Triple anniversary dinner hosted by The Regimental Association of The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC, Larne Branch

The event commemorated the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day and the 55th anniversary of the formation of The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC. Held in Larne Masonic Centre, it was attended by Association members and guests with the honoured guest for the evening being Councillor Anna Henry representing the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, who partly funded the event.

Those present heard from the Chairman, Norman Gray, who said this annual dinner was always very important during Remembrance time and particularly this year with the triple anniversaries. In relation to WW2, he highlighted the role Ballycarry soldier, General Sir James Steele, played in that it was he who signed the mobilisation order to take the UK to war against Nazism and Fascism.

The chairman said that the celebrations that were seen across the UK on 8th May 1945, Victory in Europe (VE) Day, were tempered by the thoughts of those estimated 70-85 million lives lost during the six years from 1939 until the surrender of Germany on 7th May.

The Secretary, Kenny Kirby, then spoke on Victory in Japan (VJ) day as he outlined that, while there was peace in Europe, World War 2 raged on in the Far East and the Pacific with Japan refusing to surrender. This, he said, led to Britain and its allies beginning to prepare for an invasion of Japan codenamed Operation Downfall. However, on 6th August 1945, the US Airforce dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and three days after that, dropped a second more powerful plutonium bomb on Nagasaki.

The impact of these attacks on Japan was devastating with causalities estimated at hundreds of thousands, either as an instant result of the bombs or due to radiation sickness with the majority being innocent civilians. Emperor Hirohito made an unprecedented announcement to the Japanese people on 15th August 1945 when he announced Japan’s surrender.

The Secretary concluded by saying that today “this essentially means we don’t celebrate, neither VE Day nor VJ Day, we commemorate them”. “We commemorate them as milestones in history. Commemorate as in, remember, honour and memorialise.”

It was then on to the President of the Branch, Patricia Bresland, to present on the 55th anniversary of The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC and what is now a ‘Living History’. She said that applications to join the new regiment were available from 1st January 1970 and by 18th February, 2,123 men had signed up with the first two recruits, one Protestant and one Roman Catholic, publicly sworn in at the War Memorial Building, Waring Street, Belfast.

The regiment, she explained, was operational for the first time on the day it was formed – 1st April 1970. A first for the British Army. An outline of how the regiment was built from seven battalions to 11 as numbers grew and how an incentive of an annual bounty of £25-£35, was given to any soldier who fulfilled his training. With the RUC taking primary control of security in 1976 with military support, more soldiers were required which led to a full-time element being introduced bringing the strength up to 9,000 making the regiment the largest in the British Army.

However, following further re-organising, the regiment was reduced to nine battalions and then to seven by 1992 prior to amalgamation with the Royal Irish Rangers to become the Royal Irish. The President reminded members and guests that the local Larne, E Company, was originally based in this building before moving into pre-fabricated buildings next door where the church now stands.

This building, she said, was officially opened in 1965 as a centre for the TA by Valerie Hobson, an actress and wife of John Profumo MP, Secretary of War. This was during the Profumo scandal and apparently this may be why there is no plaque to mark the occasion. After E Company vacated the base, it was used by several organisations before being bought by Larne Masons who still own it today.

The regiment was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 October 2006. For over 22 years The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC made a unique contribution to peace in Northern Ireland, one unrivalled in any other military campaign in that it was the only British Army regiment ever to be on deployment for its entire existence, a feat unsurpassed by any regiment of the British Army since Napoleonic times, the president stated.

As part of Operation Banner, the British Army’s longest continuous campaign on active service lasting from 1969 to 2007, over 40,000 men and women served in its ranks, playing their part in the regiment’s history. The President concluded by saying: “In November the nation remembers all those who have fallen in conflict. We, the members of this branch of the Association particularly remember the 194 men and four women, who made the supreme sacrifice whilst serving in the regiment of which 155 were off duty and 139 were part time.

"We also remember those 60-plus former members who were murdered, in many cases long after they had left the regiment, those hundreds who were seriously injured, and the many who still suffer from permanent disablement, both mentally and physically to this day, along with their families.”

Councillor Henry thanked the branch for their commitment to Remembrance and their loyalty and concluded by saying: “As a councillor, and on behalf of the people of Mid and East Antrim, I want to thank each and every one of you. Your presence here tonight reminds us that courage did not belong to the pages of history books—it lived in the streets and farms and towns of this Borough. We owe you more than we can ever repay.”