The 11th (Craigavon) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment was formed from companies of the
2nd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment
2nd (County Armagh) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (2 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in the Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into fo ...
(2 UDR) and the
3rd Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment
3rd (County Down) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (3 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into forc ...
in 1972. In 1991 under the reductions planned in
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces ...
by the British Army, it again amalgamated with 2 UDR to form the
2nd/11th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment.
Formation
The battalion was formed in 1972 after an announcement by Major General
Robert Ford, Commander Land Forces in Northern Ireland (CLFNI).
[Ryder p49] The raising of the new and final battalion of the UDR brought operational strength up to 9,000 men, making the regiment not only the youngest but largest infantry battalion in the British Army.
The new battalion was commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Robin Chappell, who had previously been commander of the neighbouring 2 UDR. He was the first regular officer to command the 2nd battalion, and the only regular officer ever to command two separate UDR battalions.
In 1990 11 UDR was reported as having 772 members who patrolled an area of .
Uniform, armament & equipment
Greenfinches
Barracks

From formation battalion HQ was based at
Mahon Road Barracks
The Mahon Road Barracks was a military installation in Portadown, Northern Ireland.
History
The barracks were built on the Mahon Road in Portadown in 1972 to accommodate the 11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment and were originally dubbed "Fo ...
, known by the troops as "Fort Mahon", a new purpose-built UDR base on the Mahon Road,
Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
beside the historic Mahon House. Assuming command and expanding platoons and companies once part of the
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , " Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...
based 2 UDR in Lurgan, Portadown and Tandragee and also the Banbridge Company of 3 UDR.
Companies
HQ Company
Mahon Barracks, Portadown. – a mixture of regular army and permanent cadre/part-time administration staff, instructors, watchkeepers, mechanics, and a guard force of
Conrate soldiers. The commander was the battalion commander who was a regular
lieutenant colonel. Other regular soldiers on attachment included the
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
(a
major), a training major, and permanent staff instructors. The
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
's stores were also part of this company as were the core services of the battalion which, although modified slightly on expansion, generally consisted of operational organisation, vehicles, radio services, catering and pay.
HQ Company (Operations Platoon)
Scarva Road Barracks,
Banbridge
Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of ...
– an experimental permanent cadre platoon formed after
Ulsterisation which carried out the same duties as the regular army. Selected from the youngest and fittest soldiers with Commanders and NCO's who had, where possible, previous military experience. The commander was a Scottish
WO2 who had 22 years of experience with the
Royal Highland Fusiliers
The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Prior to 28 March 2006, the Royal Highland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment in its own right, c ...
, fighting in colonial conflicts during the disestablishment of empire. His second in command was
Colour Sergeant Robert (Bob) Beattie (Father of Captain
Doug Beattie
Douglas Ricardo Beattie (born 13 October 1965) is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army, who has been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 27 May 2021. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembl ...
) who had fought in the
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
and in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
with the
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County ...
. The main duties were to quickly seal off the A1 Belfast – Dublin dual carriageway and to act as Quick Reaction Force (QRF) for 3 Infantry Brigade and RUC J Division. As the number of permanent cadre soldiers grew a new full-time company was formed at Portadown and the Operations Platoon was integrated into it taking the designation A Company.
A Coy (Tandragee)
Based at Mahon Barracks – a part-time company. Later renamed B Company. Drawn from men (and later women) from the village of
Tandragee
Tandragee () is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is built on a hillside overlooking the Cusher River, in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower. It had a population of 3,486 people in the 2011 Cen ...
and the surrounding area this company came on duty at 7 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. In addition to patrolling their own villages and rural areas, they were also responsible for the relief of the regular army on the permanent guard post at Tandragee Power Station.
B Coy
(Dromore) was never formed but the designation was later given to A (Tandragee) Coy when the full-time rifle company was established at Portadown from the Operations Platoon and designated "A Company".
C Coy (Lurgan)
Kitchen Hill Barracks, Lurgan. – a part-time company with a small permanent cadre staff who ran the UDR centre within the regular army's barracks. This company was responsible for patrolling the town of Lurgan and its surrounding villages and rural areas.
Arms raid
Subsequent to a raid against C Company, on 20 October 1972, the guard commander Sgt
Billy Hanna MM was convicted of supplying information to loyalist paramilitaries. Most were recovered in follow up operations but some were later proven to have been used by loyalist organisations to carry out crime, including murders.
D Coy (Banbridge)
Scarva Road Barracks, Banbridge – a part-time company with a small permanent cadre staff who administered and guarded the barracks. Drawing its recruits from Banbridge, Dromore and surrounding rural villages and areas the company also patrolled these areas and provided extra checkpoints on the A1 dual carriageway.
E Coy (Portadown)
A part-time company with a small nucleus of permanent cadre administrative staff drawn from the market town of Portadown and its surrounding villages and rural areas. The company provided patrols in the town and surrounding areas as well as the night guard on the telephone exchange at Edenderry.
F Coy (Lisburn)
After the amalgamation of 1 and 9 UDR in 1984 – a part-time company with a small nucleus of permanent cadre administration staff who ran the company offices and facilities within Thiepval Barracks. Recruiting from Lisburn and surrounding areas it too had a mixed patrol area of towns and villages but by its location also patrolled areas of south
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
.
Area of responsibility
RUC J Division – taking in the sub-divisions of:
* MAHON ROAD: Divisional Command and barracks in Portadown Subdivision.
* PORTADOWN: Subdivisional Command.
* LURGAN: Subdivisional Command.
* MOIRA: Barracks in Lurgan Subdivision.
* CRAIGAVON: Barracks in Lurgan Subdivision.
* BANBRIDGE: Subdivisional Command.
* DROMORE: Barracks in Banbridge Subdivision.
* DROMARA: Barracks in Banbridge Subdivision.
* GILFORD: Barracks in Banbndge Subdivision.
* RATHFRILAND: Barracks in Banbridge Subdivision. (3 UDR were responsible for Rathfriland town)
Both part-time and full-time companies of 11 UDR took over operational responsibility in other areas to relieve the pressure on border battalions who had taken heavy casualties, particularly
2 UDR. Part-time soldiers deployed for a weekend but the full-time Operations Platoon (later A Company) and elements of HQ Company Conrate Guard deployed for up to two weeks at a time. Some of these detachments were at:
*
Bessbrook
Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast- Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today the village of Bessbrook ...
*
Newtownhamilton
Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants. ...
*
Caledon
*
Keady
Keady () is a village and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is south of Armagh and near the border with the Republic of Ireland. It is situated mainly in the historic barony of Armagh with six townlands in the barony of Tirann ...
*
Middletown
*
Omeath
Omeath (; or ''Uí Meth'') is a village on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. It is roughly midway between Dublin and Belfast, very near the County Louth and County Armagh / County Down bor ...
As well as manning permanent vehicle checkpoints (PVCPs) at these location the 11 UDR Platoons also engaged in urban and rural patrol work with the full-time soldiers taking part in searches, observation activities and denial of territory to the enemy.
Casualties
The battalion lost nine men during its existence. A further eight were killed as a result of their membership after they had left the battalion.
No figures are available for those wounded.
[
]
The Miami killings
Two soldiers from the 11 UDR's C Company, (also UVF members), were convicted of the 1975 killing of three musicians from the Irish showband
The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...
, the Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
. This attack was led by Robin Jackson
Robert John Jackson (27 September 1948 – 30 May 1998), also known as The Jackal, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and part-time soldier. He was a senior officer in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) during the period of violen ...
, a former ii UDR soldier who had been discharged for "undisclosed reasons".["Collusion in the South Armagh/Mid Ulster area in the mid-1970s". Pat Finucane Centre](_blank)
Retrieved 12 April 2012 Two soldiers from 11 UDR's E Company, Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
(also UVF members), died in the premature explosion of their own bomb.1976: UDR men jailed for Showband killings
/ref>
See also
* 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 ...
* List of battalions and locations of the Ulster Defence Regiment
* :Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers
* :Ulster Defence Regiment officers
References
Bibliography
* ''A Testimony to Courage – the Regimental History of the Ulster Defence Regiment 1969 – 1992'', John Potter, 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; factual non-fiction, primarily ...
Ltd, 2001,
* ''The Ulster Defence Regiment: An Instrument of Peace?'', Chris Ryder 1991
* '' Lost Lives'', David McKittrick, Mainstream, 2004,
* ''Echo Company, The History of E Company 5th Battalion of the Ulster Defence Regiment, by Ronnie Gamble 2007. ''
{{The Troubles, state=collapsed
Military history of County Armagh
Battalions of the Ulster Defence Regiment
1972 establishments in the United Kingdom
1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations established in 1972
Military units and formations disestablished in 1992