Claro Barracks

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Claro Barracks
Ripon
Keep out, MOD property - geograph.org.uk - 6722871.jpg
Part of the Claro Barracks site
Site information
TypeBarracks
Owner Ministry of Defence
OperatorFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Location
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Claro Barracks
Location within North Yorkshire
Coordinates 54°8′37″N01°33′0″W / 54.14361°N 1.55000°W / 54.14361; -1.55000
Site history
Built1914-1915
Built for War Office
In use1915-Present
Garrison information
Occupants 21 Engineer Regiment

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

Contents

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. [5]

In 1940, an Experimental Tunnelling Section was formed, followed in January 1942 by the School of Bomb Disposal. [6]

Both the School of Military Engineering and the School of Bomb Disposal returned to Chatham in 1949. [7] During the 1950s, Harper Barracks was the home of a Royal Signals training regiment. [8]

In 1959, the barracks became the home of 38 Engineer Regiment, who would remain there for nearly half a century. [9] The barracks was rebuilt and renamed Claro Barracks, after Claro Hill - a local beauty spot, in the 1960s. [10] In 1974, a bomb attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army badly damaged the barracks. [11]

The barracks went on to become the home of 21 Engineer Regiment in 2008. [12]

Future closure

The Ministry of Defence announced in March 2013 that the site had been earmarked for closure. [13] Consequently, in November 2016, it was announced that the site would close in 2019. [14] This was later extended to 2027. [15]

Current units

The following notable units are based at Claro Barracks. [16]

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. ↑ De Santis, Lieutenant Colonel Edward (2003). "Biography: Captain John William ("Bill") Bradford Royal Engineers" . Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  6. ↑ Clifford, James H. (28 January 2015). "The Origins of U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal". National Museum, US Army. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Army Bomb Disposal School, Harper Barracks, Ripon, Yorkshire". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Looking back: from our archives". Ripon Gazette. September 1956. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "38 Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Captain John William ("Bill") Bradford; end note 37". Re Ubique. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Former soldier admits Army bomb attack 22 years ago". Herald Scotland. 6 August 1996. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Location overview: Ripon" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Claro barracks closure plan 'a hammer blow' to Ripon". BBC. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. ↑ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Defence Disposal Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  16. ↑ Lancaster, Mark (29 November 2018). "Army:Written question - 194616". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  17. ↑ "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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