5 Field Ambulance was established in Aldershot on 14 August 1914 and was disbanded at the end of WW1, having taken part in many great battles including the Battles of the Somme, Arras, Cambrai and the Hindenburg Line.

At the outbreak of World War 2 (WW2), 5 Field Ambulance was reformed at the Connaught Hospital, Aldershot and served in Arles, Marshiennes, India, Rangoon, Japan and Malaya.

After WW2, the unit served in Cyprus and the Suez Canal Zone until 1958 when it disbanded. When 24 Field Ambulance was disbanded in September 1976, remnants of 24 Field Ambulance were used to form 5 Field Ambulance, which moved to Oxford Barracks, Munster.

The unit was renamed 5 Armoured Field Ambulance on 1 January 1982 and played its part in Iraq during 1990-91. In 1993 the unit moved to Fulwood Barracks, Preston and in that same year it was renamed 5 Field Ambulance RAMC.

On 1 December 1999 the unit changed formation and name to 5 General Support Medical Regiment, and celebrated its 90th Anniversary on 13 August 2004.

Since becoming 5 Medical Regiment, the Regiment has been heavily committed to supporting UK forces deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.