Formation of the PC Regiments

• ‘Historical Record of – United Kingdom (Support) PCCU RE’
• Reference 30/51
• Date 1973-1993
• Creator – Unknow
• Scope and Content

This large scrapbook is an accumulation of various items from the history of the UK (Support) Postal & Courier Communication Unit (PCCU) stationed in Gloucestershire and Northern Ireland, as well as the various other PCC squadrons under it. The unit was formed in 1973 and disbanded in 1993; the album bracketed by documents confirming such. The album contains an array of different documents, papers, programmes, letters, cuttings and reports, on the men stationed around the world within the regiment and the Army’s postal services. Countries featured include Norway, Turkey, America, Canada, the Bahamas, Ethiopia, Kenya, Australia, Denmark, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, the Maldives, the Gambia, Cyprus, Germany, Arabia and the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Many of the documents in the scrapbook are official Routine Orders to the PCCU, some documenting changes in authority, such as the retirement of Lt Col AV Burge, others announcing official visits, to which the Creator of the scrapbook has added photographs of the visiting officers. There are also several copies and cuttings taken from the ‘Visor’, a weekly reporting journal for soldiers in Northern Ireland, where the 2nd PCC Squadron was based. These document the various news and accomplishments from serving soldiers. There are many letters in the scrapbook, most typed and signed, thanking and commending soldiers from the PCCU for their various services, especially commending their training. One highlight is a long printed letter from the Marketing Director of the Danish Post Office in Kolding, detailing his plans for increasing family access to army postal units, in order to receive their correspondence and news from loved ones faster. There is also a letter concerning the repossession of the Falkland Islands. Several of the letters are accompanied by their envelopes, and coloured stamps; there is a page with pasted-down coloured stamps from the Maldives. At the end of the scrapbook, there is also a series of photocopied extracts from ‘Forces Postal & Courier Service (worldwide)’, as well as ‘Technical Standing Orders’. These appear mainly administrative, including powers of command, training and trade testing, PR, confidential agreements, and issuing of weapons. There are many newspaper cuttings in the scrapbook, from papers including The Times and the Sunday Telegraph, as well as other local newspapers. Many of the articles are features covering the various outposts of the UK (Support) PCCU and the Army’s Postal Services, and the importance of their work across the world: from Malawi to the Coral Island of Gan; aerial photographs of which the Creator has included in the album. One of the larger stories covered in several of the newspaper clippings is a particular training exercise, codename ‘Inside Right’. This – according to the cuttings – was the first nationwide exercise to include all of the British reserve troops since WW2. The clippings refer to the political intrigue to keep the exercise a secret, which was conducted at the UK PCCU base at South Cerney, ‘Duke of Gloucester Barracks’, Gloucestershire. There is also a clipping from a Norwegian Newspaper, where a caption translates the article headline of the death of a British soldier. Other cuttings report on various accolades given to members of the regiment, of which there are also many separate photographs. The majority of the newspaper cuttings include black and white images, one of which the scrapbook accompanies with the original photograph. There are many photographs in this scrapbook, both in black and white and colour. The majority of the images are showing the many international outposts where members of the UK (Support) PCCU served (see list above). Norway, and its landscapes, are frequently featured. The majority of these images are informal and casual, showing the men and women going about their daily duties processing and delivering mail. There are photographs of deliveries being made by helicopter, as well as by motorbike. There are images of the Gloucestershire barracks, the regiment’s base. There are photographs of testing new equipment, specifically x-ray machines. Additionally, there is a loose photograph of the unit’s yacht, the ‘Sabre’, which was used for the 100th Anniversary of the Army’s Postal Courier Service, where the Sabre sailed from Cyprus to England (detailed in a newspaper clipping). There are also a number of photographs showing various individuals visiting the barracks, including the Duke of Edinburgh and Margaret Thatcher. Finally, there are also documentary, but mainly casual photographs of training exercises, including an adventure training excursion at Penhale – where the troops abseil, kayak and dive – as well as social occasions, including a birth.

3 PC Regt RE

4 PC Regt RE