3rd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment
Encyclopedia
The 3rd battalion Royal Anglian Regiment
"The Steelbacks" is the Territorial Army unit of the Royal Anglian Regiment
and is made up of volunteers who train in their spare time as soldiers. It was established on 1 April 2006, it was formed from five of the six companies of the East of England Regiment
with A, B, C, E and HQ companies (all Royal Anglian
cap badge) going to 3 Royal Anglian and D company (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters
cap badge) going to the 4th (V) battalion Mercian Regiment
.
unit whose role is to provide formed units on operations and to provide individual replacements to their regular counterparts as and when they are needed. The battalion has a number of generalised departments which are based at each company location, these are:
But also has a number of specialist/support platoons, these are:
who earned the nickname for their stoicism when being flogged with the cat-o'-nine tails ("Not a whimper under the lash"), a routine method of administering punishment in the Army in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
.
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
"The Steelbacks" is the Territorial Army unit of the Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
and is made up of volunteers who train in their spare time as soldiers. It was established on 1 April 2006, it was formed from five of the six companies of the East of England Regiment
East of England Regiment
The East of England Regiment was the infantry unit of the Territorial Army of the East Midlands and East Anglia prior to 1 April 2006.The East of England Regiment had very strong links with both the Royal Anglian Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.-History:This...
with A, B, C, E and HQ companies (all Royal Anglian
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
cap badge) going to 3 Royal Anglian and D company (Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters
Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters
The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division...
cap badge) going to the 4th (V) battalion Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...
.
Organisation
The battalion headquarters is located in Bury St Edmunds just up the road from the Regimental headquarters at the keep. The company locations are as follows:- A (Norfolk & Suffolk) Company – NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and LowestoftLowestoftLowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich... - B (Lincolnshire) Company – LincolnLincoln, LincolnshireLincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
and GrimsbyGrimsbyGrimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996... - C (Leicestershire & Northamptonshire) Company – LeicesterLeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and NorthamptonNorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is... - E (Essex & Hertfordshire) Company – ChelmsfordChelmsfordChelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
and HertfordHertfordHertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000... - HQ (Suffolk & Cambridgeshire) Company – Bury St Edmunds
Roles
The battalion is primarily an infantryBritish Army Infantry
The British Army's Infantry, part of the Structure of the British Army, comprises 51 battalions of Infantry, from 19 Regiments. Of these 37 battalions are part of the 'Regular' army and the remaining 14 a part of the 'Territorial' force...
unit whose role is to provide formed units on operations and to provide individual replacements to their regular counterparts as and when they are needed. The battalion has a number of generalised departments which are based at each company location, these are:
- Adjudant General's CorpsAdjutant General's CorpsThe Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services. As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 people...
(Pay and admin) - CISRoyal Corps of SignalsThe Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
, providing Communication, Information and Security - Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
- MT PlatoonRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
, providing motor transport - ChefsRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
, providing catering support - Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersRoyal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersThe Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache...
maintaining the battalions vehicles - Rifle PlatoonPlatoonA platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
- Stores
But also has a number of specialist/support platoons, these are:
- Military Intelligence CellMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
– Based at HQ company - Psy Ops (Psychological Operations) – Based at HQ company
- MortarsL16 81mm MortarThe United Kingdom's L16 81 mm mortar is the standard mortar used by the British armed forces. It originated as a joint design by UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, whilst the version used by the U.S...
– Based at A Company - Anti-TankFGM-148 JavelinThe FGM-148 Javelin is a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank missile fielded to replace the Dragon antitank missile.-Overview:Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance...
– Based at B company - Assault PioneerAssault PioneerAn Assault Pioneer is an infantry soldier who is responsible for:* The construction of tools for infantry soldiers to cross natural and man-made obstacles as well as breaching of enemy fortifications;...
s – Based at C company - Machine Guns – Based at E company
Experience
Although only a part time unit and having only been established in 2006 the battalion has already accumulated a wealth of operational experience. Most members of the battalion have deployed at least once and many members have deployed multiple times. Here are some of the theatres the 3rd Battalion has served in:- Afghanistan
- Bosnia
- Cyprus
- Iraq
- Kosovo
- Northern Ireland
Nickname
The 3rd battalion's nickname of "The Steelbacks" is taken from one of its former regiments, the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...
who earned the nickname for their stoicism when being flogged with the cat-o'-nine tails ("Not a whimper under the lash"), a routine method of administering punishment in the Army in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The future
The Steelbacks will for the first time deploy as a battalion on operations when in 2011 they are tasked to fulfill the role as UN peacekeepers in Cyprus as part of Operation TOSCAUnited Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus was established in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions...
.