| 71st (Scottish) Engineer Regiment 71st Engineer Regiment | |
|---|---|
| 71 Engr Regt | |
 | |
| Active | 1967—1999 1999—Present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army
|
| Type | Field support engineers |
| Role | Reserve field engineering support |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | 12th (Force Support) Engineer Group, Royal Engineers |
| Regimental Headquarters | Leuchars Station |
| Nickname(s) | "The Scottish Engineers" |
The 71st Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers is a reserve engineering regiment of the Royal Engineers currently serving as a general support reserve unit.
History[]
In 1966, the 1966 Defence White Paper was announced, following this white paper, the Territorial and Volunteer Reserve was formed as part of the reduction of the former Territorial Army. Within this new force, the group was divided into the following groups;
- TAVR I: Special Units, known as the "Ever Readies", special TA units
- TAVR II: TAVR units with a NATO role, known collegially as the "Volunteers", units given the sub-title of (V) or (TA).
- TAVR III: TAVR units with a home defence role, most only cadre units, collegially known as the "Territorials", units given the sub-title of (T)
- TAVR IV: Bands, UOTC, and other "non-regular" units
Within the TAVR II, the 71st (Scottish) Engineer Regiment (V) was formed from the amalgamation of the following former regiments; 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division Engineers, 80th (Scottish) Port Regiment, RCT, 102nd Field Engineer Regiment, RE, and 432nd Corps Engineer Regiment, RE. After formation, the regiment had the following structure;
- Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Glasgow
- 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Paisley
- 104 (City of Edinburgh) Field Squadron, Edinburgh
- 124 (Lowland) Field Squadron, Coatbridge
- (added by 1989), REME Workshop (V), Gateshead
After organising, the regiment was given a general support role, assigned to the 29th (Volunteer) Engineer Brigade within the 2nd Infantry Division. In 1990 the Soviet Union was falling apart, and by 1992 the Options for Change reform was announced which significantly reduced the size of the army. Following this reform, the formally independent 117 (Highland) Field Support Squadron based in Dundee was brought under command of the regiment, and HQ Squadron was redesignated as 80 HQ Squadron to signify it's predecessor the 80th (Scottish) Port Regiment, RCT.
Finally, in 1998 following the Labour government's success in the 1997 United Kingdom General Election, the 1998 Strategic Defence Review was announced which caused the territorial army to be majorly reduced and re-organised. As a result of this reform, the regiment was disbanded and concurrently reformed upon amalgamation of the 72nd (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Engineer Regiment and 76th Engineer Regiment as an air support regiment. Following their reformation, the regiment was renamed as the 71st Engineer Regiment (Air Support) (V) and reorganised as follows;
- Regimental Headquarters and 117 Headquarters Squadron, RAF Leuchars (from 227 Sqn, 76 Engineers)
- 72 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Field Squadron (Air Support), Newcastle upon Tyne (from reduction of 72nd (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Engineer Regiment)
- Sunderland Troop
- 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron (Air Support), Paisley (from 71 Engineer Regiment)
Following their reorganised and redesignation, the regiment was assigned to the regular 12th (Air Support) Engineer Brigade, later 12th (Air Support) Engineer Group. In 2015 following the Army 2020 Refine, the regiment was retitled becoming the 71st Engineer Regiment (V) and concurrently reorganised as a field support regiment. By this time, and following the refine, the regiment is now organised as follows;
- Regimental Headquarters & HQ Troop, Leuchars Station
- 102 (Clyde) Air Support Field Squadron, Paisley (construction plant and combat infrastructure)
- 103 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Field Squadron, Heaton (reserve field engineers support to the Strike Brigade)
- 2 Troop, Hartlepool
- 124 (Lowland) Field Squadron, St Andrews (engineer logistics node and combat infrastructure)
- Cumbernauld Troop
- 10 (Orkney) Troop, Kirkwall
- 236 (Log) Troop, Kinloss Barracks
- 591 Field Squadron, Bangor (combat infrastructure)
References[]
- Watson, Graham E. and Rinaldi, Richard A. The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organisation and Units 1889-2019. (2018). Tiger Lilly Books. pp. 313–314. ISBN 9781717901804
- Mills, T.F. 71st Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers (Volunteers) regiments.org. Archived from the Original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2019
- Drenth, Wienand. The Territorial Army 1967-2000. (PDF). (2000). p.46 . Eindhoven, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Achieved 22 December 2019