The Cold War - 1947-1989
Post War Gunners 1947-1961
When the TA was reformed in 1947, the Berkshire Yeomanry formed two Medium Regiments of the Royal Artillery – 345 (Berks Yeomanry) Medium Regiment based in Newbury, and 346 (Berks Yeomanry) Medium Regiment based in Windsor, but they amalgamated in 1951 to become 345 (Berks Yeomanry) Medium Regiment. Both batteries were part of 90 (Field) Army Group Royal Artillery (90 AGRA) whose Headquarters were in Reading.
Equipped variously with 4.5 inch and 5.5 inch medium guns, and 25-pounder field guns, gunnery camps were held at gunnery ranges in the UK including Salisbury Plain, Sennybridge and Otterburn except for 1960 which was devoted to civil defence training. Firing tended to be more frequent in part due to the large volume of ammunition left over from the war.
In 1953, the regiment was selected to fire a salute in the Windsor Great Park for the coronation of the present Queen. New 25-pounders were delivered at very short notice and much hard work was required to master the new gun drills in time
In April 1956, the life of the regiment as an independent unit came to an end. 345 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment amalgamated with 299 (Royal Bucks Yeomanry & Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Field Regiment to become R (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery, 299 (Royal Bucks Yeomanry, Berkshire Yeomanry & Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (TA).
In 1958 the Territorial Army celebrated the 50th anniversary of its formation and the Regiment took part in national celebrations which included a review by the Queen of 8,000 troops in Hyde Park. In 1961 R (Berkshire Yeomanry) Battery was re-roled and amalgamated with the Westminster Dragoons to form the Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons, an armoured car regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Armoured Car Regiment 1961-1967
In 1961 the Berkshire Yeomanry merged with the Westminster Dragoons to form the Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons, an armoured car regiment equipped with Saladin armoured cars and Ferret scout cars. C (Berkshire Yeomanry) Sqn of the regiment was based at Windsor and Newbury and it was during this period that the Windsor element moved from Clewer Mead to the newly-built TA Centre in Bolton Road.
The Government reforms, explained below, in 1967 had a major impact on the Territorial Army. The Newbury TA Centre was closed and the Berkshire Yeomanry at Windsor were re-roled.
Church Parade at Annual Camp in the 1960’s
Infantry 1967-1969
In 1967 the Territorial Army was reorganised and renamed the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (“TAVR”). Regiments were classified into three categories: category I, the “Ever-readies”, were available to be mobilised as individual reinforcements in support of Regular Army operations; category II, the mainstream TA, were available for mobilisation in the event of general war; and category III, for home defence, had limited liability, limited training and limited equipment.
The Berkshire Yeomanry formed A (Berkshire Yeomanry) Company of the Royal Berkshire Territorials, a TAVR category III regiment, with its other companies formed from members of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and Royal Artillery units in Berkshire.
Members of A (Berkshire Yeomanry) Coy undergoing anti-tank training
This was a lean and difficult period for the Berkshire Yeomanry. Much training was carried out unpaid, with the soldiers even contributing to the cost of food and fuel. Despite these difficulties A (Berkshire Yeomanry) Company continued to train and recruit in its new role.
Early in 1969 the Government introduced further changes to the TAVR. The Royal Berkshire Territorials were disbanded and, on 1st April 1969, 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron was formed. Most of the personnel at Windsor and many from Reading and Newbury joined the new Squadron.
94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron 1969-1989
AFHQ Signal Trooper at Scarborough Camp in 1970
In 1969 the Government of the day sought to reverse some of the more severe effects of its 1967 reorganisation of the TA and further changes saw the Berkshire Yeomanry re-roled from Infantry to Royal Signals. 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron was formed, sourced from the Royal Berkshire Territorial soldiers at Reading, Newbury and Windsor together with elements of Royal Signals units based at Southampton and Reading (including elements of 63 Signal Regiment which had been disbanded). The Squadron’s troops were located at TA Centres in Reading, Southampton and Windsor.
The Squadron was made part of a newly-formed 71 Signal Regiment which itself was part of 13 Signal Group (later 2 Signal Brigade). As part of the Cold War deterrent, the role of the Regiment was to provide post-nuclear-strike communications within the UK.
Organisation, Role and Equipment
The Cold War was at its height and Squadron’s primary role was to provide communications for Military Home Defence particularly in the event of Nuclear War. For Home Defence, the UK was divided into ten regions and No 6 Region had its Armed Forces Headquarters, known as 6 AFHQ, based in Aldershot. The Squadron’s role was to provide 6 AFHQ with post-nuclear-strike communications and, to do so, it was equipped with (i) high power long-range High Frequency (HF) radios providing Control-by-Radio (CONRAD) communications from 6 AFHQ to various Government agencies and other AFHQs, via relay stations known as Gateways, and direct to its two sub-regional HQs (SRHQs), and (ii) shorter range HF Larkspur radios for communications within the sub-regions. At that time, given the comparable resilience to electro-magnetic interference, HF systems were regarded as more survivable than Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) systems in the circumstances of Nuclear War.
Bedford MK box body fitted with D11/R234 and generator
The D11/R234 radio was built by Marconi initially for the Royal Navy. In its CONRAD role the radio was housed initially in Austin K9 box-body 1-ton trucks and later in the Bedford 4-ton box-bodies. The radio had a 350-watt output with a range of many hundreds of miles. It provided morse, voice and teleprinter communications, in simplex or duplex mode, using a variety of antenna systems. For CONRAD, communications were almost entirely teleprinter-based using pre-prepared paper-tape messages transmitted using Siemens T100 teleprinters.
Box Body interior showing the D11/R234
The Larkspur radios comprised the Wireless Set C12, a landrover-borne mobile HF transmitter receiver manufactured by Pye Limited in 1955. The set operated in the 1.6 – 10.0 MHz frequency range and provided RT (voice) communications with a power output of 5.0 – 7.5 watts or RTG (morse) communications with a power output of 4 – 8 watts. It operated on an 8 – 32 ft whip antenna or a wire antenna using a 27 ft mast. The Squadron was equipped with these sets between 1969 and 1973.
The C12 was replaced by Wireless Set C11/R210, a vehicle-borne mobile HF transmitter receiver manufactured from 1962 to 1970. The set operated in the 2.0 – 10.0 MHz frequency range and provided RT (voice) and RTG (morse) communications with a power output of 5.0 – 10.0 watts (low power) or 50 watts (high power). It operated on an 8 – 16 ft whip antenna or a wire antenna using a 27 ft mast.
The Squadron was equipped with these sets between 1973 and 1984. From the early 1970’s the Squadron had a secondary role to provide “CRUMB” communications, using Pye Westminster VHF equipment, in support of Home Defence infantry battalions, in particular 2 Wessex based in Reading. The CRUMB system provided links forward from Battalion HQ to Company HQs and required vehicle-borne relay stations to be located on hilltop sites within the Battalion’s area of operations.
None of these systems provided secure communications and radio operators were taught to use various manual codes including Batco and Slidex.
By the mid 1980’s it had become clear that the D11/R234 radio was reaching the end of its useful life. All D11/R234 equipment was back-loaded in 1987 and its replacement NCRS (National Control Radio System) began trials in 1989. During this time the mainstay of the Squadron’s communication training was the Clansman range of HF 320 (manpack) and 321 (vehicle-borne) radios, which had replaced the ageing Larkspur sets in 1984.
Landrover-Borne MOULD Station
Also in 1984, following changes to the Squadron’s VHF role, CRUMB equipment was withdrawn and the Squadron was issued with a new landrover-borne radio system. This provided additional and replacement capacity for the UK-wide Home Defence communications network, designated MOULD, intended to support UK Operations (as Home Defence became known).
The MOULD radio system had been introduced in the late 1970’s and was designed to give area coverage in each of the home defence regions. The system used mains-powered VHF and UHF rebroadcast equipment based on around 150 hilltop sites. All the hilltop radio equipment was maintained by 2 Signal Brigade. MOULD closed during the mid-2000's and equipment was dismantled from hilltop sites during 2008. The system was replaced by AirWave, the communications system common to all of the UK Emergency Services.
Photo gallery
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Officers of 345 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Medium Regt RA at Annual Camp at Sennybridge in 1956.
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