The regiment's history dates backs to the reign of King George III. In 1793 the British Army expanded to meet the commitments of the war with the French First Republic. As part of that expansion it raised two new regiments of foot, the 83rd[2] and the 86th.[3] In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, the 83rd and 86th were amalgamated into a single regiment, named the Royal Irish Rifles, one of eight infantry regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland.[4] It was the county regiment of Antrim, Down, Belfast and Louth, with its depot located at Victoria Barracks, Belfast.[5] Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a single command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London.[6]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[9] the regiment now had three Reserve but no Territorial battalions.[10][11]
The 11th (Service) Battalion (South Antrim), 12th (Service) Battalion (Central Antrim) and 13th (Service) Battalion (1st County Down) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 108th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The 14th (Service) Battalion (Young Citizens) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 109th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The 15th (Service) Battalion (North Belfast) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 107th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12] The 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd County Down) (Pioneers) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as pioneer battalion for the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[12]
Some 7,010 soldiers from the regiment were killed in action during the First World War.[19]
Between the world wars
After the First World War the War Office decided that Ulster should be represented on the Army List as Connaught, Leinster and Munster already had their own regiments and so, in 1920, a new name was proposed for the Royal Irish Rifles. From 1 January 1921 the regiment became the Royal Ulster Rifles.[11] The regiment moved to St Patrick's Barracks in 1937.[20] In 1937 the already close relationship with the London Irish Rifles was formally recognised when they were incorporated into the Corps while still retaining their regimental identity as a territorial battalion. Two years later the London Irish formed a second battalion.[21]
Carried in Horsa gliders, the battalion took part in Operation Mallard, the British glider-borne landings in the later afternoon of 6 June 1944, otherwise known as D-Day. They served throughout the Battle of Normandy employed as normal infantry until August 1944 and the breakout from the Normandy beachhead where the entire 6th Airborne Division advanced 45 miles in 9 days. They returned to England in September 1944 for rest and retraining until December 1944 when the 6th Airborne was then recalled to Belgium after the surprise German offensive in the Ardennes which is now known as the Battle of the Bulge where the division played a comparatively small role in the mainly-American battle. They then took part in their final airborne mission of the war known as Operation Varsity, which was the airborne element of Operation Plunder, the crossing of the River Rhine by the 21st Army Group in March 1945. The 6th Airborne was joined by the U.S. 17th Airborne Division, and both divisions suffered heavy casualties.[24]
The 6th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised in 1939 from No. 200 Group National Defence Companies and consisting of older men with previous military experience who were unfit for active service. On 24 December 1940 the battalion was redesignated as the 30th Battalion, dropping the Home Defence from its title, and converted to a regular infantry battalion. It was disbanded in Northern Ireland in May 1943.[28] The 7th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised on 29 June 1940, joining the 215th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home). The battalion served in Ulster until leaving for Great Britain in September 1942. On 24 December 1941, the battalion was redesignated the 31st Battalion and dropped the Home Defence title.[11]
The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion was formed on 12 September 1940 at Holywood from the younger soldiers of the 6th and 7th battalions and volunteers of the ages of 18 and 19 who were too young for conscription. The battalion spent most of its time guarding airfields and aerodromes before moving to Great Britain in October 1941.[11]
Post-war
In 1947 the Royal Ulster Rifles were grouped with the other two remaining Irish regiments, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Fusiliers, into the North Irish Brigade.[31] In 1948, the 2nd Battalion was amalgamated with the 1st Battalion to form the 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (83rd and 86th), thus retaining the history of both of the previous regiments of foot.[11]
The 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles disembarked at Pusan in early November 1950 as part of the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group for service in the Korean War. They were transported forward to Uijeongbu, where under the direct command of the Eighth United States Army they were directed against guerrilla forces swept past by the rapid progress of the United Nations Army.[32] By mid December 1950 a defensive line was being prepared on the south bank of the River Han on the border with North Korea protecting the approach to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. As the New Year started, the Fiftieth Chinese Communist Army engaged the United Nations troops focusing on 29 Brigade, who were dispersed over a very wide front (12 miles). The Royal Ulster Rifles fighting with 1st Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers were able to hold their position in their first major action at the Chaegunghyon and the Communist Army's progress was halted, at least temporarily.[32]
The Battle of the Imjin River began on 22 April 1951 with the goal of taking Seoul. By 25 April 1951, the Brigade was ordered to withdraw as the Communist forces were threatening to encircle it. With virtually no cover and seriously outnumbered, the Royal Ulster Rifles came under heavy fire as they withdrew to a blocking position. The Brigade was able to hold its position, despite fierce fighting, and neutralized the effectiveness of the Sixty-fourth Chinese Communist Army. Although the enemy's offensive had come within 5 miles of Seoul, the capital had been saved.[32] At the time, the Times reported the Battle of Imjin River concluding with: The fighting 5th wearing St George and the Dragon and the Irish Giants with the Harp and Crown have histories that they would exchange with no one. As pride, sobered by mourning for fallen observes how well these young men have acquitted themselves in remotest Asia. The parts taken by the regiments may be seen as a whole. The motto of the Royal Ulster Rifles may have the last word Quis Separabit (who shall separate us).[32]
As a result of this action, members of the Royal Ulster Rifles were awarded two Distinguished Service Orders, two Military Crosses, two Military Medals, and three men were Mentioned in Despatches.[33] When the area was recaptured, a memorial was erected to the 208 men killed or missing after the battle.[34] It stood overlooking the battlefield until 1962 when Seoul's growth threatened to consume it, and it was carried by HMS Belfast back to Ireland where it was the focus of St Patrick's Barracks in Ballymena.[33] When the barracks closed in 2008, the Imjin River Memorial was again moved, this time to the grounds of the Belfast City Hall.[35]
The Regiment continued to accept recruits from the rest of Ireland; for example, almost 50% of personnel in the 1st Battalion who arrived in Korea in 1950 were Irish nationals.[33] In July 1968 the Royal Ulster Rifles amalgamated with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Fusiliers to form the Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th).[11]
Regimental museum
The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum is located in the Cathedral Quarter, Belfast. The museum's artefacts include uniforms, badges, medals, regimental memorabilia, trophies, paintings and photographs.[36]
Chant, Christopher (1988). The handbook of British regiments. Routledge. ISBN978-0-415-00241-7.
Ferguson, Gregory (1984). The Paras 1940–84. Volume 1 of Elite series. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN0-85045-573-1.
Harris, Major Henry E. D. (1968). The Irish Regiments in the First World War. Mercer Press Cork. ISBN978-0853420729.
Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN978-1-84342-474-1.
Roe, Lt. F.P. (1923). A Short History of the Royal Ulster Rifles. Aldershot: Gale & Polden. OCLC771232739.
Williams, Jeffery (1988). The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945. Toronto: Stoddart. ISBN0-7737-2194-0.
Lowry, Gerald (1933). From Mons to 1933. Marshall Simpkin Ltd. ISBN978-1-334-97215-7.
Further reading
Orr, David R; Truesdale, David (2005). The Rifles are There: 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Royal Ulster Rifles in the Second World War. Pen & Sword. ISBN1-84415-349-5.
Taylor, James W. (2002). The 1st Royal Irish Rifles in the Great War. Four Courts Press. ISBN1-85182-702-1.
Taylor, James W. (2005). The 2nd Royal Irish Rifles in the Great War. Four Courts Press. ISBN1-85182-952-0.