5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment

The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment was a territorial infantry battalion of the British Army which was formed in 1966 and later redesignated in 1992 as the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

History
The battalion was first formed in 1967 following the 1966 Defence White Paper many new "large" regiments were formed. Following this white paper, the Territorial and Volunteer Reserve was formed as part of the reduction of the former Territorial Army. Within this new force, the group was divided into the following groups;


 * TAVR I: Special Units, known as the "Ever Readies", special TA units
 * TAVR II: TAVR units with a NATO role, known collegially as the "Volunteers", units given the sub-title of (V) or (TA).
 * TAVR III: TAVR units with a home defence role, most only cadre units, collegially known as the "Territorials", units given the sub-title of (T)
 * TAVR IV: Bands, UOTC, and other "non-regular" units

One of the new large regiments that was formed was The Queen's Regiment formed from the amalgamations of the TA battalions of Home Counties Brigade. Following this amalgamation, the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment was formed and organised as follows;


 * Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Canterbury, Kent (from 4th Battalion, The East Kent Regiment (Buffs))
 * A (Queen's Surreys) Company, Guildford (from 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment)
 * B (Queen's Own Buffs) Company, Broadstairs (from 5th Battalion, The East Kent Regiment (Buffs))
 * C (Cinque Ports) Company, Hastings (from 4th/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment)
 * D (Middlesex) Company, Hornsey (from 5th Battalion, The Duke of Cambridge's Own Middlesex Regiment)

In 1969 the territorial elements of the Territorial and Volunteer Reserve was significantly reduced, so as a result the battalion was re-organised as follows; new units formed from disbanded TAVR III: E Company in Tonbridge with platoon in Maidstone from the 8th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's West Kent Regiment, A Company formed platoons in Kingston and Hounslow, B Company formed platoons in Deal and Folkstone, C Company formed a platoon in Eastbourne, and D Company formed a platoon in Edgeware. In 1970 the TAVR was again reduced, so E Company formed a new platoon in Crawley from former B Company, 8th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment.

In 1971 the battalion saw a major reorganisation as follows; platoons reorganised, B Company formed addition platoon in Deal, Edgware platoon from D Company transferred to A Company of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, Crawley platoon of E Company transferred to C Company of the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, and a new platoon in E Company was formed in Sevenoaks. On 8 October 1973 all companies except for C (Cinque Ports) Company removed their company subtitles. In 1975, the 1975 Mason Review was announced, and the rest of the cadre regiments were disbanded and absorbed into regiments and battalions which already existed. As a result the following occured;


 * B Company formed platoon in Folkestone from part of the old B Company of the 7th (Volunteer) Battalion
 * D Company in Hornsey amalgamated with A Company of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion to form B Company in the new 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion

In 1981, "The Way Forward, 1981 Defence White Paper" was announced which re-formed the TA, and army overall to be more NATO focused and have a more TA support focused move. Following this reform, Kingston platoon of A company transferred to the 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion, and the battalion was reroled as a Home Defence Security battalion covering the ports of the south-east coast. Finally in 1992 following the Options for Change reforms, brought about by the fall of the Soviet Union and concurrent end of the Cold War, the battalion was retitled as the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. During this redesignation, E Company merged into A Company.