Territorial Army (United Kingdom) - Postwar Reforms and Cold War

Postwar Reforms and Cold War

In 1947, the TA was restructured and expanded, through the reactivation of some of the 1st Line divisions that were initially disbanded after the war, keeping its former role of supplying complete divisions to the regular Army until 1967. For the first time, TA units were formed in Northern Ireland. The manoeuvre divisions established or re-established in 1947 were:

• 42nd Lancashire Division
• 43rd Wessex Division
• 44th Infantry Division
• 49th (West Riding & North Midland) Armoured Division (49th (West Riding and North Midland) Division/District in 1961)
• 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division (50th Northumbrian District by 1966, under Major General Derek Horsford)
• 51st/52nd (Scottish) Division
• 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division (until 1968, when superseded by Wales District)
• 56th (London) Armoured Division

The 16th Airborne Division, a totally TA formation, was also raised at this time, under the command of Major-General Roy Urquhart. 52nd (Lowland) Division was reraised as a tenth, 'mixed' division in March 1950.

The Territorials also provided much of the anti-aircraft cover for the United Kingdom until 1956. In that year Anti-Aircraft Command and 15 anti-aircraft regiments of the Royal Artillery were disbanded, with nine others passing into "suspended animation" as new English Electric Thunderbird Surface to Air Missile units replaced them. On 20 December 1955 the Secretary of State for War informed the House of Commons that the armoured divisions and the 'mixed' division were to be converted to infantry, and the 16th Airborne Division reduced to a parachute brigade group. Only two divisions (43rd and 53rd), two armoured brigades, and a parachute brigade were to remain allocated for NATO and the defence of Western Europe; the other eight divisions were placed on a lower establishment for home defence only. The territorial units of the Royal Armoured Corps were also reduced in number to nine armoured regiments and eleven reconnaissance regiments. This was effected by amalgamation of pairs of regiments, and the conversion of four RAC units to an infantry role. The new parachute brigade group become the 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group.

British forces contracted dramatically as the end of conscription in 1960 came in sight as announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper. On 20 July 1960 a reorganisation of the TA was announced in the House of Commons. The Territorials were to be reduced from 266 fighting units to 195. There was to be a reduction of 46 regiments of the Royal Artillery, eighteen battalions of infantry, twelve regiments of the Royal Engineers and 2 regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals. The reductions were carried out in 1961, mainly by amalgamation of units. Thus on 1 May 1961 the TA divisional headquarters were merged with regular army districts, which were matched with Civil Defence Regions to aid mobilisation for war. The number of infantry brigades were reduced from thirty one to twenty three, and the two armoured brigades were disbanded.

This was followed by complete reorganisation announced in the 1966 Defence White Paper from 1 April 1967 when the title Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) was adopted which abolished the former regimental and divisional structure of the TA. Units in the new TAVR were divided into four categories:

• TAVR I: Units available for all purposes
• TAVR II: Units with a NATO role, specifically support for the British Army of the Rhine
• TAVR III: Home Defence units
• TAVR IV: Consisting of bands and the University-based Officer Training Corps

TAVR I and II units were known as "Volunteers", and those in TAVR III as "Territorials". These terms were often incorporated into the unit titles.

The TAVR III was disbanded in 1969, with the units being reduced to eight-man "cadres". The cadres became part of a "sponsoring" TAVR II unit, although continuing to wear the badges and perpetuating the traditions of their forebears. An increase in the size of the TAVR in 1971 led to the formation of a number of battalions based on these cadres.

In 1979 the Territorial Army title was restored, and in the following years its size was somewhat increased, with the regimental system being progressively reinstated. Although due to its decreased established size, Brigades rather than Divisions were used at a manoeuvre formation level.

The TA was thus re-roled into its modern form. Instead of supplying complete combat divisions, its function was to round out regular formations by supplying units of up to battalion size (including infantry, light artillery and formation reconnaissance), and to supply extra support functions such as engineers, medical units and military police.