4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment

The 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (4 PARA) is a Territorial Army (TA) unit of the British Army. It is based across the U.K. Originally the Battalion covered the North of England with its Headquarters located in Pudsey, West Yorkshire. Following the Options for Change review in 1993, 4 PARA amalgamated with the 15th (Scottish) Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (XV PARA) which was downsized and became 15 (Scottish) Company of 4 PARA. As part of further changes in 1999 (Strategic Defence Review) the Battalion also merged with the 10th (Volunteer) Battalion which then became 10 (London) Company.

History

The present day Battalion is the successor to several T.A. Parachute Battalions which were all raised in 1947, although it can trace its history back to units raised during the Second World War.

The original 4th Parachute Battalion was formed in 1942 and saw service in;

• Algeria ( as part of the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Torch)
• Tunisia (Supporting American forces)

In 1943 Operation Avalanche (Invasion of Italy) was launched and the Battalion was in action at Taranto and Cassino. In October 1944 the Battalion seized by airborne assault (Operation Manna) the airfield at Megara near Athens in Greece. The Battalion spent the rest of the war supporting the 2nd New Zealand Division.

The original 10th Parachute Battalion was a war-formed unit which as part of the British 1st Airborne Division fought at the Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden)....
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