26th Regiment Royal Artillery

26th Regiment Royal Artillery
Active1947 to present
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch British Army
RoleDivisional Fires Artillery
Size5 Batteries
737 personnel[1]
Part of1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team
Garrison/HQPurvis Lines, Larkhill Garrison
Nickname(s)The West Midland Gunners
EquipmentM270 Multiple Launch Rocket System

26th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. The regiment is equipped with MLRS and is 3rd (United Kingdom) Division's divisional fires regiment.

History

An AS90 of 26th Regiment conducts live-fire exercise at Grafenwoehr, Germany, 2014

The regiment was formed from 4th Field Regiment RA in 1947.[2] It saw action in Malaya later that year and deployed to Libya in 1951.[2] It was renamed 26th Airportable Regiment RA in 1962 and re-equipped with 105mm Pack Howitzers.[2] In 1963, it was renamed 26th Medium Regiment RA and re-equipped with 5.5" Howitzers and then deployed to Cyprus.[2] It moved to Hohne in 1965 and was renamed 26th Field Regiment RA when it re-equipped with the Abbot self propelled gun.[2]

In the 1970s, it saw tours in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and during the 1980s it was based at Baker Barracks with a tour of Belize in 1987 followed by Northern Ireland in 1990.[2] The Regiment was moved out to Mansergh Barracks, Gütersloh, Germany and was equipped once again with the Abbot. At the onset of the Kuwait invasion by Iraq, the Regiment took charge of M109 howitzer artillery and was deployed as part of Operation Granby with 1st Armored Division during the 1991 gulf war. On return to Mansergh Barracks, the Regiment again had tours of Northern Ireland before changing roles once more and being issued AS90 in 1994. The regiment was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina the following year.[2] Units went to Kosovo in 2000, took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Herrick 9 in 2008.[2] Most recently, 16 (Sandham's Company) Battery deployed on Operation CABRIT 1, NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia, in March 2017.[3] Under Army 2020 Refine, the regiment will be a divisional fire regiment.[4][5]

On 14 May 2019, the regiment's last group of members left Mansergh Barracks in Germany. The regiment has, of October 2019, fully been based in Purvis Lines in Larkhill. These barracks are brand new and were designed especially for the regiment. During their farewell parade, the regiment received the ceremonial ribbon, which is Germany's most prestigious award.[6]

Racist and sexist abuse

Main article: Kerry-Ann Knight

In 2024 the MOD reached a settlement with 26th Regiment Royal Artillery corporal, Kerry-Ann Knight for racist and sexist abuse she suffered during her 12 years in the British Army and as a member of the regiment. While stationed with the regiment in Germany she was advised not to travel down a certain corridoor where the soldiers had decorated the walls with swastikas. During her time in the army she was also assaulted, called a "black bitch", soldiers would shout "watermelon" when she approached and loudly play Django Unchained, threatened to hotbox her, threatened to lynch her, and she was forced to serve with people who professed support for Neo-Nazi and fascist groups, the Ku Klux Klan, and the English Defence League. [7][8]

Batteries

The batteries are as follows:[9]

Three batteries are equipped with M270B1 systems, while one battery is equipped with the EXACTOR 2 systems.

26th Regiment Royal Artillery Association

In 1993, the association was formed to enable serving and ex serving members of the regiment to meet bi-annually. Since then, the association has grown in membership and currently has approximately 500 full members. The association's website is intended to reach people in all parts of the world that either serve or have served in 26th Regiment Royal Artillery, whatever their cap badge might have been.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Army – Question for Ministry of Defence". p. 1. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "26th Regiment Royal Artillery". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  3. ^ "British soldiers with Challenger 2 tanks and AS90 artillery howitzers are deployed in Estonia". Defence and Security News. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  4. ^ "26th Regiment Royal Artillery". British Army. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Request for Information Releating to A2020 Refine" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. ^ at 1:45pm, Rob Olver (14 May 2019). "Goodbye Gütersloh: Germany's Last Royal Artillery Unit Returns To UK". Forces Network. Retrieved 9 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Al-Othman, Hannah (2 August 2024). "Face of British army recruitment drive wins payout for racist and sexist abuse". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  8. ^ "British Army racism apology to black 'poster girl' soldier". BBC News. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  9. ^ "26th Regiment Royal Artillery". Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  10. ^ Rob Olver (9 February 2015). "Artillery Regiment Says Farewell to 137 (Java) Battery". Forces TV. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Gunners complete live fire exercise with AS90 - British Army Website". Army.mod.uk. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Welcome". 26th Regt RA Association. Retrieved 4 April 2019.

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