131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers
131 Commando Squadron | |
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24 Commando Engineer Regiment, 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines | |
Garrison/HQ | Lonergan Lines[1] |
131 Commando Squadron
History
1940s: Airborne Forces Role
With the reformation of the Territorial Army (TA) in 1947, the unit was raised as 131 Airborne Engineer Regiment in support of
With all volunteers going through 'P Company' to gain their
1950s
Territorial Army reorganisations took place in 1956, with 16 Airborne Division being disbanded and replaced by a single TA parachute
1960s
In the early 1960s, 131 fielded over 1,000 trained parachute engineers and was believed to have the largest number of men earning their annual bounty in the whole of the Territorial Army. Many of the unit's members were also members of the Emergency Reserve, giving them a higher call-out obligation. Basic training was only beginning to be introduced because, up until this time, almost all unit members were either ex-regulars, ex-WW2 volunteers or ex-
In 1965, the bulk of the regiment carried out its Annual Camp in Aden Protectorate and in 1966 elements of the regiment deployed to the country again. During the 1965 deployment ('Ex Jockey Club') on the night of 12 April, 300 Parachute Squadron was attacked by
The second major post-war reorganisation of the TA in 1967 saw the regiment reduced to a single independent squadron of 250 personnel on 1 April 1967. 131 Independent Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers (Volunteers) maintained its role in support of the three parachute battalions of 44 Parachute Brigade (Volunteers). Squadron Headquarters and the Support Troop was based in Kingsbury in London, with Troops in Birmingham, Hull and Grangemouth. Troops took the names of the Squadrons they had replaced, with 299 Troop in Hull, 300 Troop in Grangemouth, 301 Troop in Birmingham and 302 Troop (Support Troop) in Kingsbury.[8]
1970s
The three field troops each continued to support a TA parachute battalion, with 299 Troop linked to the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion The Parachute Regiment, 300 Troop to the 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Battalion and 301 Troop to the 10th (Volunteer) Battalion. Overseas travel, with associated opportunities for engineer support, construction and parachuting continued. At times, troops carried out annual camps in direct support of their battalions, such as 299 Troop's 1972 camp with 4 Para in Jamaica, whilst on other occasions the squadron exercised as a whole. In 1973, the squadron undertook Exercise Sacristan in the United Arab Emirates, which saw 180 members of the squadron deploy for between two and six weeks, carrying out a variety of construction tasks and desert training exercises. Close ties with 9 Independent Parachute Squadron RE, then based at Church Crookham, also continued throughout the period.[9]
On 28 September 1975, during Exercise Trent Chase, while the squadron was conducting its annual watermanship-based section competition on the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, an assault boat containing eleven Sappers of 300 Troop was swept over the Cromwell Weir near Newark. Ten of the eleven men were drowned, including two brothers, Sappers Stuart and Peter Evenden. After the military funerals, which took place in various parishes around Scotland, a memorial service was held at the site of the accident, and a stone of Scottish granite bearing the names of those killed was laid in a small commemorative garden close to the lock. Another memorial was established near Grangemouth, at Falkirk Cemetery, and the men are also commemorated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. A bridge over the River Toscaig was built in their memory in 1996 at Toscaig near Applecross in Wester Ross.[10]
1978: Commando Role
In 1977, reductions in the regular and TA Airborne Forces were announced and on 31 March 1978, 44 Parachute Brigade (Volunteers) was disbanded in a parade at Altcar Ranges, near Liverpool. Although the three parachute battalions were retained, support arms and services were to be disbanded. On 1 April 1978, the squadron was accepted into the order of battle of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. Exchanging Maroon Berets for Green, but retaining a significant parachute capability across its four locations, it was renamed 131 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers (Volunteers).[8]
1980s and 1990s
In 1982, it was decided to raise a field troop in Plymouth to capitalise on the significant number of ex-regular Commando-trained personnel living in the area and the fact that 131's new sister-Squadron, 59 Independent Commando Squadron RE, was based within the town at Crownhill Fort (later Seaton Barracks). This sub-unit was to become the new 300 Troop, but whilst Grangemouth and Plymouth were both on the Squadron's order of battle, Plymouth used the old Support Troop number, 302 Troop, for a year. Recruiting at Plymouth was buoyant, and the then-Permanent Staff Instructor was awarded the British Empire Medal for his leadership in helping to establish the new Troop. Finally, in 1983, at a ceremony in Grangemouth, the Scottish 300 Troop was re-roled as a Royal Marines Reserve Assault Engineer Troop, and Plymouth took on the 300 Troop title.[11]
21st Century
2001's annual training exercise took place in Oman (Ex Saif Sareea), setting the tone for more than a decade of operational activity by the squadron in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Fourteen personnel mobilised for service in Afghanistan with 3 Cdo Bde RM the following year (Op Jacana). The squadron was compulsorily mobilised in January 2003 and deployed in Iraq as part of Operation TELIC 1, returning to the UK in May. A significant proportion of the unit was mobilised for a second time in Autumn 2006 for service in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Following the end of this deployment in Spring 2007, the squadron has supported a further nine tours of the province. Tasks and responsibilities were wide and varied as befits the extensive range of skills held within the unit, ranging from reconstruction advice through to close support engineering by sections embedded within Royal Marines rifle companies. Small teams also deployed to Iraq on Operation TELIC 4 in 2004/5 and to the Bagh region of Pakistan during humanitarian operations (Op Maturin) following the Kashmir earthquake in 2005.[12]
During 2006, the squadron effectively split in two to form 299 Parachute Squadron, centred on the very strongly recruited Hull-based 299 Troop, whilst retaining the three other locations within 131 and growing a new troop in Bath (302 Troop).[5]
On 2 October 2015, 131 formally became the third squadron of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment the Squadron retained the three previous field troop locations and Squadron Headquarters at Kingsbury.[11]
Current role
As a Commando unit, the majority of the squadron's personnel have completed the Reserve Forces
Structure
The squadron consists of three troops based in the following locations around the UK:[15]
- Headquarters and Support Troop (Kingsbury in North West London) โ recruiting from London and the South East
- 301 Troop (Sheldon in Birmingham)
- 302 Troop (Bath) โ recruiting from Bristol, Bath, South Wales and the M4/M5 corridors
Plymouth-based 300 Troop, recruiting from Devon and Cornwall, disbanded in October 2021. They were replaced by the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Royal Mons)) at the same location.
Hull-based 299 Troop, which was part of 131 until 2007, later become the heart of the re-formed 299 Parachute Squadron.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Nathan Spendelow (2016-04-14). "Harrow Army Reserve centre renamed after soldier killed in combat". Get West London. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
- ^ "131 Independent Commando Squadron". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Major-General Robert Elliot Urquhart". Pegasus archive. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ "3 Parachute Squadron RE and the Bridges over the River Dives". Paradata. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "299 Parachute Squadron RE". Paradata. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "No. 37243". The London Gazette. 28 August 1945. p. 4345.
- ^ "No. 43768". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 September 1965. p. 8887.
- ^ a b "131 Independent Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers". Paradata. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "9 Independent Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers". Airborne Sappers. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "299 Troop 131 Independent Commando Squadron Royal engineers building Toscaig Bridge, Wester Ross, June 1996". Commando Veterans. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ a b "History: 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "Operations: 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "Commando training: 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "Trade training: 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "Contact us: 131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
External links
- Royal Engineers Museum โ Military Engineering Histories (Commando)