The 15th Signal Regiment (15 Sig Regt) is military communications unit of the
British Army's
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
.
History
The regiment was originally formed before
World War II during the expansion of British Army signals units. The unit provided communications for the island of
Cyprus but was disbanded shortly after 1963. In 1992, following the
Options for Change reforms, it was reformed to support HQ Northern Ireland and other units deployed during
Operation Banner.
World War Period
Inter-war
Before
World War II, the Egypt Signals unit was formed. It was tasked with providing communications and signals support for British Army units based in Egypt. Their area of responsibility was not limited to
Egypt itself, but included the following areas:
Mandatory Palestine,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, and
Cyprus. During this time, the unit was collectively known as Egypt Command Signals.
[Lord and Watson page 54]
World War II
In 1940, the regiment was based in
Cairo. Following Italy's entry in the war, the regiment's support ranged from providing signals and communications for units in
Cyprus,
Greece,
Macedonia
Macedonia most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
,
the Balkans, and
Eastern Africa.
Cyprus
Following the end of World War Two, the regiment was re-titled in 1946 as the 3rd General Headquarters Signal Regiment.
In 1959,
Middle East Command
Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
was dissolved and split into two new formations, namely, British Forces Suez Canal and
British Forces Arabian Peninsula. As a result, the regiment was renamed as 15th (Cyprus) Signal Regiment to better represent their new role.
Cold War
On 15 January 1965, the regiment was reformed in Aden.
After this reform, the regiment was re-titled as 15th Signal Regiment.
Post-Cold War
The regiment was reformed for the third time at
Thiepval Barracks in
Lisburn
Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...
,
Northern Ireland in 1990 and was re-titled as 15th Signal Regiment.
After the
Options for Change reforms, the regiment gained command of more signal squadrons.
After the end of
Operation Banner, the regiment was relocated to
Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this ...
in
Dorset.
According to a FOI Response, the regiment will fall under the command of
11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands
11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables.
Name
"Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...
.
By 2025, the regiment will move from its current location at
Blandford Camp
Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and it ...
to
Swinton Barracks in
Perham Down, thereby co-locating with the remainder of the regular units of
7th Signal Group
7th Signal Group (7 Sig Gp) is a military communications formation of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals, currently subordinated to 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands. The group oversees the close-support signal units of ...
.
The regiment under the reform is to re-organise and become a close support signals unit.
The regiment will support the
12th Armoured Infantry Brigade
The 12th Armoured Brigade Combat team, formerly the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, is a regular brigade of the British Army which has been in almost continuous existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Division (United Kingdom), 3rd (United ...
by 2020.
In 2019, the regiment moved from Blandford Camp to
Swinton Barracks in
Perham Down.
Current structure
The regiment's current structure in March 2021 is as follows:
[Royal Corps of Signals Regimental Information.]
* 15th Signal Regiment, at
Swinton Barracks,
Perham Down
** Regimental Headquarters
** 207 (Jerboa) Signal Squadron
[Royal Corps of Signals, The Wire–Winter 2021.]
** Support Squadron
References
Sources
* Lord, Cliff, and Graham Watson. ''The Royal Corps of Signals Unit Histories of the Corps (1920-2001) and Its Antecedents''. Helion and Company, 2003. {{ISBN, 1874622922
"HQ 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade" ''www.army.mod.uk''. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
"Royal Signals" ''www.army.mod.uk''. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
Military units and formations established in 1936
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations established in 1965
Military units and formations established in 1992
Military units and formations disestablished in 1938
Military units and formations disestablished in 1963
Military units and formations disestablished in 1967
Regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals
Regiments of the British Army