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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Parachute Regiment
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Section of the army, consisting of three regular battalions in the 1990s, which was founded in 1940 during the Battle of Britain as the direct result of a memo from Churchill ('We ought to have a Corps of at least 5000 parachute troops ... Pray let me have a note from the War Office on this subject'). At the same time a glider force was established for landing infantry from the air, and the two together formed the Army Air Corps. The Paras' reputation for toughness, well earned in enterprises such as *Arnhem (1944), has been seen in another light by the Catholic population of Northern Ireland since *Bloody Sunday (1972). Known for their red berets, the Paras have also been famous to the public in recent years through the performances of the *Red Devils.
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