Claro Barracks
Ripon
Claro Barracks is located in North Yorkshire
Claro Barracks
Claro Barracks
Location within North Yorkshire
Coordinates54°8′37″N 01°33′0″W / 54.14361°N 1.55000°W / 54.14361; -1.55000
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1914-1915
Built forWar Office
In use1915-Present
Garrison information
Occupants21 Engineer Regiment

Claro Barracks is a British Army installation in Ripon, North Yorkshire. It is set to close in 2026.

History

The barracks, which were originally established as the command depot i.e. convalescent camp for Northern Command,[1] opened in April 1915 during the First World War.[2] Wilfred Owen wrote many of his poems when based at the barracks, known at the time as Ripon Army Camp,[3] in spring 1918.[4]

At the start of the Second World War, the School of Military Engineering, which had been based in Chatham, was split into two training battalions, one of which re-located to the barracks. The barracks were renamed Harper Barracks, after Lieutenant-General Sir George Harper, a famous engineer general. The site was identified as a home for the School of Bomb Disposal, formed in 1941, reflecting the nomination of the Royal Engineers as being responsible for the discipline. Both the School of Military Engineering and the School of Bomb Disposal returned to Chatham in 1949.[5] During the 1950s, Harper Barracks was the home of a Royal Signals training regiment.[6]

In 1959, the barracks became the home of 38 Engineer Regiment, who would remain there for nearly half a century.[7] The barracks was rebuilt and renamed Claro Barracks, after Claro Hill - a local beauty spot, in the 1960s.[8] In 1974, a bomb attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army badly damaged the barracks.[9]

The barracks went on to become the home of 21 Engineer Regiment in 2008.[10]

Future closure

The Ministry of Defence announced in March 2013 that the site had been earmarked for closure.[11] Consequently, in November 2016, it was announced that the site would close in 2019.[12] This was later extended to 2023,[13] and once more to 2026.[14]

Current units

The following notable units are based at Claro Barracks.[15]

British Army

Corps of Royal Engineers

References

  1. ^ "The Command Depots". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  2. ^ "The tale of two Ripons - the city and the camp". The Harrogate Advertiser. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Borrage Lane, Ripon". Wilfred Owen Association. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Ripon fears economic blow as Claro barracks closes after a century". The Independent. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Army Bomb Disposal School, Harper Barracks, Ripon , Yorkshire". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Looking back: from our archives". Ripon Gazette. September 1956. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  7. ^ "38 Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Captain John William ("Bill") Bradford; end note 37". Re Ubique. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Former soldier admits Army bomb attack 22 years ago". Herald Scotland. 6 August 1996. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Location overview: Ripon" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Claro barracks closure plan 'a hammer blow' to Ripon". BBC. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  12. ^ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Is Your Military Base Closing? Read The Full List Of Sites Shutting". Forces News. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Disposal database: House of Commons report". Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  15. ^ Lancaster, Mark (29 November 2018). "Army:Written question - 194616". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Royal Engineers Association 126th Management Committee minutes" (PDF). reahq.org.uk. Royal Engineers Association. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2019. 29 and 37 AES will move to 21 and 32 Engineer Regiment as part of this re-role
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