36 Engineer Regiment (United Kingdom)

The 36th Engineer Regiment is a regiment of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army. The regiment trace their history back to before World War II as the 36th Army Engineer Regiment. The regiment today is a general support engineer regiment provided force support within 12 (Force Support) Engineer Group.

36th Engineer Regiment
Active1948—Present
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
RoleMilitary Engineering
SizeRegiment
764 personnel[1]
Part of12 (Force Support) Engineer Group
Website36 Engineer Regiment

History

The 36th Engineer Regiment's predecessor was the 36th Army Engineer Regiment which saw service in World War II. There isn't much information on this unit but it is known it was based in Germany when the war ended. In 1949 the regiment moved to Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone, Kent.[2] In 1951 the regiment moved to Ripon and had the following structure;[2]

  • Regimental Headquarters
  • 24, 57, and 58 Field Squadrons
  • 20 Field Park Squadron

In 1955 the regiment moved to Osnabrück where it joined the 11th Engineer Group. Following their move, the regiment was renamed as the 36th Corps Engineer Regiment as the group, 11 Engineer Group, was tasked with supporting the 1st Corps. In 1956 the regiment saw a deployment to the Middle East with the 2nd (British) Corps during the Suez Invasion. Upon returning from the Middle East the regiment moved back to Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone. For one year, Dec 58—Dec 59 the regiment deployed to Christmas Island after Operation Grapple.[2]

In January 1969 the regiment was renamed as 36th Engineer Regiment and by 1974 deployed to Northern Ireland as part of the rebuilding after the initial start of Operation Banner. In 1982 the Falklands Conflict was started and the regiment sent a detachment assigned to the 5th Infantry Brigade.[2]

By 1992 the major Options for Change reforms hit the armed forces. As a result of these major reforms the 11th Engineer Group was disbanded and the regiment joined the 1st (UK) Armoured Division directly as a close support regiment for the 20th Armoured Brigade. In 1994 the regiment deployed on Operation Grapple 4. In 1995 the regiment took part in the camp building for the new 24th Airmobile Brigade. In 1999 the regiment joined the 5th Airborne Brigade and by 2002 supported the 16th Air Assault Infantry Brigade.[3]

By the time that the Delivering Security in a Changing World reforms were announced, the regiment was based at Barker Barracks in the Paderborn Area.[3] By this time the regiment still had the same role but had the following structure;[3]

  • Regimental Headquarters
  • 9 Parachute Squadron, moved to 23 Engineer Regiment after reform
  • 20 Field Squadron
  • 69 Gurkha Field Squadron
  • 61 Field Support Squadron, moved to 23 Engineer Regiment after reform
  • 70 Field Support Squadron, joined in 2000

From Oct 2007 to Apr 2008 the regiment saw a deployment to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick VII assigned to the 52nd Infantry Brigade.[3]

In 2010, the original Army 2020 reforms started and the regiment was re-titled as the 36th Search Engineer Regiment. In 2015, the Army 2020 Refines were announced the regiment dropped the "search" title and was assigned to the 12 (Force Support) Engineer Group. During these reforms, it was announced that the rest of the units based in Germany were to be moved back to England. As a result the regiment moved to Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone. By 2027 the regiment is to move to a new location, but it is unknown where at this time.[3][4][5]

The regiment now has the following structure;[3][4][6]

  • Regimental Headquarters
  • 50 Headquarters and Support Squadron
  • 20 Field Squadron
  • 69 Gurkha Field Squadron
  • 70 Gurkha Field Support Squadron
  • 61 Field Support Squadron

In addition to these reforms, the regiment will be designated as a force structure unit and is to be paired with the 75th Volunteer Engineer Regiment.[5]

Future

According to an answer by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Colonel Mark Lancaster, the 67 Gurkha Squadron is to be formed by 2021 and the 68 Gurkha Squadron by 2023.[7]

Deployments
  • Suez Invasion, Egypt (Invasion Support)
  • Operation Grapple, Christmas Island (Nuclear Bombs Experiments Support)
  • Operation Banner, Northern Ireland (Anti-Terrorist Engineering and Support)
  • Operation Herrick, Afghanistan (NATO Deployment)
  • Operation Trenton, South Sudan (United Nations Peace Keeping)
  • Operation Tosca, Republic of Cyprus (United Nations Peace Keeping)
  • Operation Marmat, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (Earthquake Disaster Relief)
  • Project Animoi, Falkland Islands (Infrastructure Upgrade and Support)[5]

References
  1. "Army – Question for Ministry of Defence". p. 1. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. The Corps Of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889—2018. Tiger Lilly Books. 2018. pp. 230 and 231. ISBN 9 781717 901804.
  3. The Corps Of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889—2018. Tiger Lilly Books. 2018. p. 235. ISBN 9 781717 901804.
  4. "8 Engineer Brigade". army.mod.uk. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  5. "Transforming the British Army an Update" (PDF). data.parliament.uk.
  6. "Army 2020 Refine Order of Battle". britisharmedforcesreview.wordpress.com. August 2019.
  7. "Defence Questions: Army Personnel". hansard.parliament.uk. House of Commons Hansard. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019. I am delighted that, speaking off the top of my head, we currently have 69 and 70 Gurkha Field Squadrons serving in Invicta barracks in Maidstone. I am also pleased to be able to announce that the aspiration is to create 67 Squadron from 2021, and a second further Gurkha engineers squadron, 68 Squadron, from 2023

Sources
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