Parachute Mine Defused in London, October 1969
Having conducted some research in the Royal Engineer Bomb Disposal (BD) archives at Carver Barracks, I came across a fascinating report covering the neutralising of a WW2 German Type GC…
The Development of Internal Security Equipment for Northern Ireland (1972)
In 1972 Brigadier Sir Ian Jardine had the task of writing a history of the Northern Ireland emergency including an annex on equipment development. The document below is the content…
Site Visit – Magilligan Point
The origins of a camp at Magilligan are difficult to ascertain, as I haven’t discovered any definitive records relating to the initial construction of the camp. A number of clues…
Site Visit – Clancy Barracks, Dublin
The barracks and army ordnance buildings of Clancy Barracks are located on the south side of the River Liffy in Dublin. Constructed in around 1798 and originally known as Islandbridge…
North Irish Horse Camp, Antrim
Located on what is now Steeple Road PSNI Training Centre, was a 440 bed camp of the North Irish Horse. Very little is evident today of what was vacated over…
Randalstown Camp
Dissected by the M22 motorway at Randalstown, an army camp capable of housing more than 5,000 British and Irish soldiers in preparation for the trenches of France once sat, with…
Pre-OCTU Wrotham Camp
The purpose built Pre-Officer Cadet Training Unit at Wrotham Camp was reputed to be at one stage the largest training establishments in the world with up to 10,000 cadets on…
Military Stones
Military boundary stones, not to be confused with Ordnance Survey datum points, are somewhat of an enigma. Historically they delineate boundaries of military sites, however their use is not consistent…
Battery Observation Post – DRF
Often found in coastal artillery forts, this concrete pedestal would have been home to a Depression Range Finder (DRF), an instrument designed in the 1880s used to calculate the distance…
Oil Berth 3
It may sound somewhat unassuming, but Oil Berth 3, sitting at the entrance to Musgrave Channel in Belfast Port, was once at the centre of a fascinating piece of Northern Irish…