In the second part of this article I will pull together information and images from across a number of sources in an attempt to interpret some of the cryptic remains from what I believe to be HFDF sites across the…
The image above is a 1918 photograph of a Dechets barrack hut constructed by the Tarrant Company in France utilising recycled wood from boxes and crates (IWM Q6769 A hut made of old boxes and crates by women carpenters working…
Ballykinlar (also Ballykinler) Camp started life as a firing range for the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles as they trained for the war in South Africa, fighting the Boers. At the time they were garrisoned in Downpatrick, 8 miles away,…
In the hills above Belfast on Divis is a disused 600 yard military firing range, constructed in 1943 most likely to accommodate training for the high numbers of American troops in the country. A copy of the standing orders still…
On the hills approximately 6 miles to the north east of Derry/Londonderry is the small but abandoned signal station at Killylane. Constructed during the Second World War, the site was used for around 20 years as a Royal Navy shore-to-ship…
The contentious issue of the Irish border is not a new one. In secret documents uncovered at the National Archives at Kew, one page in particular highlights measures that were considered and dismissed by military planners. A ‘cordon sanitaire’ a…
In order to separate crowds of protesters and offer some protection to security forces and members of the opposite community, a series of mobile sight screens were introduced; constructed out of hessian and timber and mounted on the side of…
On 8 April 1971, a high priority order was received for three vehicles to be fitted out for use as fish and ship vans in Northern Ireland. After some deliberation, it was decided to use the Bedford J Type (J2SZ2,…
The introduction of the AP rifle launched grenade came after the lethal IRA ambush at Derryard just after 1600 hrs on 13 December 1989. This prompted an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) to be issued; returning the Luchaire 40mm Rifle Grenade.…
With any conflict comes a risk to national infrastructure by terrorist organisations as a means to exert power and create panic and unrest among the population in the name of their cause. Long before the official start of Operation Banner…