Canadian forces as commander of the21st Army Group in theNorth West Europe Campaign. The 3rd Infantry Division took part in theBattle of Dunkirk, where it gained a decent reputation and earned the nickname of "Monty's Ironsides", and had to beevacuated from Dunkirk with the rest of the BEF.[26] The battalion returned to Europe for theD-Day landings in June 1944 and fought in theBattle of Normandy, specifically inOperation Charnwood where they were the first British troops to enter the city of Caen, which had previously seenbitter fighting in the British attempt to capture it.[27]
The 6th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised in 1939 from No. 200 GroupNational Defence Companies and consisting of older men with previous military experience who were unfit for active service. On 24 December 1940 the battalion was redesignated as the 30th Battalion, dropping the Home Defence from its title, and converted to a regular infantry battalion. It was disbanded in Northern Ireland in May 1943.[28] The 7th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised on 29 June 1940, joining the215th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home). The battalion served in Ulster until leaving for Great Britain in September 1942. On 24 December 1941, the battalion was redesignated the 31st Battalion and dropped the Home Defence title.[11]
The8th Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles, was also raised in 1940, and joined203rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home). In early 1942 the battalion was transferred to theRoyal Artillery and converted into the117th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment served with Home Forces until November 1942 when it was sent overseas to North Africa to fight in the final stages of theNorth African Campaign as part of theBritish First Army. In September 1943 the regiment landed in Italy shortly after theinitial invasion, now as part of theBritish Eighth Army, and served on theItalian Front until June 1944, when the regiment was broken up and the men were retrained as infantrymen, due to a severe shortage of infantrymen, particularly in Italy.[29] Many of the men retrained were sent to the 2nd, 7th and 10th battalions of theRifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), anotherrifle regiment, in61st Lorried Infantry Brigade, part of6th Armoured Division.[30]
The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion was formed on 12 September 1940 at Holywood from the younger soldiers of the 6th and 7th battalions and volunteers of the ages of 18 and 19 who were too young forconscription. The battalion spent most of its time guarding airfields and aerodromes before moving to Great Britain in October 1941.[11]
In 1947 the Royal Ulster Rifles were grouped with the other two remaining Irish regiments, theRoyal Inniskilling Fusiliers and theRoyal Irish Fusiliers, into theNorth Irish Brigade.[31] In 1948, the 2nd Battalion was amalgamated with the 1st Battalion to form the 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (83rd and 86th), thus retaining the history of both of the previous regiments of foot.[11]
The 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles disembarked atPusan in early November 1950 as part of the29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group for service in theKorean War. They were transported forward toUijeongbu, where under the direct command of theEighth United States Army they were directed against guerrilla forces swept past by the rapid progress of the United Nations Army.[32] By mid December 1950 a defensive line was being prepared on the south bank of theRiver Han on the border with North Korea protecting the approach toSeoul, the capital of South Korea. As the New Year started, the Fiftieth Chinese Communist Army engaged the United Nations troops focusing on 29 Brigade, who were dispersed over a very wide front (12 miles). The Royal Ulster Rifles fighting with 1st Battalion,Royal Northumberland Fusiliers were able to hold their position in theirfirst major action at the Chaegunghyon and the Communist Army's progress was halted, at least temporarily.[32]
TheBattle of the Imjin River began on 22 April 1951 with the goal of taking Seoul. By 25 April 1951, the Brigade was ordered to withdraw as the Communist forces were threatening to encircle it. With virtually no cover and seriously outnumbered, the Royal Ulster Rifles came under heavy fire as they withdrew to a blocking position. The Brigade was able to hold its position, despite fierce fighting, and neutralized the effectiveness of the Sixty-fourth Chinese Communist Army. Although the enemy's offensive had come within 5 miles of Seoul, the capital had been saved.[32] At the time, theTimes reported the Battle of Imjin River concluding with:The fighting 5th wearing St George and the Dragon and the Irish Giants with the Harp and Crown have histories that they would exchange with no one. As pride, sobered by mourning for fallen observes how well these young men have acquitted themselves in remotest Asia. The parts taken by the regiments may be seen as a whole. The motto of the Royal Ulster Rifles may have the last word Quis Separabit (who shall separate us).[32]
As a result of this action, members of the Royal Ulster Rifles were awarded twoDistinguished Service Orders, twoMilitary Crosses, twoMilitary Medals, and three men were Mentioned in Despatches.[33] When the area was recaptured, a memorial was erected to the 208 men killed or missing after the battle.[34] It stood overlooking the battlefield until 1962 when Seoul's growth threatened to consume it, and it was carried byHMSBelfast back to Ireland where it was the focus ofSt Patrick's Barracks inBallymena.[33] When the barracks closed in 2008, theImjin River Memorial was again moved, this time to the grounds of theBelfast City Hall.[35]
The Regiment continued to accept recruits from the rest of Ireland; for example, almost 50% of personnel in the 1st Battalion who arrived in Korea in 1950 were Irish nationals.[33] In July 1968 the Royal Ulster Rifles amalgamated with theRoyal Inniskilling Fusiliers and theRoyal Irish Fusiliers to form theRoyal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th).[11]
The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum is located in theCathedral Quarter, Belfast. The museum's artefacts include uniforms, badges, medals, regimental memorabilia, trophies, paintings and photographs.[36]
Recipients of theVictoria Cross:
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[11]
Colonels of the Regiment were:[11]
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