The 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) is a part of the British Army's

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

. The regiment's role is to provide electronic warfare (EW) capability in support of deployed Land Commanders, in order to enable operations in the electronic battlespace. It is the only British Army regiment capable of conducting sustainable electronic warfare in support of national operations worldwide. The regiment is currently based at Cawdor Barracks, on the site of the former

RAF Brawdy Royal Air Force Brawdy, or more simply RAF Brawdy, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1944 and 1992; it was used ...

, near

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...

, in South Wales.

History

14th Signal Regiment was originally formed on 9 September 1959 in London to provide worldwide communications on behalf of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, superseding the United Kingdom Commonwealth Communications Army Network Signal Regiment (COMCAN). During the 1960s the regiment was involved in various activities based around the skills of the units placed under its command, including trials for the development of Skynet satellite. In 1962 the regimental HQ moved to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

until 1968 when it was relocated to

Norton Barracks Norton Barracks is a former military installation in Norton, Worcestershire. The keep is a Grade II listed building. History The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style between 1874 and 1877. Their creation took place as part o ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

from December of that year. The regiment's main role was changed to Force Rear Link following the formation of the Defence Communications Network at RAF Stanbridge in 1969. As part of 1st Signal Group the regiment provided detachments to numerous locations worldwide in support of deployed units, including: Northern Ireland,

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

(1969), Jordan (1970), the United Arab Emirates (1971),

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

(1972) and twenty other countries over the following four years. This busy chapter finally came to an end on 6 November 1976 when it amalgamated with

30 Signal Regiment 30th Signal Regiment is a regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Army. The regiment is held at very high notice to move, and primarily supports Standing Joint Force Headquarters. The Commanding Officer of 30th Signal Regiment is ...

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. It reformed as 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) at Tofrek Barracks,

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

in Germany on 1 July 1977 with a headquarters and three squadrons to provide electronic warfare support to the Commander of

1st British Corps I Corps ("First Corps") was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived ...

. 1 Squadron was based in

Langeleben Langeleben is a historical location at 260 m above sea level, in the northern part of the Elm (range), Elm ridge in Lower Saxony, Germany and today belongs to the nearby town of Königslutter, Königslutter am Elm. Langeleben was a crossing point ...

, 2 Squadron in

Wesendorf Wesendorf is a municipality in the Gifhorn (district), district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km north of Gifhorn. Wesendorf is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Wesendorf ("collective municipality"). T ...

and 3 Squadron was co-located with the RHQ in Hildesheim. In April 1978, the regimental headquarters was re-sited to Ironside Barracks, in Scheuen, north of

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

in order to be closer to the sub-units under its command. This only presented temporary accommodation and so the regiment moved again in 1985 to Taunton Barracks, Celle; a 19th-century neo-Gothic complex which is now Celle Town Hall, previously used by 94 Locating Regiment RA. In 1992, the regiment's mission was changed to provide electronic warfare support to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and to the British elements under its command, this as a result of the formation of the

Allied Rapid Reaction Corps The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a rapid reaction force maintained by NATO. It is capable of deploying a High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters at short notice for operations and crisis response. History The ARRC was created on 1 ...

. Changes in the organisation of the British Army caused the regiment to move its headquarters and two of its three field squadrons (226 and 245 Signal Squadrons) to

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, in April 1993. The third field squadron, 237 Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare), moved to

Hullavington Hullavington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, just to the north of the M4 motorway. The village lies about southwest of Malmesbury and north of Chippenham. The Fosse Way, a Roman road, forms the western boundary of the par ...

, England at the same time. In December 1995, the German-based elements moved again, to Cawdor Barracks near

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, and 237 Signal Squadron joined them six months later after an operational deployment to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. As a result of the requirement to provide five deployable squadrons to support operations in Afghanistan (

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

), 224 Signal Squadron was formed on 21 June 2004 as a joint services unit, composed mostly of personnel from the Royal Corps of Signals, Intelligence Corps and the RAF. The Squadron was based at

RAF Digby Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Scopwick and south east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-s ...

in Lincolnshire until it was disbanded in 2009. Under the Army 2020 Refine programme, it was announced the regiment would shift to a new location; however, its future barracks is yet to be determined. 14th Signal Regiment has moved its Cyber Protection Teams 1-6 to 13th Signal Regiment's 224 Signal Squadron.

Organisation

The current organisation of the regiment is (with roles): * Regimental Headquarters, at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy * 223 Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence, supports 3rd (UK) Division) ** Army Element, Joint Signals Intelligence Unit (Troop sized), at

* 226 Signal Squadron (Airborne and Light Manoeuvre Electronic Warfare Forces, under operational command of

16 Air Assault Brigade 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, known simply as 16 Air Assault Brigade from 1999–2021, is a formation of the British Army predominantly based in Colchester, Essex. It makes up the Air Assault Task Force, a battlegroup held at high readines ...

) * 237 Signal Squadron (Armoured Manoeuvre Electronic Warfare forces to 12 and 20 Armoured Infantry Bdes) * 245 Signal Squadron (Strike Electronic Warfare forces and cyber warfare)

Operations

Heraldry & ceremonial

The existing regimental badge was introduced on 28 May 1982. It consists of a shield with a white horse and a bolt of lightning and replaced the coat of arms of Gloucester.

Honours

* Freedom of Entry into

on 28 April 1966. *Freedom of

on 10 July 1987. *Freedom of

St Davids St Davids or St David's (, , "David's house”) is a cathedral city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun and is part of the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wales's ...

on 12 May 1997. *Freedom of

on 10 February 2009.

Alliances

*: Y Squadron, Royal Navy *: 7th Signal Regiment (Australia) *:

21 Electronic Warfare Regiment 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment (French: ) is a Royal Canadian Corps of Signals regiment in the Canadian Army, based at CFB Kingston, Ontario. 21 EW Regt exists to provide trained army electronic warfare operators and support personnel to the Ca ...

*: 102 Electronic Warfare Company *: 320th Fernmelde Regiment *: 54e Régiment de Transmissions *:

66th Military Intelligence Brigade The 66th Military Intelligence Brigade ("Six-Six-M-I" and 66th MIB) is a United States Army brigade, subordinate to United States Army Intelligence and Security Command and based at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany. After years of histo ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

14 Sig Regt (EW)
Regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals Electronic warfare units and formations Military units and formations established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom