Timeline of Ulster Defence Regiment Operations

Timeline Of Ulster Defence Regiment Operations

Most Ulster Defence Regiment operations were to assist the Royal Ulster Constabulary by guarding key installations in Northern Ireland, and provide patrols and vehicle checkpoints on public roads to hamper the activities of paramilitary groups.

The Ulster Defence Regiment was not permitted to engage in "crowd control" situations, due to the fear of pitting neighbour against neighbour. According to Chris Ryder in The UDR - An Instrument of Peace, this became more acute as Catholic membership dwindled in the regiment and the use of the predominantly Protestant force against Catholic protesters would have been singularly provocative. Additionally, Ryder notes, the regiment was forbidden from patrolling "hard-line Catholic" urban areas such as the Bogside in Derry or parts of west Belfast.

As the force was initially predominantly part-time, the presence of its members was mostly felt during evenings and weekends. It was expected to answer to general call-outs and was mobilised on a permanent basis on several occasions such as Operation Motorman to provide manpower assistance to the police and regular British Army, and during the bombing campaign against Belfast city centre in January 1992, when three battalions were called to full-time active duties. Full-time call-outs were restricted, however, because problems arose with part-time soldiers when they were taken from their normal day-jobs. During the Ulster Workers' Council strike in 1974 the entire regiment was mobilised full-time for five days. Many employers complained to local and provincial UDR commanders about being deprived of the services of their employees for so long and in some cases refused to pay wages. Despite negotiations with the Northern Ireland Office, no compensation package for part-time soldiers was ever agreed and on call-out they were reduced to the pay of a regular Army soldier of equivalent rank.

As the regiment evolved into a predominantly full-time unit and with Ulsterisation it assumed more duties previously assigned to the police or regular Army in support of Operation Banner. By 1980, the full-time element had become the majority and the regiment's role had expanded to include tactical responsibility for 85% of Northern Ireland supporting the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Because UDR soldiers lived within their own communities and not in barracks they were also able to provide intelligence to the Army, particularly the part-time soldiers whose day jobs often took them into places which were hostile to police or Army patrols. Tim Ripley and Mike Chappell, in Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969-92', note this also made many soldiers vulnerable to attack: 155 of all UDR personnel killed by the IRA were killed off duty, a further 47 after leaving the regiment.

A major advantage of the large numbers available to the UDR in each battalion area was the ability to seal off entire towns or rural areas through vehicle checkpoints, thereby preventing the movement of weapons and explosives.

Listed below is a chronology of Ulster Defence Regiment operations:

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