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rdfs:label | - 8th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment
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rdfs:comment | - Battalion HQ was based at Killymeal House, Dungannon, which was also home for the Commanding Officer and his family. The operations room was located in the stables. 5 companies were dispersed between Killymeal House and the rest of the battalion area. The first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel John Blackwell of the Royal Tank Regiment.
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Commander | - Colonel Sir Dennis Faulkner CBE
- First: General Sir John Anderson GBE, KCB, DSO.
- Last: General Sir Charles Huxtable, KCB, CBE, DL
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March | - Garryowen & Sprig of Shillelagh.
- Oft in the Stilly Night
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Motto | - "Quis Separabit"
- "Who Shall Separate Us?"
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abstract | - Battalion HQ was based at Killymeal House, Dungannon, which was also home for the Commanding Officer and his family. The operations room was located in the stables. 5 companies were dispersed between Killymeal House and the rest of the battalion area. The first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel John Blackwell of the Royal Tank Regiment. On 7 November 1974 a gunman hijacked a van with its driver. A 500 lb bomb was placed in the van and the driver ordered to take it to the local UDR base, which was J Company, 8 UDR. This was known in the terminology of the time as a Proxy bomb. The base was prepared for such an attack, as were most bases. When the van arrived at their base, a sergeant from J Company grabbed his SMG and forced the van driver to put his vehicle into what was known as a "Critpit" (named after its originator, Colonel I.R. Critchley, (Black Watch), deputy commander of 3 Infantry Brigade. The Critpit was a deep pit, large enough to hold a lorry, and lined with sandbags. The bomb exploded less than an hour later but the only damage done was a few shattered windows in the base and surrounding area.
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