101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

Search Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for find ...

) is a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the British Army's

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

. Under

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reacti ...

, the regiment moved from a hybrid regiment to a reserve EOD&S regiment with the regimental headquarters established in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

. It is part of

29th (Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search) Group The 29 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search) Group, formerly 29 Engineer Brigade, is an engineer formation of the British Army responsible for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search. Its headquarters were at Aldershot. History The brigade had ...

, 8 Engineer Brigade. The Honorary Colonel of the regiment is Col

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

. The regiment draws heritage from 1 Middlesex Engineer Volunteers formed by Norman MacLeod at the South Kensington museum in January 1860. It became part of

56th (London) Armoured Division The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. ...

Origins

Following a war office instruction in 1859 authorising Lord Lieutenants of Counties to raise volunteer corps to be used in case of invasion. They were to be self-funded and by 1860 had a total membership of 119,146 despite subscription costs and uniform costs between £3 and £6. As part of this movement Norman Macleod offered two companies of engineers formed from engineering and allied professions at the South Kensington Museum to form the nucleus of a new Engineer Battalion named the 1st Middlesex Volunteer Engineers. In 1907 Yeomanry and Volunteers became Territorial Army and in 1908 1st Middlesex Volunteer Engineers became the engineers of 2nd London Division. At the start of the second world war the name was changed to 1st London Division Engineers, which evolved to 101 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) in 1960. It was disbanded on 1 April 1967. A new regimental headquarters grouping four (preexisting) EOD squadrons was formed on 1 June 1988, using the old 101 designation. 2010 saw the hybridisation of the regiment to regular and reserve, and on 28 July 2018 the regiment reverted to its original reserve status with the headquarters moving from Carver Barracks to Hudson House. The Regiment has retained an unbroken link with the London Divisions ( 47th, 56th, 58th, and 60th) over nearly 60 years which included both World Wars. Elements of the Regiment have been actively involved in securing the City of London from the threat of unexploded ordnance since

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, which included direct support to Operation Olympics, providing military forces to assist with the

Security for the 2012 Summer Olympics The security preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics—with the exception of the air counter-terrorist plan, which was a RAF responsibility—was led by the police, with 13,000 officers available, supported by 17,000 members of the armed forc ...

in London. Operation Olympics was the longest and largest military security operation in the mainland United Kingdom since World War II. In April 2000 the then

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, Alderman Clive Martin, granted “City of London” status to the Regiment in recognition of its long and distinguished association with the corporation; the Regiment retains close affiliations even today with the Curriers, Patternmakers, Fan Makers, Lightmongers and Constructors. In its 150-year history the Regiment has undergone no less than thirteen changes of name, however, ‘London’ has been the one constant for the past 102 years.

Current organisation

The regiment's current organisation is as follows: * Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, at Hudson House,

* 217 (London) Field Squadron (EOD&S), in Ilford ** 3 Troop, in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...

* 221 Field Squadron (EOD&S), at Hudson House, Catford ** 1 Troop, in

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011. Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

* 350 (Sherwood Foresters) Field Squadron (EOD&S), at Foresters House,

Chilwell Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District un ...

** 2 & 3 Troops, at Wallis Barracks, Chesterfield * 579 Field Squadron (EOD&S), in Royal Tunbridge Wells ** 2 (Surrey Yeomanry) Troop, in Redhill ** 3 Troop, in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Campaigns

101 Engineer Regiment (EOD&S) can trace back service in the following campaigns: * The British Conquest of Egypt 1882 *The second

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

War *

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

* World War II * Operation ALLIED FORCE under NATO in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

* Operation DELIBERATE FORCE under NATO in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

* Operation TELIC in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

* Operation HERRICK in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

* Operation

SHADER In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of speci ...

in Iraq Operation Tosca in Cyprus

Honours and awards

The distinguished history of the regiment is reflected in the presentation of a total of 208 honours and awards. These consist of: * 12 Distinguished Service Orders * 48 Military Crosses * 27 Distinguished Conduct Medals * 2 George Crosses * 118 Military medals * 1 Queens Gallantry Medal (Iraq - 2004)

References

{{Reflist

External links