The 1st Regiment,
Royal Military Police (1 RMP[1]) is a military policing unit of the
British Army which was formed during the height of the
Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, but disbanded in 1985 following cuts to the RMP in the region. The regiment was then reformed in 1996 following the
Options for Change, and since 2014 has been an integral part of the
1st Military Police Brigade and just one of the two remaining RMP regiments since 2019.
History
First formation
The first time of the 1st Regiment, RMP was formed was on 5 November 1971, when
173 Provost Company based at
Thiepval Barracks,
Lisburn in
Northern Ireland was expanded into a full regiment. Prior to 1971, all provost companies were independent and if grouped were commanded by a 'Deputy Provost Marshal', however the deteriorating situation in Northern Ireland caused this tradition to be dropped. As a result, the first battalion sized unit of the Royal Military Police was created as 173 Provost Company was quickly reinforced within months to become a regiment of seven companies.[a][2] The regiment was the first of its type, soon after being joined by the 2nd Regiment during the looming
Troubles which would occupy the British Army until 2007.[2] The regiment's initial organisation on formation was as follows:[3][4]
Regimental Headquarters, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn[2]
177 Provost Company, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – providing close protection escorts
178 Provost Company, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – investigations unit
179 Provost Company, at HMS Hartland Point – formed on 16 January 1972
180 Provost Company – formed for
Operation Motorman, in June 1972 but disbanded in November of the same year
After a short time in Lisburn, the regimental headquarters moved to
Alexander Barracks in
Aldergrove on 5 December 1972. In June 1973, 180 Provost Company was reformed bringing the regiment's strength to about 700 personnel. On 1 July 1973, the duties of the regiment was split with the formation of the
2nd Regiment, Royal Military Police with 175, 179, and 180 Provost Companies joining shortly thereafter. However, on 1 April 1978, 2nd Regiment RMP was disbanded and its companies disbanded except for 175 Provost Company which re-joined the 1st Regiment.[3]
In 1978, the regiment was now organised as follows:[3][4]
Regimental Headquarters, at Alexander Barracks, Aldergrove (until September), then at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn
177 Provost Company, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – providing close protection escorts
178 Provost Company, at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn – investigations unit
From 1981 till the regiment's disbandment in March 1985, the strength of the unit gradually decreased. On 31 December 1981, 174 Provost Company was disbanded alongside 3rd Infantry Brigade; on 30 September 1983 177 Provost Company was reduced to 177 (Support) Platoon and became independent under
Headquarters Northern Ireland; on 12 February 1985 175 and 176 Provost Companies became independent while 178 Provost Company was re-designated as 173 Provost Company; finally in March 1985, 173 Provost Company became independent and the regiment was disbanded.[2][3]
On 12 February 1985, the regiment was officially removed from the Army's order of battle due to financial reasons following the
1981 Defence White Paper.[5]
Second formation
As a result of the
Options for Change reforms announced in 1991 following the
End of the Cold War, the old 1st Armoured Division was redesignated as the
1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and its provost companies reorganised. As a result of the reorganisation, the 1st Regiment, Royal Military Police was stood up at Wentworth Barracks in
Herford to oversee these companies with each supporting one of the combat brigades.[2][3][5][6][7] The regiment's structure after formation on 1 April 1995 was as follows:[3][5][6][8][9][10]
Regimental Headquarters, at Wentworth Barracks,
Herford[7]
110 Provost Company, at Normandy Barracks,
Sennelager – supporting 20th Armoured Brigade and Paderborn Garrison[11]
111 Provost Company, at Haig Barracks,
Bergen-Hohne – supporting 7th Armoured Brigade and Hohne Garrison[b][12][13]
115 Provost Company, at Roberts Barracks,
Osnabrück – supporting 4th Armoured Brigade[14]
According to the 1999
Staff Officers' Handbook, the establishment for 1st Regiment RMP was 18 officers and 343 other ranks. The regiment was also equipped with 4 x
Leyland 4-tonne trucks, 109 x
B-class vehicles including
Land Rover Defenders, and 34 x
Armstrong-CCM Motorcycles.[15] Following the reformation of the regiment, the commanding officer of the regiment held the position of 'Provost Marshal, 1st (UK) Armoured Division', and was assisted by three other officers at the armoured division headquarters: Staff Officer (SO)2 (Operations/Plans) – rank of Major, SO3 (Investigations) – rank of Captain, and SO3 (Ops/Plans) – rank of Captain.[16] If mobilised, the Special Investigation Branch detachments in Germany would form the nucleus of the Investigations Section of the regiment.[10]
When the 1st (UK) Armoured Division was deployed to
Saudi Arabia in 2003 for the impending
2003 Invasion of Iraq (codenamed
Operation Telic), the regiment was deployed and involved in provost duties throughout the campaign.[2][3][6]
In 2003, as a result of the
Future Army Structure programme announced following the Invasion of Iraq, the regiment was effectively reduced to an administrative command and its provost companies moved under the operational control of the 1st (UK) Armoured Division's armoured brigades.[3][5] The regiment's structure in 2006 was as follows:[3][8]
Regimental Headquarters, at Wentworth Barracks,
Herford[2][17]
110 Provost Company, in
Paderborn[18] – supporting 20th Armoured Brigade
In 2012, following the
Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, the radical
Army 2020 programme was announced which (among many things), would see the reorganisation of the provost forces and return of all troops based in
Germany. As part of the A2020 programme, the three provost regiments alongside the three specialist police groups would be consolidated into the
1st Military Police Brigade.[2][19] In addition, the Royal Military Police would be consolidated into three regiments, the 1st Regiment: providing support for the 1st (UK) Division based in York; 3rd Regiment: providing support for the 3rd (UK) Division based in Bulford; and the 4th Regiment: providing support for UK operations and Force Troops Command. The structure of all three regiments was also altered, so that there were no longer entirely regular regiments, with each regiment having at least one integrated Territorial (Army Reserve from 2015) company attached, thus making each unit a 'Hybrid' regiment.[17][21][22][23]
The 1st Regiment RMP became an 'Integrated RMP Regiment' as a result of the changes, and transferred from 1st (UK) Division to the 1st Military Police upon that brigade's formation on 1 December 2014.[19] After 2015, the regiment returned from Germany and has been based at Gaza Barracks,
Catterick Garrison in the
North Riding of Yorkshire ever since.[17][22][23][24]
111 Provost Company was disbanded in June 2014 following their return from
Afghanistan.[2] Later 114 Provost Company was also disbanded before the regiment left Germany.[19]
By January 2015, the regiment now oversaw 243 Provost Company, which was formed in January 2015 by merging the former 243 (Scottish) Provost Company based in
Livingston with 252 (Northern) Provost Company based in Stockton-on-Tees. The new 243 Provost Coy was now based in Livingston and maintained 252 Platoon in
Stockton-on-Tees in
County Durham.[22][23][25][26]
In 2015, the regiment was now organised as follows:[23][27]
Regimental Headquarters, at Gaza Barracks, Catterick Garrison[2][28]
In 2017, a supplement to the Army 2020 programme was announced entitled the
Army 2020 Refine which reversed many of the unit-level changes of the former. Under the 'Refine', the 4th Regiment RMP was disbanded in late 2019 and its companies dispersed to the other two remaining regiments, including 1st Regiment RMP. The regiment gained the Army Reserve's 116 Provost Company based in
Cannock and
Gorton, in addition to the regular 174 Provost Company based in Donnington.[31] The regiment is currently organised as follows:[27][32]
Regimental Headquarters, at Gaza Barracks, Catterick Garrison[1][17][28]
In addition to the internal reorganisations, the regiment was transferred to
101st Logistic Brigade, but this decision was reversed during the 2019 Field Army reorganisation.[40]
Under the
Future Soldier changes, the regiment will restructure by March 2025, though its future sub-units are unknown at this time.[41]
Footnotes
Notes
^
abSince the creation of the first regiments in the 1970s, the term 'Regiment' in the Royal Military Police refers to a battalion sized unit commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel.
^Until 2013, (when the Bergen-Hohne Garrison was reduced to station), the garrison comprised three 'stations': Bergen-Hohne, Celle, and Bad Fallingbostel. The provost company maintained a small detachment at each of these during this time.
^Gütersloh Garrison comprised four stations: Gütersloh, Herford, Bielefeld, and Dülmen. 114 Provost Company provided detachments to each of these stations until 2008, when the company was moved to 1st Regiment RMP from 5th Regiment RMP. From this point, the company also provided support for 102nd Logistic Brigade.
^Under the Future Army Structure, the 4th Armoured Brigade was reorganised as a mechanised brigade, thus became the 4th Mechanised Brigade. Until the brigade's conversion in 2008, 115 Provost Company provided support to the brigade, but this was discontinued that year. In 2008, 150 Provost Company took over the 4th Mechanised Brigade support role under 3rd Regiment, RMP.
^"Future Soldier Guide"(PDF). United Kingdom Parliamentary Publications. British Army. 30 November 2021. pp. 101–102. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
References
British Army Staff Officers' Handbook. Army Code #71038. Vol. D/DGD&D/18/35/54. Upavon, Hampshire, United Kingdom: British Army Headquarters. July 1999.
Sheffield, Gary (1994). The Redcaps: A History of the Royal Military Police and its Antecedents from the Middle Ages to the Gulf War. London, United Kingdom: Brassey's (United Kingdom).
ISBN978-1857530292.
OCLC30970518.