HISTORY OF THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT
The Parachute Regiment is required not only to execute landings from the air, but also to play the part of a Regiment of infantry of the line in fighting on the ground. In the campaigns in North Africa and Italy,
The Parachute Regiment can claim the 22nd of June as its birthday, for it was on that day in 1940 that Mr Winston Churchill called for the formation of a ‘corps of at least five thousand parachute troops, suitably organised and equipped’.
A Parachute Training School was soon formed at Ringway, and No 2 Commando chosen for training in parachute duties. As the scope of training increased, the title of No 2 Commando was first changed to ‘11th Special Air Battalion.’ And then to ‘1st Parachute battalion.’ In September 1941 this battalion was joined by the 2nd and 3rd Parachute battalions in the 1st Parachute Brigade which had been formed under the command of Brigadier RN Gale OBE MC in the previous month. In October 1941, Major general FAM browning DSO was ordered to form and airborne Division. Under his Guidance the Parachute Regiment, which on August 1,st 1942 was formally established as a Corps of the Army, Steadily expanded, until by the end of the war it comprised seventeen battalions and a number of independent pathfinder units. Not all the battalions were raised at home: three were formed in India and two in Egypt.
In 1941 the standards of ground and air training were put to the test in southern Italy.
This small but historic operation took place on February 10th 1941, and was directed against the Tragino Aqueduct in Apulia, which was breached. A year later on February 27th 1942, a Company of the 2nd Parachute Battalion succeeded in carrying off the secret German Radar from the cliffs at Bruneval on the coast of France. It was that the regiment earned its first battle Honour from then onwards the operations of the regiment in scope as the technique of airborne warfare developed and more resources become available. In North Africa the battalions of the 1st Parachute Brigade were dropped on widely separated objectives, and in the subsequent fighting earned for the Regiment which now wore the red beret, the name of ‘Red Devils,’ bestowed upon it by the enemy. In the attack on The night of June 5/6th 1944 marked the first Divisional Airborne Operations of the war. It was then that the 6th airborne Division; which included the 3rd and 5th Parachute brigades, landed in The History of the 1st Canadian Parachute battalion; which belonged to the 3rd Parachute Brigade from the August 1943 until the end of the war, is so closely bound up with that of the Regiment ad to be part of it. The story of the Parachute Regiment is also inseparable from that of the Glider Pilot Regiment, and those other arms and services which supported the Regiment in battle and which; with it, comprises Airborne Forces as a whole. 188 officers and 2004 men were killed in action whilst serving with the Parachute Regiment in World War II. Their names together with those of 10 officers and 120men of the 1st Canadian parachute Battalion, has been recorded in a Roll of Honour, which is lodged in the Royal Garrison Church of All Saints Aldershot. Since the end of World War II, the Regiment has served in the Far East, where it took part in operations to re-establish law and order after the Japanese collapse in Germany and in the Palestine campaign. The Whole of the 16th Parachute Brigade served in the Canal Zone during the period 1951-1954 and subsequently played a leading part in the emergency operations at Port Said in 1956 during which the 3rd battalion carried out a successful Parachute Assault. Following the Kuwait crisis in 1961 Battalions of the Regiment served in rotation in Bahrain and supplied Company groups for operation in Aden and the Radfan In 1964 all three battalions were deployed on operations, the 1st battalion in the UN force in Cyprus, the 2nd Battalion in Borneo, and the 3rd Battalion in the Radfan. The 1st battalion also took part in the withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Since 1969 Parachute battalions have carried out more operational tours in Northern Ireland than any other Regiment and their reputation in that campaign had been second to none. During 1982 the Falkland Islands were invaded by Argentina. In response the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Regiment, who was part of the 5th airborne brigade, were deployed as part of the 3rd Commando Brigade. During subsequent action in the Falklands conflict Lt Colonel H Jones and Sergeant Ian McKay were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for Valour. With the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 2002, a train of events were put into action culminating with the deployment of part of 16 air Assault Brigade. This deployment involved the 1st and 3rd Battalions supported by 120 Soldiers from the 4th battalion, who went onto to take part in Operation Telec the invasion of Iraq and the clearing of Iraq forces from Kuwait. The Parachute Regiment continues to serve in Iraq to this present day. The 2nd Battalion deployed to Afghanistan during 2002, in order to provide the security and stability in their specific operational area. The Regiment has had a presence in this country since the 2nd Battalions original deployment. Recently the full battle group of 16 Air Assault Brigade which deployed in 2006 has now recently deployed again in 2008 into the south of the country in Helmond Province. This deployment has seen significant actions fought in the province during the Brigades tour of duty, and will see the return of the Brigade back to the UK in October /November 2008.
Peter Doran
