11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC
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11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC is a specialist regiment of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...
(RLC) responsible for counter terrorist
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 militar ...
(EOD), the safe recovery or disposal of conventional munitions. The regiment also has an ammunition inspectorate role supporting the Inspector Explosives (Army). With headquarters in
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
, the regiment has sub units geographically based throughout the UK to provide a nationwide high readiness response capability in support of the police.


History

The regiment's history commences in the period immediately after World War II. At the time, the regional Commands HQs across the UK established Ammunition Inspectorates to oversee the drawdown of the vast stockpiles of ammunition in numerous sub depots across the country, much of it was still stocked alongside many of the roads in the countryside. These Command Ammunition Inspectorates, Northern Command, Southern Command etc. were eventually grouped into one unit, 1 Ammunition Inspection and Disposal Unit RAOC, (1 Ammo IDU) which formed on 15 March 1972 at
Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. In April 1982, 1 Ammo IDU became 11 Ordnance Battalion (EOD) and was relocated to Didcot. Some 11 years later the battalion was retitled to 11 EOD Regiment RLC following the formation of the RLC on 5 April 1993. In June 2018 the Regiment was renamed to 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC in recognition of the importance of Search within the Explosive Ordnance Disposal community.


Role

The unit is responsible for providing EOD (Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD), Conventional Munitions Disposal (CMD), Biological and Chemical Munitions Disposal (BCMD) and Radiological and Nuclear Munitions Disposal) and Ammunition Technical support to Defence and Other Government Departments in order to support Land Forces Command Capability on UK mainland (Great Britain & Northern Ireland) and overseas.


Structure

The structure is as follows: *Headquarters, 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC, at
Vauxhall Barracks Vauxhall Barracks is a military installation in Didcot, Oxfordshire. History The barracks were established during the First World War alongside a depot for storing explosives from Woolwich Arsenal. By the end of the War 1,900 troops were based t ...
,
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
*Headquarters, 321 EOD & Search Squadron RLC, at Alexander Barracks, Aldergrove (based across Northern Ireland) *Headquarters, 421 EOD & Search Squadron RLC, at Vauxhall Barracks, Didcot *Headquarters, 521 EOD Squadron RLC, at Piave Lines,
Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...
(based across the North of England and Scotland) **Catterick Troop, at Catterick Garrison **Chester Troop, at
Dale Barracks Dale Barracks is a British Army base at Moston near Chester, England. The military installation, which has accommodation and training facilities, was established shortly before the Second World War as a depot for the Cheshire Regiment. It is no ...
,
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
**Edinburgh Troop, at
Dreghorn Barracks Dreghorn Barracks are located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The barracks are situated at the southern edge of the city, south of Colinton, and adjacent to the Edinburgh City Bypass. History The present barracks complex was largely built in 1937–1939 ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
*Headquarters, 621 EOD Squadron RLC, at
RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...
(based across the South of England) **Aldershot Troop, at
Aldershot Garrison Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the villa ...
**Colchester Troop, at
Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, Eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX ...
**Northolt Troop, at RAF Northolt **Shorncliffe Troop, at
Risborough Barracks Shorncliffe Army Camp is a large military camp near Cheriton in Kent. Established in 1794, it later served as a staging post for troops destined for the Western Front during the First World War. History The camp was established in 1794 when t ...
, Shorncliffe *Headquarters, 721 EOD Squadron RLC, at St Barbara's Barracks,
Ashchurch Ashchurch is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashchurch Rural, in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England, east of the town of Tewkesbury, southwest of Evesham, north of ...
(based across the Midlands) **Ashchurch Troop, at St Barbara's Barracks, Ashchurch **Nottingham Troop, at
Chetwynd Barracks Chetwynd Barracks is a military installation at Chilwell in Nottinghamshire. History The Chilwell depot and barracks were built for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps shortly after the First World War on the former site of the National Shell Filling ...
,
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 until ...
**Tidworth Troop, at
Tidworth Camp Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. It forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison. History The Camp was established when the War Office acquired a 19th-century mansion – Tedw ...


Notable personnel

* Gary O'Donnell *
Olaf Schmid Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid, GC (11 June 1979 – 31 October 2009) was a British Army bomb disposal expert (Ammunition Technician) who was killed in action in the Afghanistan conflict. Schmid was posthumously awarded the George Cros ...
* Karl Ley * Lisa Head *
Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of ...


Honours

The Regiment is based at
Vauxhall Barracks Vauxhall Barracks is a military installation in Didcot, Oxfordshire. History The barracks were established during the First World War alongside a depot for storing explosives from Woolwich Arsenal. By the end of the War 1,900 troops were based t ...
,
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
, Oxfordshire having moved there from Old Sarum in 1982. Due to its long and close association with the town, the Regiment was awarded the Freedom of Didcot on 17 September 2007 and were conferred "the honour and distinction of exercising all customary Regimental Privileges when parading in or marching through the Town of Didcot". The Regiment exercised its right to march through the town of Didcot on 22 September 2007 led by the Commanding Officer Lt Col RL Maybery QGM RLC. On 19 November 2010, in a ceremony at
Didcot Parkway railway station Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844 and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 by British Rail to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead. ...
, a High Speed Train locomotive, no. 43087 operated by
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(FGW), was named ''11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment Royal Logistic Corps''. The ceremony was attended by
Lt Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Gareth Bex (Commanding Officer); soldiers of the Regiment; Mark Hopwood, of FGW; Keith Mitchell, leader of the
county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
; and the MP for
Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...
,
Ed Vaizey Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Baron Vaizey of Didcot, (born 5 June 1968) is a British politician, media columnist, political commentator and barrister who was Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from 2010 to 2016. A memb ...
. On 15 March 2018 the regiment were awarded the Firmin Sword of Peace, one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed upon a military unit. The award reflected in particular the regiment's specialist search operations during the
Didcot Power Station Didcot power station (Didcot B Power Station) is an active natural gas power plant that supplies the National Grid. A combined coal and oil power plant, Didcot A, was the first station on the site which opened in 1970 and was demolished betwee ...
tragedy (Operation BRIDLED) and the safe disposal of the hazardous chemical
2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH or DNPH) is the organic compound C6H3(NO2)2NHNH2. DNPH is a red to orange solid. It is a substituted hydrazine. The solid is relatively sensitive to shock and friction. For this reason DNPH is usually handled ...
(DNPH) from school laboratories nationwide which posed an explosive threat to UK school children (Op MATSU).


References


External links


Official website
{{Royal Logistic Corps Regiments of the Royal Logistic Corps Explosive ordnance disposal units and formations Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military units and formations of the Iraq War