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On 11 September 2001, four American passenger jets were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. Two of the aircraft were flown into each of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, both of which subsequently collapsed; one aircraft was flown into The Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Department of Defence; the fourth aircraft crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to wrest control from the terrorists.
Operation Herrick 13
The Royal Irish Regiment's third major deployment to Afghanistan came in 2010. The 1st Battalion, again reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, deployed into the Nad-e 'Ali District of Helmand Province as Combined Force Nad-e 'Ali South, taking over from the 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
Operation HERRICK 8
On 25 March 2008, the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, reinforced by a company from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, relieved the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan.
The 1 R IRISH Battlegroup had three roles:
1) Providing operational and training support to the Helmand Brigade of the Afghan National Army (ANA).
2) Detaching C (Ranger) Company to 2 PARA Battlegroup in Sangin District.
On 28 November 1943, British troops had gained a small bridgehead on the north side of the River Sangro. The aim at this stage was to breach the German Winter Line that ran parallel with the northern escarpment overlooking the river.
Popularly known as the SLR, the correct name for this British made rifle was the L1A1.
First produced in 1954 it was only phased out of use in the British Army in the late 1980s, being replaced by the SA80. Its reliability and robustness combined with a 7.62mm calibre bullet that reloaded itself from a gas operated twenty or thirty round magazine made it a formidable weapon in trained hands.
It was used in the Malayan Emergency, the Vietnam War, the Northern Ireland Troubles, the Falklands War and the Gulf War.
In the 1960s, the Royal Ulster Constabulary identified a requirement for an armoured car to provide protection mainly in border areas. A vehicle was designed by Short Brothers and Harland (hence Shorland) based on the long-wheelbase Land Rover. Weighing approximately 3,300kg it was armed initially with a Browning .30-inch calibre machine gun and later a 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). It had an armoured body that could provide the crew of three with protection from small arms fire, shrapnel and explosive devices.
Stationed near Cawnpore in Uttar Pradesh, the 87th Prince's Own Regiment was sent as part of a force to engage Rajah Dya Ram. The Rajah’s fortress was at Hattrass [Hathras], near Agra, and the British force was commanded by Major General Sir Dyson Marshall. The Rajah was one of the few remaining independent rulers resisting the British merger of Northern India's princely states into Presidencies - the administrative states formed by British rule.
The Treaty of Peace concluding the Great War in Europe was signed by the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
_'I went my rounds yesterday in the evening. Such a time I have never had! Imagine going along a trench just wide enough for your shoulders; your head up to the original level of the ground, and the earth piled up on either side for two or three feet; the bottom was soft mud with water well above the knees. One sank into this whilst one struggled on, carrying revolver or rifle. In my case, revolver strapped on, and holding up my cloak to prevent it getting under my feet in my dreadful flounders. Several times I nearly stuck for good, but just managed to get through.
On 12 November 1969, the Minister of Defence for Administration (Mr Roy Hattersley) made a statement to the House of Commons in which he said:
'The Hunt Committee recommended that the Royal Ulster Constabulary should be relieved of all military duties and that the Ulster Special Constabulary should be replaced by two separate forces - one a police reserve, the other a military force to assist the regular Armed Forces.
