Imphal Barracks
| Imphal Barracks | |
|---|---|
| York | |
 The keep of Imphal Barracks | |
  Imphal Barracks Location within North Yorkshire | |
| Coordinates | 53°56′37″N01°04′26″W/ 53.94361°N 1.07389°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1877–1878 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1878–Present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Headquarters1st (UK) Division
Headquarters19th Light Brigade 2nd Signal Regiment |
Imphal Barracksis a military installation located inFulford,York,England. The site will close in 2030.
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
Cavalry barracks were built in Fulford as part of the British response to the threat of theFrench Revolutionand were completed in 1795, but these have now been largely demolished.[1]The infantry barracks, which were built between 1877 and 1878, were initially thedepotof the14th Regiment of Footwho arrived fromBradford Moor Barracksin 1878.[1]Their creation took place as part of theCardwell Reformswhich encouraged the localisation of British military forces.[2]Following theChilders Reforms,the 14th Regiment of Foot evolved to become theWest Yorkshire Regimentwith its depot at the barracks in 1881.[3]Under the Cardwell Reforms the two battalions of the25th (Sussex) Regiment of Footalso established a depot at the barracks but following theChilders Reformsthat regiment evolved to become theKing's Own Scottish Borderersand moved toBerwick Barracksin 1881.[3]
Post Second World War[edit]
In the 1950s, the barracks were renamed Imphal Barracks to reflect the battle honours won by the West Yorkshire Regiment at theBattle of Imphalin spring 1944 during theSecond World War.[4]The barracks became the home of thePrince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshirewhen the West Yorkshire Regiment amalgamated with theEast Yorkshire Regimentin 1958.[1]
The barracks also became the home ofNorthern Commandin 1958.[1]North East Districtwas established at the barracks in 1967 and Northern Command was disbanded in 1972;[5]the barracks additionally became the home of2nd Divisionin 1982.[6]North East District merged withEastern Districtto form an enlarged Eastern District at Imphal Barracks in 1992.[7]The enlarged district was disbanded on the formation of HQLand Commandin 1995.[8]2nd Division, having absorbed Scotland District, moved its headquarters toCraigiehall,nearEdinburghin April 2000.[9]
21st Century[edit]
In June 2006, a ceremony celebrating the formation of theYorkshire Regimentwas held at Imphal Barracks.[10]The new divisional headquarters of6th Divisionmarked its formation with a parade and flag presentation at Imphal Barracks on 5 August 2008.[11]It had a clear focus on preparing brigades forAfghanistan:during summer 2009, the divisional headquarters was significantly reinforced and transformed into Combined Joint Task Force 6 before deploying to Afghanistan asRegional Command Southin November 2009.[12]The 6th division headquarters closed in April 2011.[13]
Imphal Barracks was the home of15th Infantry Brigade[14]until 1 December 2014 when it merged with the former4th Mechanised Brigadeto form an infantry brigade known as4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North Eastbased inCatterick.[15]The barracks became headquarters of the1st (United Kingdom) Divisionon 1 June 2015.[16]
Future[edit]
In November 2016, theMinistry of Defenceannounced that the site would close in 2031.[17]This was later brought forward to 2030.[18]
Current units[edit]
Current units at the site are:[19]
- Headquarters1st (UK) Division
- Headquarters19th Light Brigade[20]
- 2nd Signal Regiment,Royal Corps of Signals
- 12 Military Intelligence Company,1 Military Intelligence Battalion
- Kohima Troop,37 Signal Regiment[21]
- 3 AEC Gp (York),ETS
Narrow gauge railway[edit]
A horse-drawnnarrow gauge railwaywith a gauge of 18 inch (457 mm) ran from the Ordnance Wharf at theRiver Ouseparallel to Hospital Fields Road to the army depot. Military supplies and explosives were delivered by the schooner ‘Princess’ known locally as the ‘Powder boat’.[22]
References[edit]
- ^abcd"A History of Imphal Barracks"(PDF).Ministry of Defence.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"Echoes of the past in these Army cuts".8 July 2012.Retrieved13 November2014.
- ^ab"Training Depots".Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006.Retrieved16 October2016.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^"The barracks', A History of the County of York: the City of York".1961. pp. 541–542.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^Paxton, J. (1972).The Statesman's Year-Book 1972-73: The Encyclopaedia for the Businessman-of-The-World.Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 104.ISBN978-0-230-27101-2.
- ^"BAOR locations".Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"TA Command Structure 1967–2000".Archived fromthe originalon 8 June 2011.Retrieved2 February2013.
- ^"Land Command Shapes Up",Jane's Defence Weekly,15 July 1995.
- ^"Shots fired at Scottish Army headquarters near Edinburgh".Daily Record.22 June 2011.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"Soldiers herald birth of Yorkshire Regiment".Yorkshire Press.June 2006.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"mod.uk".Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2012.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"6th Division".Ministry of Defence. Archived fromthe originalon 13 August 2010.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"Military headquarters dissolved at Imphal Barracks".York Press.4 April 2011.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"Fulford".Archived fromthe originalon 29 March 2014.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^"4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East".Ministry of Defence.Retrieved12 August2015.
- ^"Homecoming of a Yorkshire general".The Press.4 June 2015.Retrieved10 August2015.
- ^"A Better Defence Estate"(PDF).Ministry of Defence. November 2016.Retrieved8 November2016.
- ^"Disposal database: House of Commons report".Retrieved26 November2021.
- ^"Military Bases: City of York".Retrieved1 March2021.
- ^"Army establishes first reserve brigade since Second World War".Forces Network.24 July 2022.Retrieved27 September2023.
- ^"Imphal Barracks".Retrieved30 March2021.
- ^Andrew Grantham:Narrow gauge military railway in York.Posted on 24 February 2011. Downloaded on 1 April 2017.
External links[edit]
Media related toImphal Barracks, Fulfordat Wikimedia Commons