151 Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps

 

 

151 Regiment RLC is the only London-based logistic regiment and can trace its origins back to the formation of the Royal Waggon Train in Croydon in 1801. Today 151 Regiment RLC is an integral part of 101 Logistic Brigade (The Iron Vipers), which provides logistic support to 3 UK Armoured Division (The Iron Division). They are paired with and work alongside their Regular counterpart, 10 Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment RLC.

Previously a Territorial Army unit, its direct forebears include several Essex, Home Counties and London-based Divisional Columns of the Royal Army Service Corps, which provided essential logistic support during both the Boer War and the First World War; the names of some of the latter units can be found on the Guards division memorial on Horse Guards Parade.

The Regimental Headquarters and HQ Squadron are based in Croydon, with three transport squadrons located inside the M25 at Sutton, Barnet and Southall. A fourth transport squadron sits just outside the M25 at Warley in Essex. In addition, there are two detached Troops, one based in Aldershot and another in Maidstone, Kent.

By virtue of its location and forebears, the heritage of this Kent Troop can be traced back to the Royal West Kent Regiment and it has the proud honour to be the custodian of a West Kent’s battle colour (flag) dating back to the Regiments’ service in the Indian sub-continent in the mid-1800s.

As can be seen, history and heritage are very important to the Regiment; hence the high store that it places on its formal linkage with the Marketors as a City Livery Company.

 

151 Regiment RLC continually recruits men and women aged 18-43 into its ranks of up to 500 soldiers and officers. It is these soldiers who stand ready to serve the nation, whether supporting national events or disasters such as the Olympics or the Covid-19 pandemic, major civil incidents assisting the emergency services or on operational deployments overseas. The last deployment of soldiers to Afghanistan was at the end of 2013, a fitting final deployment commanded by one of the Regiment’s own Army Reserve officers.

There are some remarkable people in 151, the vast majority being ‘citizen soldiers’ who, with the support of their families and employers, successfully balance competing demands in the form of evening and weekend military training and the occasional six-month operational deployment. No wonder, therefore, that some consider them to be ‘twice a citizen’, even though when you might meet them day-to-day they would appear to be every-day builders, truck drivers, police officers or office workers.

As part of the Future Soldier restructuring, 151will become a Reserve Transport Regiment by June 2023. Nevertheless, whilst continually adapting to meet the challenges of the future, it remains proud of its heritage, its affiliation to the City of London and the Worshipful Company of Marketors. Each year the Regiment represents the RLC for the Lord Mayor’s Show and provides personnel to control the marshalling of the 148 floats.

Many Marketors have experienced their training exercises, including field activities in Salisbury Plain, at Thetford and on the ranges at Pirbright.

 

One of the annual highlights is their splendid curry evening, which was last held in November 2021, where 25 Marketors and guests attended. Trevor Brignall, the Master Elect, presented the outgoing CO, Lt Col Debs Taylor RLC with a specially commissioned decanter and stand, in appreciation of the work carried out by the Regiment during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The current Commanding Officer is Lt Col Ed Lewis RLC, and the liaison officer is the adjutant, Capt. Oliver Roberts RLC.