These pages are dedicated
to those who paid the ultimate price in the name of their
country during the bloodiest thirty-plus years of domestic British history ...

Royal Irish Regiment Regimental Association CGC.

The Association was formed following the disbandment of
the three Home Service (HS) Battalions in 2007.

Ulster Defence Regiment (CGC)

The Ulster Defence Regiment lost 197 Soldiers (4 of whom were female) during Op. Banner while in Service. A further 61 were targeted and murdered AFTER having left the Regiment.

The UDR Soldier

As poppy petal gently fall
Remember us who gave our all
Not in the mud of foreign lands
Nor buried in the desert sands.

In Ulster field and farm and town,
Fermanagh's lanes and drumlin'd Down
We died that violent death should cease
And Ulstermen might live in peace.

We did not serve because we hate
Nor bitterness our hearts dictate.

But we were they who must aspire
To quench the flame of terror's fire.

Grieve not for us, but this we ask,
Let others yet take up the task.

© John Potter

The letters CGC stand for Conspicuous Gallantry Cross which was awarded to the Regiment by HM The Queen on 6th October 2006 ... this award was to the Regiment and is unique as no bravery award has ever been awarded to any Regiment before or since, thus the full title of the Regiment is the Ulster Defence Regiment CGC (for short). 
The award of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was awarded ONLY to the Ulster Defence Regiment and the HOME SERVICE Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment who served solely in the province ...

2nd Battalion

3rd Battalion

4th Battalion

5th Battalion

6th Battalion

7th Battalion

8th Battalion

9th Battalion

10th Battalion

11th Battalion

1st - 9th Battalion

4th - 6th Battalion

7th - 10th Battalion

RTA's

Training Camp

Sgt Harry D. Dickson Age 46. (Part Time). C. Coy
27th February 1972. Shot by gunmen in the hallway of his home. His daughter was shot in the leg in the attack. He was married with 3 Children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte Sidney W. Watt Age 36 (Part Time). B. Coy
20th July 1973. Ambushed getting out of his car after visiting friends. His wife found him by the side of the car, she remained with him until he died. He was married with 4 Children, and was off duty
at the time of his death.

Pte Kenneth Hill Age 24 (Part Time) A. Coy
28th August 1973. Shot by the IRA as he helped to clear an area in Armagh City after a suspect vehicle was found, The car was planted to lure security forces into the area. He was single and
on duty at the time of his death.

Cpl James A. Frazer Age 49 (Part Time) B. Coy
30th August 1975. Shot dead by the IRA as he left a farm were he had been helping out every Saturday since he was a young boy. His 2 Brother in Laws were also shot dead by the IRA.
He was married with 9 Children, and was off duty at the time of his death.

L/Cpl Joe Reid Age 48 (Part Time) A. Coy
31st August 1975. Joes daughter answered at knock at her front door and a man asked is Joe in? On coming to the door Joe was shot a point blank range. He was married with 5 children and
was off duty at the time of his death.

L/Cpl D. John Bell Age 57 (Part Time) B. Coy
6th November 1975. Shot by the IRA as he returned home from his work in his car. A Brother in Law was later murdered by the IRA in 1980. He was single and was off duty at the time of his death.

C/Sgt Joe Nesbitt Age 53 (Part Time) A. Coy
10th November 1975. Shot in his car as he was travelling to work. He managed to control the car after being shot for 500 yards before losing control of his vehicle. He was married with 4 children, and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte Joseph A McCullough Age 57 (Part Time) B. Coy
25th February 1976. He had been staying with neighbours to avoid attack but was stabbed to death when he went home to feed his dog. His cousin and 2 neighbours who served with the UDR were also murdered by the IRA at a later date. He was single and was off duty at the time of his death.

Cpl Robert W. McConnell Age 32 (Part Time) B. Coy
5th April 1976. Shot dead by the IRA outside his home in Tullyvallen, Newtownhamilton, his sister in law was walking with him when he was killed. He was single and was off duty at the time off his death.

L/Cpl Jean Leggett Age 33 (Part Time) A. Coy
6th April 1976. Shot during an IRA ambush while on mobile patrol on the Armagh to Middletown Road. She was the second female soldier of the UDR to be Killed. Another female soldier was injured in the attack. She was married with 2 children and was on duty at the time of her death.

Lt Joe Wilson Age 53 (Part Time) A. Coy
26th October 1976. Shot dead by the IRA as he worked behind a supermarket counter. He had survived an attempt on his life the year before, His son in law was later killed by the IRA in 1984. He was married with 9 children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte Margaret A. Hearst Age 24 (Part Time) A. Coy
8th October 1977. Shot by IRA gunmen who burst into her mobile home which was in her parents garden near Middletown. Her mother and brothers were held at gunpoint while the killers waited for her, Her 3 year old daughter was in the next room when the shooting took place and a bullet went through the toy she had been cuddling. Her Father was murdered by the IRA in 1980.

Capt Charlie Henning Age 51 (Part Time) B. Coy
6th October 1978. Shot by the IRA as he was leaving a livestock mart in his lorry in Newry. He was married and was off duty at the time of his death.

L/Cpl Thomas J Armstrong Age 64 (Part Time) A. Coy
13th April 1979. Shot by the IRA as he returned home for his breakfast having left early to feed stock on the Caledon Estate were he was a game keeper. He was due to retire from the UDR the following week.
He was married with 4 children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte James Porter Age 64 (Part Time) B. Coy.
24th June 1979. His body was found at the side of the road near his home by a neighbour, he had been shot in the head by the IRA and his house had been ransacked. He was single and was off duty at the time of his death, He was the 95th UDR soldier to be killed.

Pte James H. Hewitt Age 47 (Part Time) C. Coy.
10th October 1980. Killed when an IRA booby-trap bomb exploded under his car at a stock yard. His two sons were the first on the scene. He was married with 2 Children and was off duty at the time of his death.

L/Cpl Freddie A. Williamson (Part Time) A. Coy
7th October 1982. Killed together with a women prison officer following an INLA gun attack as he drove to work. He was not hit by bullets but involved in a head on collision with another car driven by Prison Officer Elizabeth Chambers. His brother who was RUC was killed by an IRA booby-trap explosion in 1993. He was married with 3 children was off duty at the time of his death.

Sgt Thomas G. Cochrane Age 55 (Part time) B. Coy
22nd October 1982 (believed). Abducted by the IRA as he travelled to work, His body was found seven days later, he had been shot, He was married with 1 child and was off duty when he was abducted and murdered.

Cpl Charlie H. Spence Age 44 (Part Time) A. Coy.
10th November 1982. Was shot by the IRA as he left his full time work place at the Customs Office in Armagh. He was married with 3 children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Cpl Austin Smith Age 43 (Part time) A. Coy
19th December 1982. Shot by the IRA after parking his car to walk 50 yards to his house. he had just finished his part time duty with 2 UDR .His wife and daughter ran out to help him but he died at the scene. He was married with 3 Children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Major Charlie Armstrong Age 54 (Part Time) A. Coy
14th November 1983. killed by an IRA bomb after leaving a meeting in Armagh City,. he was also the Chairman of Armagh District Council. He was married with 8 children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte Stephen McKinney Age 22 (Part Time) A. Coy
25th September 1988. Shot by the IRA as he arrived home after his final duty with the Regiment. He had resigned before starting a business management course in England. The Gunmen lay in wait in his garden and fired 47 shots. Stephen was found critically Injured in his car holding his Personal Protection Weapon. He died in the ambulance with his parents by his side. A bursary for students at Armagh College of Further Education was established in his memory. He was single and off duty at the time of his death.

L/Cpl Davy Halligan Age 57 (Part time) C. Coy
17th November 1989. shot by the IRA as he drove home after coming off duty with C. Coy.
Gunmen fired a total of 37 rounds at his car, and despite being seriously injured, he managed to get out of his car and staggered 20 yards before collapsing. He was married with 3 children and was off duty at the time of his death.

Pte Paul D Sutcliffe Age 24 (Full Time) D. Coy
1st March 1991. On mobile patrol, while moving off from temporary traffic lights in a Landrover in Armagh, the Vehicle was hit by a horizontal mortar bomb, The driver Pte Roger Love died in Hospital 3 days later. three of their colleagues were injured in the explosion. He was single and had 1 child. He was on duty at the time of his death

Roger J. Love Age 20 (Full Time) D. Coy
1st March 1991. Died of his injuries received in the mortar attack in Armagh that killed Pte Paul Sutcliffe and injured three colleagues. He was the driver of the Landrover. He was single and was on duty at the time of his death.
To read an article about Roger from his Sister, please click here

Pte Paul R. Blakely Age 30 (Full Time) B. Coy.
31st May 1991. Killed in an IRA explosion at the Glenane Base. A lorry packed with 2500lbs of home made explosive was rolled down a hill into the Base, The explosion was heard 50 miles away, L/Cpl Robert Crozier and Pte Sidney Hamilton were also killed, Paul's home had been destroyed by a car bomb before Christmas in 1989,The three soldiers killed had more than 50 years service between them in the Regiment. He was married with 4 Children was on duty at the time of his death.

Pte Sidney Hamilton Age 44 (Full Time) B. Coy
31st May 1991 (As the Above Incident.)
Married with 3 children was on duty at time of death.

L/Cpl Robert W. Crozier Age 46 (Full Time) B. Coy
31st May 1991 (As the Above Incident)
Married with 2 children was on duty at time of death