[10][11] 9 Parachute Squadron RE trace their lineage to 6 March 1772 when a royal warrant raised an unnamed Company of Soldier Artificers, transferring suitable men from the regiments in the Gibraltar Garrison.

[16] The company was reinforced with new artificers from the United Kingdom, who arrived by ship in February 1806 alongside their new commander, Captain Henry Evatt of the Corps of Royal Engineers[17][18] A similar fever would strike in 1813.

As a report in The London Chronicle noted, "every part of the garrison facing the Spanish Lines was crowded with Spectators, to witness the explosion which was truly grand and picturesque ... the entire front of Forts San Felipe and Santa Bárbara being blown into the ditch, and the whole rendered a complete mass of ruins.

They embarked on a train to Southampton, then at 4.30pm on the 22 August they boarded the SS Basil to France and the ship captain read them the King's message: You are leaving home to fight for the safety and honour of my Empire.

[30] Subsequently, they were transported by train to Saint-Quentin, Aisne before marching northwards to bivouac for the evening of 25 August, while artillery fire rung out in the distance.

[31][32] 9th Field Company marched Northwards the next day and met up with the rest of the 4th Division near Le Cateau; however, they shortly afterwards began retracing their route southwards as part of the Great Retreat.

He introduced him to a French officer who provided details of the explosives that had been delivered by train, then Young was tasked with his small team to prepare the bridge for demolition, whilst keeping it open for the traffic of retreating troops.

Fishbourne and his team nonetheless made a start out to the location of the bridge, and Maj Barstow, the officer commanding the squadron, found more petrol and followed up afterwards.

On the descent into Venizel, the column was attacked by German artillery, and they stopped on multiple occasions to repair the road to allow the advance of the force.

When elements of the company arrived at the scene, Lt Giffard Le Quesne Martel (who would later gain renown as a tank strategist) removed the dud charges that had failed to fire and used some suitably shaped stones to plug the gaps in the compression girders that had been damaged.

Due to high winds, misjudgement from pilots and friendly fire from allied ships, the majority of the gliders landed in the sea.

One successful glider containing sappers of 9 Field Company under command of Maj Basil Saunders Beazley (who had previously rowed for England in the 1938 British Empire Games) landed in a tomato plantation near Ponte Grande.

The first half, consisting of the divisional headquarters, the 1st and 4th Parachute Brigade groups and the 9 Field Company RE (Airborne), boarded the Royal Navy ships at Bizerta.

[61] OC 9 Field Company RE (Airborne) gave them orders to seize and hold the railway ridge over the Rhine and to remove any demolition charges.

[65] With all their ammunition intact, they played a significant role in the defence of the bridge, one sapper having knocked out six or seven armoured vehicles with a Piat anti-tank gun.

[67] 9 Field Company RE (Airborne) was used as the counter-attack force by Lt Col John Frost, the Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, where they fought with great bravery in the infantry role.

On 5 November, 3 Troop (under command of Captain Brazier) conducted a parachute jump alongside 3 PARA onto the El Gamil airfield.

[79] In March 1967, 9 Independent Parachute Squadron was involved in the clearance of several Cornish beaches after a giant oil spill from the tanker SS Torrey Canyon.

Following a visit by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, the UK agreed with the islands' government to send in troops and police to restore official law and order under Operation Sheepskin.

[74][82] In November 1968, 9 Parachute Squadron deployed for 4 months to the Mau Escarpment area in Kenya to construct bridges and repair culverts.

[84] The rock blasting was conducted in Beaucette quarry and received scrutiny in parliament, with the task perceived to be non-compliant with UK Defence Civil-military co-operation policy.

[91] Two members of 9 Parachute Squadron took part in the Commonwealth Cease Fire Monitoring Force (Operation Agila) in Rhodesia, during its transition into the independent state of Zimbabwe.

In response to the West Sussex floods from December to January,[94] 9 Parachute Squadron provided four Bailey bridges in Chichester in order to reopen routes.

[95] Between July and November 1994, the squadron served in Rwanda as part of the UNAMIR mission, for which it was jointly awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Peace.

In June 1999, 100 soldiers from the squadron were deployed to Kosovo, where they were involved in the clearing and securing of the mountain corridor to Kaçanik to enable 4 Brigade to pass through.

Between May – September 2000, the squadron deployed on an eighth tour to Northern Ireland,[86] carrying out various tasks across the province[96] including dismantling the famous golf towers of South Armagh.

Members of the squadron also provided the vital infrastructure required to sustain such an operation, as well as constructing extensive force protection measures.

[4] Having recently returned from Macedonia, December 2001 saw a rapid deployment to Afghanistan for the initial phases of the War on Terror following the September 11 attacks.

The squadron, based out of Kabul, provided vital infrastructure and force protection in support of 2 PARA Battlegroup, as part of the Multi National Engineer Group.

[106][107][108] One officer on parade became a viral phenomenon, being dubbed "Prince Charming" by many on social media after he was described saying "good-morning" in an attractive manner to the onlooking crowd.