5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment
| 5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment | |
|---|---|
Regimental Insignia
|
|
| Active | 1970–1992 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Infantry battalion |
| Role | Internal Security |
| Size | 750 |
| Motto(s) |
"Quis Separabit" (Latin) "Who Shall Separate Us?" |
| March | (Quick) Garryowen & Sprig of Shillelagh. (Slow) Oft in the Stilly Night |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel Commandant |
First: General Sir John Anderson GBE, KCB, DSO. |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Colonel Sir Dennis Faulkner CBE |
First: General Sir John Anderson GBE, KCB, DSO.
5th (County Londonderry) Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment (5 UDR) was formed in 1970 as part of the seven original battalions specified in The Ulster Defence Regiment Act 1969, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 1969 and was brought into force on 1 January 1970. It was, along with the rest of the regiment, amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment.
Recruitment for 5 UDR was initially slow. The battalion began its duties on 1 April 1970 with only 200 men to patrol Derry city and a further 300 to cover the rest of the county as opposed to the Ulster Special Constabulary (which the UDR replaced) figures for the previous day of 600 and 1,200 respectively. Catholic recruitment was on a par with Protestant figures however and the two city companies of 5 UDR were 50/50 in makeup, with John Hume known to have signed at least one application and told the recruit to "go out and find all the decent Catholic people he could to enlist".
Sir Robin Chichester-Clark complained asked in the Parliament of the United Kingdom why one of his constituents was turned down for the force as he was a churchwarden and a local government official. The reply by Roy Hattersley stated that the vetting team had been instructed to err on the side of caution and that two clergymen had also been refused because the new force was to be "isolated from political and sectarian influence".
Protestant and Catholic soldiers were both intimidated out of the regiment. Following the introduction of internment however more Catholic soldiers found themselves the subject of intimidation from within their own community. One captain in 5 UDR, who had been a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and had taken part in the Derry march, was intimidated out of the regiment, out of his job and out of Derry.
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