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The 9th Special Communications Unit, later redesignated as the 92nd Signal Regiment, and from 1967 as 2 (City of Dundee) Signal Squadron is a communications unit of the
As a result of the reorganisation of the TA into the TAVR as noted above, the regiment became 2 Signal Squadron and joined the battalion-sized special communications unit: 39th (City of London) Signal Regiment.Lord & Watson, p. 213 The regiment became a 'special communications unit', a role which the previous regiment had not maintained since 1961. Under the 2nd Signal Brigade, the regiment supported national communications. In 1969, the squadron moved to Dundee though retained its role and remained part of the regiment. This became the first official site of the unit, having previously only met for a 2-week annual camp in Forfar. The new site became the Strathmore Avenue TAVR Centre in Dundee.Lord & Watson, p. 148
On 1 April 1969, about 12 drivers and clerks 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 ...
, belonging to the Royal Corps of Signals.
Background
Following the reductions in 1922 known as the 'Geddes Axe
The Geddes Axe was the drive for public economy and retrenchment in UK government expenditure recommended in the 1920s by a Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir Eric Geddes and with Lord Inchcape, Lord Faringdon, Sir Joseph Maclay an ...
', the British Army's Militia (known as the Special Reserve
The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...
until 1924 when it became the Supplementary Reserve (SR)) was reduced into cadres and left in abeyance with some officers being placed on the Army List
The ''Army List'' is a list (or more accurately seven series of lists) of serving regular, militia or territorial British Army officers, kept in one form or another, since 1702.
Manuscript lists of army officers were kept from 1702 to 1752, the ...
, but these units were not operational. In 1939, the units of the Supplementary Reserve for the infantry disappeared and were not activated in the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, however the SR units for the Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) continued as special units, including wireless signal units and later new 'special communications units'.Frederick, pp. vi–vii.Lord & Watson, p. 211
In 1924, new SR units were formed for the Royal Corps of Signals to provide the corps with a number of specialist signal units, the most important being the General Headquarters (GHQ) Signals, Lines of Communications (LofC) Signals, and Air Formation Signals.Lord & Watson, p. 211
Formation
SR/AER
In 1948, the Supplementary Reserve was recreated alongside the Territorial Army (TA) which was reformed the year before. That year, the 9th Special Communications Unit (SR) was formed inForfar
Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...
under local command of Scottish Command
Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a command of the British Army.
History Early history
Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793. The Scottish District was comman ...
. In 1953, the Supplementary Reserve was renamed as the Army Emergency Reserve (AER) and the many company-sized signal units were expanded to battalion-size and became 'Signal Regiments'. The new regiments were allocated numbers ranging from 80 upwards from 1959. Therefore, in 1959 the unit became the 92nd Signal Regiment (Special Communications) (AER) still based in Forfar. In 1961, the regiment dropped its special communications suffix becoming the 92nd Signal Regiment (AER).Lord & Watson, p. 213 Before 1969, the regiment and later squadron was based at the government radio station near Forfar.Lord & Watson, p. 148
TAVR
In 1967, as a result of the1966 Defence White Paper
The 1966 Defence White Paper (Command Papers 2592 and 2901) was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy initiated by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The review was led by the Secretary of State for Defence, ...
, the Territorial Army (TA) was completely reorganised with many of the old units with long and distinguished histories reduced to company and platoon sizes and merged into new smaller units. Among the changes was the creation of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR), which was divided into three categories: TAVR I (The 'Ever-readies', ready for United Nations commitments and would serve to bring the Regular Army to war establishment, replace casualties, and be ready for rapid deployment); TAVR II (these units were to give the Regular Army administrative units not needed in peacetime. They would serve to bring the establishment and to replace losses. This category became known as the 'Volunteers' with units taking the sub-title of '(Volunteers) or (V)'. The third category, TAVR III was the largest of the branches tasked with home defence and were to maintain law and order in the event of nuclear attack and were also available for help in case of civil emergencies; these units had the subtitle of 'Territorial', not to be confused as the 'Territorials', the name for the TAVR as a whole. Lastly, TAVR IV was the smallest of the branch, comprising the University Officers' Training Corps, Regimental and Corps Bands and miscellaneous support units.
Cold War
As a result of the reorganisation of the TA into the TAVR as noted above, the regiment became 2 Signal Squadron and joined the battalion-sized special communications unit: 39th (City of London) Signal Regiment.Lord & Watson, p. 213 The regiment became a 'special communications unit', a role which the previous regiment had not maintained since 1961. Under the 2nd Signal Brigade, the regiment supported national communications. In 1969, the squadron moved to Dundee though retained its role and remained part of the regiment. This became the first official site of the unit, having previously only met for a 2-week annual camp in Forfar. The new site became the Strathmore Avenue TAVR Centre in Dundee.Lord & Watson, p. 148
On 1 April 1969, about 12 drivers and clerks of the Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC; sometimes pronounced acronymically as , a term unpopular with its members) was the corps to which all women in the British Army belonged from 1949 to 1992, except medical, dental and veterinary officers and cha ...
were transferred to the squadron from the 3rd (Territorial) Battalion, The Black Watch, part of TAVR III. After transfer of the WRAC to the Royal Corps of Signals, permission was granted by the Colonel-in-Chief of the Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...
(HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
) for all female soldiers joining the squadron wear the Black Watch Tartan.Lord & Watson, p. 148
On 1 April 1988, the squadron moved to a new location, at the Mid Craigie Road TA Centre within the City of Dundee. This move was due to a change of role within 39th Signal Regiment, when the squadron was given the task of providing 'Top Relay Centre Bravo'. This task called for more real estate and the Highland TAVRA found and refurbished a former commercial depot. The new building was named Newman House after the Commanding Officer, the late Lieutenant Colonel D C Newman, who engineered the changes within the Regiment necessitated by the reorganisation of 1967.
Post-Cold War
Following the end of the Cold War, the squadron was made independent on 1 April 1995 and placed under operational control of the2nd (National Communications) Signal Brigade
The 2nd Signal Brigade (later 2nd Signal Group), was a military formation of the British Army composed of Royal Corps of Signals units. The brigade was first formed following the reorganisation of the old Territorial Army in 1967, and was disban ...
while remaining under administrative control of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Brigade, later 51st (Scottish) Brigade. In 1996, the squadron was redesignated as 2 (City of Dundee) Signal Squadron.
After becoming an independent unit, the squadron's role was known as 'TIPTOE' and tasked with providing secure high-frequency communications throughout the United Kingdom.
In 2012, under the Army 2020 programme, the independent territorial signal squadrons were brought back into signal regiments, with 2 Squadron becoming part of the 32nd (Scottish) Signal Regiment (later simply 32nd Signal Regiment). By 2015, the squadron absorbed 51 (Highland) Signal Squadron, and became 2 (City of Dundee & Highland) Signal Squadron. By this time, the squadron formed 851 (Highland) Signal Troop based in Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
as a continuation of the former squadron.
Today, the squadron has its headquarters at Newman House on Mid Craigie Road in Dundee, while 851 (Highland) Signal Troop is the squadron airborne communications troop based at Gordon Barracks
Gordon Barracks is a military installation situated in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.
History
The barrack buildings, which were built by J and W Wittet between 1933 and 1935, are located around the barrack square.
Constructed of dressed granite blo ...
in the Bridge of Don
Bridge of Don is a suburb in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland. In , the Bridge of Don electoral ward was estimated to have a population of 19,545.
Bridge of Don is split into four areas for statistical purposes by Aberdeen City Council and Poli ...
, Aberdeen.
According to the British Army website, the squadron's role is described as follows:British Army, ''Royal Corps of Signals: Interactive Map corrected as at November 2019''. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
The squadron's current structure is as follows:
* Squadron Headquarters, at Newman House, Dundee
* Signal Troop, at Newham House, Dundee
* 851 (Highland) Airborne Communications Troop, at Gordon Barracks, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen
Footnotes
References
* * *{{Cite web, last=Drenth, first=Wienand, date=September 2000, title=The Territorial Army 1967–2000, url=https://www.orbat85.nl/documents/The%20Territorial%20Army%201967-2000.pdf, url-status=live, access-date=2 April 2021, website=1985 Netherlands Order of Battle Military units and formations established in 1947 1947 establishments in the United Kingdom Squadrons of the Royal Corps of Signals Military units and formations of the United Kingdom