List of Battalions and Locations of The Ulster Defence Regiment - Battalion Dispersals

Battalion Dispersals

The dispersal of UDR soldiers into their areas of responsibility was through sub-barracks, as illustrated in the table below, which could hold an entire company or perhaps just a platoon of men. Battalion Headquarters would be located in a major town (usually the county town but not always as some counties had two Battalions). Guarded by a permanent cadre of soldiers these barracks would become doubly active after 6 p.m. as part-time soldiers arrived for evening duties. After Ulsterisation began in 1976 many battalion headquarters eventually had full-sized permanent cadre companies attached and these would maintain a 24 hour presence in the Battalion's area of responsibility. In each battalion area, sub headquarter units would maintain direct contact with their own men and Battalion HQ by radio. In many cases the radios were operated by Greenfinches whose husbands or sons were out on patrol. This led to tense moments when mobile units or foot patrols came under attack and submitted a "contact report" (contact with the enemy) by radio.

An example of this structure can be seen in the make-up of 2 UDR based at Drummad Barracks in Armagh: