5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (5 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s specified in The

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

Act 1969, which received

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the

Royal Irish Rangers The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th) was a regular light infantry regiment of the British Army with a relatively short existence, formed in 1968 and later merged with the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1992 to form the Royal ...

in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

Recruitment

Recruitment for 5 UDR was initially slow. The battalion began its duties on 1 April 1970 with only 200 men to patrol

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

city and a further 300 to cover the rest of the county as opposed to the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military Military reserve, reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, short ...

(which the UDR replaced) figures for the previous day of 600 and 1,200 respectively. Catholic recruitment was on a par with Protestant figures however and the two city companies of 5 UDR were 50/50 in makeup, with

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A founder and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Hume served in the Parliament of Northern Irel ...

known to have signed at least one application and told the recruit to "go out and find all the decent Catholic people he could to enlist". Sir Robin Chichester-Clark complained asked in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

why one of his constituents was turned down for the force as he was a churchwarden and a local government official.Ryder p. 39 The reply by

Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, (born 28 December 1932) is a British politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. A member of the Labour Party, he was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and ...

stated that the vetting team had been instructed to err on the side of caution and that two clergymen had also been refused because the new force was to be "isolated from political and sectarian influence".

Intimidation

Protestant and Catholic soldiers were both intimidated out of the regiment.Potter p. 58 Following the introduction of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

however more Catholic soldiers found themselves the subject of intimidation from within their own community. One captain in 5 UDR, who had been a member of the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA; ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,Derry march, was intimidated out of the regiment, out of his job and out of

. The OC of the Waterside Company commented that it was "very, very soul destroying" to lose good men this way, especially when they so obviously enjoyed being soldiers in the regiment.

History

With the other six original battalions, 5 UDR commenced operational duties on 1 April 1970. Battalion Headquarters was established at the former anti-submarine warfare school but was later moved to more suitable accommodation in

Shackleton Barracks Shackleton Barracks is a former British military installation at Ballykelly in Northern Ireland. History The site formerly known as RAF Ballykelly was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks on 2 June 1971. Battalion HQ and HQ Co ...

, Ballykelly,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Ryder p. 191 which they shared at various times with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, the Army Air Corps and various units of the British Army. The battalion had the largest Tactical Area of Responsibility in the regiment which covered parts of two counties (Londonderry and Antrim) as well as three police divisions 1,600 square miles in total. The first commanding officer of 5 UDR was Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Bulstrode Lloyd Davidson JP, MID who had seen action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as an officer with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He had been

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, High Sheriff for

and later,

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the City of Derry

between 1968 and 1970. Following his retirement after his agreed one year of service he was replaced by the battalion's first regular commanding officer, Lt Col John Lys. The second in command (2 i/c) of the battalion upon formation was Major George Lapsley, the son of a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

, graduate of

Magee College The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological ...

, World War II veteran of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

( Far Eastern campaign), and officer of the Territorial Army. He was responsible for recruitment in the early stages. The job of 2 i/c was usually given to the senior part-time officer of the battalion until 1991 when the post was changed to one for a

regular Regular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * "Regular" (Badfinger song) * Regular tunings of stringed instruments, tunings with equal intervals between the paired notes of successive open strings Other uses * Regular character, ...

officer. The first Training Major (TISO) was Major LSTH Pelham-Burn of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

.Potter p. 27 Part of his job was to organise accommodation for all the companies of the new battalion. Where possible accommodation was sought in army bases and although the old Ulster Special Constabulary platoon huts were vacant and available, to have used those was politically undesirable.

Companies

The battalion eventually had seven rifle

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

which were based at:

Ebrington Barracks Ebrington Barracks was a military installation on the east bank of the River Foyle in Derry, Northern Ireland. History The present barracks, named after Hugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington (later Earl Fortescue), were built on the site in 1841. ...

(A, West Bank, Coy and B, Waterside Coy), C Coy in

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber ...

, D Coy in

, Ballykelly, E Coy at Laurel House,

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

, F Coy in

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

. and G Coy in

Maghera Maghera ( ; ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,235 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Formerly in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Loughinsholin within the historic County ...

. G Coy was originally the B Coy of 1 UDR based in

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated ...

. It came under the command of 5 UDR in 1983. A further change in 1992 saw E and G Coys merge to form D Company.

E Company

Raised in 1971 the first

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

E Company (E Coy) was Major George Lapsley who transferred in from battalion headquarters. The company was broken down into four

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s. The majority of soldiers in 21 Platoon came from

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart in County Londonderry. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway stati ...

Portstewart Portstewart () is a small seaside town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,854 people in the 2021 United Kingdom census. It is a seaside resort, neighbouring both Coleraine in County Londonderry and Portrush in Cou ...

(the Ports) and the Windyhall area of Coleraine. 22 Platoon's soldiers lived on the east side of the

River Bann The River Bann (from , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is the longest rivers, river in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). The total length ...

. 23 Platoon's men and women came from the west side of the Bann, known as "The Heights" whilst 24 Platoon recruited from

Garvagh Garvagh ( or ''Garbhachadh'' meaning "rough field") is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the banks of the Agivey River, south of Coleraine on the A29 route. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,288. It is sit ...

and surrounding areas. The resulting platoon structure had soldiers from each area regular patrolling territory they were familiar with and where they knew most people from the locality. This was a hallmark of the early UDR part-timers: that they were able to tell when something was amiss in the areas they knew when out on patrol. Company headquarters was established in the former USC Drill Hall in

Macosquin Macosquin () is a small village, townland, and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is south-west of Coleraine, on the road to Limavady. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 614 people. The area is known for its caves a ...

. After discussion with a local property owner "Laurel Hill House", built in 1843, was purchased by the Army Property Services Department for £24,000 but required work in excess of £100,000 to make it fit for purpose.Gamble p. 75 The house had been military accommodation in the past when it was requisitioned for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in World War II. It was also reputed to be haunted. By the time E Company took possession of the house and outbuilding they had been converted into a barracks which contained all the facilities expected to be found in UDR company and battalion locations, including a guardroom, armoury,

Motor Transport Motor transport (MT) refers to the operation and maintenance of a military vehicle fleet (especially trucks), and sometimes to the servicemembers to operate and maintain them. Traditionally, motor transport organizations are responsible for a unit's ...

(MT) section, 25

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

indoor rifle range (for .22 Long Rifle .22 calibre only), Officer's Mess, Warrant Officers and Sergeant's Mess, Junior Ranks Bar, snooker room, stores, lecture rooms, offices, operations room, sangars and a pipe range. A pipe range consists of a 30-metre section of concrete pipe of 1 metre diameter, set onto the ground and covered substantially with earth. It was used in military bases in Northern Ireland for rifle practice when surrounding buildings made it unsafe to establish an open shooting range. A helicopter pad was also established in the grounds of the house and a drill hall built close by. The drill hall also doubled as a room for large functions. The house and 4.5

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s of grounds were placed on the market again in 2012 and sold at auction for an undisclosed sum although the guide price was listed at £190,000.

Uniform, armament and equipment

Initially, arms had to be drawn from the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was o ...

barracks in Ballymoney, which by that time had become B Coy 1 UDR (see also Ulster Defence Regiment#Uniform, armament and equipment).

Greenfinches

Music

5 UDR had a number of champion pipers and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

s who, apart from local performances, represented the regiment at the

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...

, the

Festival of Remembrance A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the Colchester Tattoo, the Queen's Birthday Celebrations in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, an International Air Show at Aldergove and on a tour of the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

. In the

World Pipe Band Championships The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition held in Glasgow, Scotland. Overview The World Pipe Band Championships have been staged since 1947, although the Grade 1 Pipe Band Competition winners at the annual Cowal Highland Gat ...

of 1978, the pipes and drums of 5 UDR won the

Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) is an association aiming to oversee pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the development of pipe band culture worldwide. It was founded in 1930. Overview The RSPBA sets the rules ...

championship against 126 other entrants. In the

of 1979, competing against 260 other bands, they won both the "Piping and Marching" and "Discipline" trophies, improving on their 1978 placings of second and first respectively in those categories. The

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''5 UDR Pipes & Drums "Irish & Scottish Pipe Music"'', which includes recordings of the regimental and battalion's marches as well as other popular tunes, was the only recording publicly released by regimental musicians.

Casualties

28 soldiers from 5 UDR died whilst on active duty during

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

and a further 12 were assassinated after leaving the regiment. The first to die was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Marcus McCausland, a Catholic. McCausland had previously served with the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

. His family owned a large estate outside

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1 ...

. He had served as high sheriff for the county and was also a member of Limavady

urban district council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

. The

Official Irish Republican Army The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerge ...

abducted him and

interrogated Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful inf ...

him for four hours before shooting him and dumping his body in the snow. The hooded body of Sergeant David C. Deacon, 38 (HQ Company), was found on 3 March 1973 near

. His hands were tied behind his back, and he had been tortured. Deacon had previous service in the Royal Navy, was married with four children and was off duty at the time of his abduction and death. Eight years after his death, his wife and four other UDR and RUC widows formed The Widow's Mite to tell the world their side of the story and to counter IRA propaganda. She had her gold wedding melted down and recast as the ancient "mite" bearing the symbol of a lighted candle.

Memorials

A number of memorials exist to the fallen of the 5th Battalion. The main memorial to the UDR was erected 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 t ...

, unveiled on 12 June 2011 by

Viscount Brookeborough Viscount Brookeborough, of Colebrooke in the County of Fermanagh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1952 for the Ulster Unionist politician and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Captain The Rt. Hon. Sir ...

, one of the trustees of the UDR Memorial Trust. The memorial is "a 19-foot 'heroic scale' bronze sculpture" featuring "bronze figures of a male UDR soldier and a female 'Greenfinch' on operational duty...set upon an equally impressive Mourne granite plinth.".‘Fitting tribute’ to UDR heroes unveiled
News Letter, 13 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2012. File:UDR Memorial 20110612 0920.jpg, UDR memorial in Lisburn

Bibliography

*Gamble, Ronnie. ''My Service Life'', 1939–1979: William (Bill) Balmer, 2009, Causeway Museum Service, *McKitterick, David. '' Lost Lives'', Mainstream Publishing, 2004, *Potter, John Furniss. ''A Testimony to Courage – the Regimental History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969–1992'',

Pen & Sword Books Pen and Sword Books, also stylised as Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects, primarily focused on the Unit ...

Ltd, 2001, *Ryder, Chris. ''The Ulster Defence Regiment: An Instrument of Peace?'', 1991

References

{{reflist , colwidth = 15em , refs = 1970 establishments in the United Kingdom 1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Battalions of the Ulster Defence Regiment Military history of County Londonderry Military units and formations established in 1970 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992