1st Battalion The Wessex Regiment (Rifle Volunteers)
1 Wessex was formed in TAVR II with headquarters in Exeter from former Territorial Army companies from units in the Wessex Brigade. It was a NATO-roled Battalion, the TA infantry component of 1 Brigade, which formed, with logistic elements, the UK Mobile Force with deployment options in the Baltic Approaches. The Battalion comprised:
HQ Company
A Company – Coy HQ, 1 Platoon and Anti-tank Platoon; 2 and 3 Platoons were in Bristol.
B Company – Coy HQ, 5 and 7 Platoons in Southampton and 6 Platoon on the Isle of Wight. This Company was transferred to 2 Wessex ; 1 Wessex then formed:
* B Company – with three platoons including the SF MG Platoon.
C Company – with a remote Platoon in Poole; later, this Platoon was swapped with D Company for the remote Platoon in Weymouth.
D Company was co-located with Bn HQ 2 Wessex; it was later swapped with 2 Wessex for:
* D Company – Coy HQ, 13 and 14 Platoons; 15 Platoon was in Poole. The company later moved from Bournemouth to Poole and formed a new remote Platoon at Fordingbridge.
C Company, D Company and E Company were later removed from 1 Wessex and formed the base for the 4th Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. 1 Wessex then formed a new C Company in Newbury, which was based on a remote Platoon transferred from 2 Wessex. In addition to the five Rifle Companies, 1 Wessex had the following support Platoons under HQ Company:
Anti tank Platoon – originally equipped with Wombat, later with Milan guided missiles
Machine Gun Platoon. This Platoon moved to Devizes in 1990 & combined with the Drums Platoon.
Assault Pioneer Platoon
2nd Battalion The Wessex Regiment (Volunteers)
2 Wessex was formed on 1 April 1971 with Headquarters at Brock Barracks, Reading from cadres of The Buckinghamshire Regiment RA, The Royal Berkshire Territorials, The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Territorials and The Dorset Territorials. The Battalion comprised:
B Company – originally at Bletchley; later at Reading, with 6 Platoon at Basingstoke. B Coy was disbanded in 1986; 4 Platoon transferred to D Coy as 12 Platoon, 6 Platoon transferred to C Company as 9 Platoon. The remainder of the Coy staff became the Regimental Recruit Training Team. The Coy was replaced by the transfer of B Coy from 1 Wessex:
C Company – Coy HQ and 7 Platoon at St. Lukes Road, Maidenhead; 8 Platoon at Uxbridge Road, Slough; and 9 Platoon at Newbury, later 6/9 Platoon at Penrith Road, Basingstoke
D Company – at Poole, Bournemouth and Weymouth. It was later swapped with 1 Wessex for:
* D Company – which then relocated to St Michael's Road, Newbury
