2nd Royal Tank Regiment

2nd Royal Tank Regiment
2nd Royal Tank Regiment
	Cap badge of the Royal Tank Regiment.
Active	28 July 1917– August 2014
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Armoured
Role	Armoured regiment
Size	Regiment
Part of	Royal Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ	Aliwal Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire
Motto(s)	Fear Naught
Colors	Brown, red and green (Through mud and blood to the green fields beyond)
March	Quick: My Boy Willie; Slow: The Royal Tank Regiment Slow March
Anniversaries	Battle of Cambrai (20 November)
Engagements	First World War; Second World War
Battle honours	Battle Honours
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	The Queen
Notable; commanders	Lt Gen Sir Hugh Elles; Maj Gen Douglas Pratt
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash

The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and the 1st Mechanized Brigade.

History

2 RTR Badger during live fire training exercises in 2004 on Bergen-Hohne Training Area (Germany) near the Fallingbostel station

Founded as B Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917, the 2 RTR first saw action in the First World War with the advent of tank technology. It later fought in the Second World War. In 1992, it merged with the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, keeping their own original title. It became the second regiment to be equipped with the Challenger 2 in 1998.^[1]

Sabre squadrons were deployed by the regiment to Iraq on Operation Telic in 2003 and 2007.^[2]^[3] After a long period in Fallingbostel, Germany, the regiment moved back to Aliwal Barracks in Tidworth in July 2007.^[4] On 25 June 2008 at Buckingham Palace, both 1RTR and 2RTR were presented with their new Standard by The Queen, which included the new Battle Honour of Al Basrah 2003.^[5]

Units were deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick in 2010.^[6]

In August 2014 the regiment merged with 1RTR to form the Royal Tank Regiment. The new regiment is based at Aliwal Barracks in Tidworth and is one of three armoured regiments equipped with the Challenger II tank.^[7]

2003 friendly fire incident

In March 2003 Sergeant Steven Roberts of 2 RTR was shot and killed near Basra in an incident of friendly fire. Another soldier in 2 RTR had been attempting to protect Sergeant Roberts from a stone-wielding Iraqi protester that he was struggling with, who also died. An inquest heard that the soldier responsible was not aware that the machine gun used was inaccurate at short ranges. The inquest found that the shooting was an accident and that Roberts died because the Army failed to provide him with Enhanced Combat Body Armour.^[8]

Organisation

The Armoured Regiment consisted of 5 Squadrons:^[9]

Nero Squadron - Headquarters and Support
Cyclops Squadron - Armoured Squadron
Badger Squadron - Armoured Squadron
Egypt Squadron - Armoured Squadron
Falcon Squadron - Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron

Commanding Officers

The Commanding Officers have been:^[10]

1958–1960: Lt.-Col. Patrick R.C. Hobart:
1960–1963: Lt.-Col. A.R.E. Davis
1963–1965: Lt.-Col. John G.R. Allen
1965–1967: Lt.-Col. Douglas W.A. Ambidge
1967–1970: Lt.-Col. Thomas S.M. Welch
1970–1973: Lt.-Col. Geoffrey L.D. Duckworth
1973–1975: Lt.-Col. Michael J. Evans
1975–1977: Lt.-Col. Keith R. Ecclestone
1977–1979: Lt.-Col. Peter D. Bentley
1979–1980: Lt.-Col. William S. Bale
1980–1982: Lt.-Col. David A. Williams
1982–1984: Lt.-Col. Robert W.M. McAfee
1984–1987: Lt.-Col. Christopher J.A. Hammerbeck

1987–1988: Lt.-Col. David W. Lloyd-Edwards
1988–1991: Lt.-Col. Andrew C.I. Gadsby
1991–1993: Lt.-Col. A. David Leakey
1993–1995: Lt.-Col. Stephen J.B. White
1995–1997: Lt.-Col. Nigel R.F. Aylwin-Foster
1997–2000: Lt.-Col. Simon Caraffi
2000–2002: Lt.-Col. Patrick J. Allison
2002–2004: Lt.-Col. Piers D.P. Hankinson
2004–2006: Lt.-Col. John R. Patterson
2006–2008: Lt.-Col. David A. Catmur
2008–2010: Lt.-Col. T. Marcus L. Simson
2010–2012: Lt.-Col. Marcus H. Evans
2012–2014: Lt.-Col. Jason M. Williams

References

^ "2nd Royal Tank Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "Badger". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "Cyclops". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "Agreement reached with Aspire Defence Limited". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ "House of Commons – Hansard Written Ministerial Statements for 10 Nov 2005 (pt 1)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 10 November 2005. col. 21WS–22WS.
^ "Egypt". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
^ Regular Army basing announcement Archived 2016-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Bureaucratic delay resulted in soldier's death". The Guardian. Press Association. 18 December 2006. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
^ "2nd Royal Tank Regiment Today". 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
^ "Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie" (PDF). p. 31. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

External links

Official site
3RTR – Armoured Farmers
RTR Website
British Army Locations from 1945 British Army Locations from 1945.
Merseyside RTR (Brian Gills website)

[baunits-1] "2nd Royal Tank Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

[2] "Badger". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

[3] "Cyclops". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

[4] "Agreement reached with Aspire Defence Limited". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

[5] "House of Commons – Hansard Written Ministerial Statements for 10 Nov 2005 (pt 1)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 10 November 2005. col. 21WS–22WS.

[6] "Egypt". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

[7] Regular Army basing announcement Archived 2016-08-14 at the Wayback Machine

[8] "Bureaucratic delay resulted in soldier's death". The Guardian. Press Association. 18 December 2006. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2023.

[9] "2nd Royal Tank Regiment Today". 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

[10] "Regiments and Commanding Officers, 1960 - Colin Mackie" (PDF). p. 31. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

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