‘A lot of guys joined the Territorial Army as a hobby. It has turned into a little more for some...’
Last updated 19:35, Thursday, 03 April 2008
Not too long ago, they were dismissed as ‘Saturday night soldiers’ – part-timers who ‘played’ at the real thing. They would meet up at weekends for manoeuvres, drills and drinking. The idea of calling up volunteers in times of national crisis goes back centuries and the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland have a long tradition of providing part-time volunteer soldiers for county militias.
Now the ‘weekend warriors’ of the Territorial Army patrol in full body armour in Afghanistan and Iraq, eagle-eyed for snipers and roadside bombs.
They train using the latest computer programmes and can expect to serve a six-month tour of duty where they could well be dodging bullets and bombs.
The TA has travelled a long way since it was created in 1908, with many of the hard yards being covered over the past decade.
Nowadays, there is little difference between the ‘regulars’ and the ‘part-timers’ – the TA represents over a quarter of the British Army’s total manpower.
Corporal Mark Cannan served more than six months in Iraq with the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment and helped capture 35 insurgents.
He has also carried out tours in Kosovo and Northern Ireland.
During his time with the Territorials, he has witnessed a major shift in the organisation’s roles and responsibilities in the armed forces.
“When I first joined, there was not much of a role for the TA,” he explained.
“It was like a drinking club, people went down for the weekend to have a good crack and a few pints.
“If you wanted to volunteer for a tour, like I did, it was up to you.
“Once Iraq started, the whole persona of the TA changed, it brought people in who wanted to do the job, rather than just come for a couple of pints.
“I have served with three different regiments on my three tours, the KORBR, the Staffordshire and the Queen’s Lancashire and all three look at you as an equal.
“It is all one army now and the regular army could not do their job in Iraq without the TA, it is the TA that keeps the British Army going.
“If it was not for the TA, the lads would be working double shifts.”
The 25-year-old, from Moorclose, joined the Cumbria Army Cadet Force while at school.
He volunteered for the TA aged 17 as a way of seeing if he would enjoy army life without signing up full-time.
Mark has worked full-time for the TA for the past three years and is midway through a year-long posting at the other end of the country.
He has two young children (son Ellis, three, and daughter Aimee, one) and admits serving in the forces puts a strain on family life.
The emotional drain can be just as great for those left at home as those who serve.
Mark’s wife, Nicola, 25, couldn’t wait for her phone to ring while he was in Iraq.
“It is hard when he is away. When he was in Iraq it was worrying every day.
“When he phoned me it was a relief.
“Not knowing what he is going to do next or where he is going is the worst of it.”
The couple met as 15-year-olds at Stainburn school and a year later, Mark joined the TA.
Nicola added: “It is what he wanted to do and he enjoys it. Sometimes I wish he had a hobby instead!”
Mark is looking to join the police force in the New Year but is grateful for the opportunities provided by the TA: “I will always be thankful to the TA for the life it has given me.
“I have no regrets and I have made some of the best mates I know in the army.”
The 36,000 volunteer members of the TA now serve in, or support, every element of the Army, including the Special Forces.
The SAS has two TA regiments, both of which have supplied men to serve on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than 1,200 TA soldiers are involved on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, (the TA now runs the only field hospital in Afghanistan) and more than 15,000 current members have fought in war zones alongside regular soldiers.
Eight TA soldiers have been killed in action since 2003 and many more injured.
Though there is nothing new in part-timers giving their lives for their country.
The TA was born out of a major reorganisation of the British Army at the end of the Boer War,
The 4th and 5th Battalions of the Border Regiment and 4th and 5th Battalions of the King’s Own played key roles in both world wars.
Following the end of World War II the TA’s main duties were home and civil defence and to guard the homeland against Soviet attack.
Stuart Eastwood, curator of the Border Regiment Museum at Carlisle Castle, said: “There is this tradition of calling them “Saturday night soldiers” but the TA has always had well-experienced soldiers in its ranks and carried out serious training.
“They have done remarkable things and have suffered from being under-resourced and under-valued.
“The home defence role has disappeared now as our perceived threats have changed and the role for the TA is now defined as back-up for the regular Army.”
While the effectiveness and importance of the TA in support of the regular army is accepted, Mr Eastwood pointed to the Foot and Mouth outbreaks of 1967 and 2001 as reasons why the volunteers have a vital role closer to home.
“I think there is still a role for a part-time reserve force with civil and home defence functions, like the National Guard in America,” he said.
“If we had had a full TA Battalion during the Carlisle floods, what work could they have done to help?”
Since 2003, more than 1,300 TA soldiers from the North West alone have served operational tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Balkans.
During this year, a further 200 from this region will deploy on operations.
More than 40 North West TA soldiers are today deployed on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, including a platoon of soldiers from 4th Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, who are protecting NATO’s headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, a six-month tour that ends in August.
Captain Dave Hall, permanent administrative staff officer of the Fourth Battalion, the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said the days of the TA being a ‘club’ were long gone.
“The TA is more closely linked with regular units now and there is a lot more respect for the TA soldiers. I’m sure the service will restructure again but the TA has a bright future.”
The likelihood that you will have to serve a six-month tour in a war-zone does not seem to be affecting recruiting to the part time force.
Capt Hall pointed out that C Company, which recruits from an area including Carlisle, Workington Barrow and Lancaster is currently overstaffed with 151 men.
He said: “Recruitment is the best it has been in the seven years I have been here.
“In the past, the only time you would have gone to war as a member of the TA would have been if the Russians had invaded.
“Most of the people who join up now join with the idea that they are going to go on a tour of service at some time.
“It is not a question of wanting to go to war, it is more a desire to be part of something that is going on.
“More than 50 per cent of this Company have been to Iraq or Afghanistan, we currently have 15 in Afghanistan.
“A lot of guys joined as a hobby, on a part-time basis but it has turned into a little more for some.
“It is not a drinking club any more. They are not coming for that.”
There have been some radical changes to the organisation and operations of the regular army and the TA and there is little doubt that more will be made in the coming years.
But the strengthening of the link between the full and the part-time soldiers seems here to stay.
“The business we do now is serious and life-threatening,” insisted Mark Cannan.
“The regulars look to us like we are their equals, we are all in a dangerous place, they trust us with their lives and we trust them with ours.
“We are all part of the same family and look after each other.”
The KORBR museum at Carlisle Castle features many photographs and documents charting the history of the TA and a special display on the organisation will coincide with another event to mark the centenary.
On May 10, the bands of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Association will be Beating Retreat to mark the TA’s 100th birthday.
The event at Carlisle Castle starts at 5pm and will include a display of infantry tactics from the 4th Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
