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JHQ (Joint Headquarters) Rheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. Latterly it was also known as the Rheindahlen Military Complex, part of Rheindahlen Garrison. It was named after the local village of Rheindahlen, part of the city borough of Mönchengladbach.
In 1952, work began on the British Forces Maintenance Area West of the Rhine. Part of the project included the construction of a joint British Army and Royal Air Force headquarters for the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Rheindahlen. Colonel Henry Grattan was Chief Engineer of the construction project. [1]
HQ BAOR moved from Bad Oeynhausen to Rheindahlen in October 1954, centralising headquarters functions previously located across several towns in Northern Germany. It was originally the HQ of the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF), British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG). Some 12,000 military personnel moved to the "town within a town" in a few weeks. [2]
By the early 1970s the facilities in the complex included a NAAFI superstore and a smaller NAAFI store (Buschof NAAFI), German shops, a petrol station (normally BP), a travel agent (Milatravel), two German banks (Commerzbank and Sparkasse), two post offices, dress shop (a Malcolm Club shop), YWCA Bookshop, libraries and cafes. There were separate full British Army (RAMC) and RAF Medical & Dental Centres, five British primary schools (St Georges, St Andrews, St Patricks, St Davids & St Christophers) and a Belgian school. There was one secondary school (initially Queens upper & lower until the senior school moved to Hostert Waldniel, later returning to JHQ and recombining as Windsor School. [3]
JHQ was first bombed by the Provisional IRA in 1973. The car bomb was planted in the Globe cinema car park and timed to go off as the film ended. In the event the film ended early and the car park was largely empty when the bomb exploded. No one was injured, but a couple of cars were damaged. A Dutch man and a woman from Belfast were arrested but their leader, reported to be James McCann, escaped. [4]
Thirty-one people were injured on 23 March 1987 after a 300 lb (140 kg) car bomb exploded near the visitors officers' mess at the top of Queens Avenue. [5] The Provisional IRA later stated it had carried out the bombing. [5]
During the 1990s and 2000s, JHQ housed the Headquarters United Kingdom Support Command (Germany), later Headquarters British Forces Germany, which was the administrative HQ of the British Army in Europe. It was also home to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), which relocated to Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire in 2010. [6] [7]
There was an Army Garrison HQ on Collingwood Road to administer the Army element and an RAF HQ (RAF Rheindahlen) on Queens Avenue to administer the RAF element. HQ British Forces Germany moved to Bielefeld in July 2013. The Rheindahlen military complex was handed back to German federal authorities on 13 December 2013. [8]
In July 2015 some Arab investors submitted proposals to convert the site to a leisure park. [9] In September 2015 the main gas, electricity and water services were reconnected from the main Hardt-Rheindahlen road along Queens Avenue to the West boiler house to facilitate temporary use of the site as a refugee reception centre. [10] In November 2015 the site was still a ghost town with civilian security guards and in April 2016 it was revealed that the refugees would be accommodated in the billets area around the parade ground off Beresford Road. [11]
A number of separate HQs and units were based at the JHQ complex during its time as a British and NATO base, these included:
British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to two British Army formations of the same name. Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, the first after the First World War and the other, active after the Second World War and during the Cold War, eventually becoming part of NATO's contribution to allied forces there. Both formations had areas of responsibility located around the German section of the River Rhine.
I Corps was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign. It served as the operational component of the British Army of the Rhine during the Cold War, and was tasked with defending West Germany.
British Forces Germany (BFG) was the generic name for the three services of the British Armed Forces, made up of service personnel, UK Civil Servants, and dependents, based in Germany. It was established following the Second World War, the largest parts of it becoming known as the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and RAF Germany (RAFG). Both components had the mission of defending West Germany and remained there for the rest of the Cold War.
The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a rapid reaction force maintained by NATO. It is capable of deploying a High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters at short notice for operations and crisis response.
Imjin Barracks is a British Army installation situated near Innsworth in Gloucestershire, that is home to the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC).
The former Royal Air Force Rheindahlen, more commonly known as RAF Rheindahlen, was a non-flying Royal Air Force (RAF) military administrative base, becoming part of the Rheindahlen Military Complex in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; collectively a part of British Forces Germany (BFG). The Royal Air Force station was named after the nearby town and railway station of Rheindahlen. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was more commonly referred to as RAF Mönchengladbach; due to Rheindahlen being the Army's name for the same JHQ. It was unusual in that the RAF station land was publicly accessible, with public transport routes, and even German civilian mail service.
Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, is a former command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, initially in what was known as West Germany as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) following the Second World War, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold War. The commander of RAFG doubled as commander of NATO's Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF). Its motto was 'Keepers of the Peace'.
The former Royal Air Force Hospital Wegberg, commonly abbreviated to RAF(H) Wegberg, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military hospital located in Wegberg, near the city of Mönchengladbach, in the then West Germany. It was opened in 1953 to serve the British Armed Forces personnel already in the area, and in anticipation of the construction and opening of the large RAF Rheindahlen base, nearby.
Windsor School was a secondary school in Germany for the children of British military personnel. It was located within the military complex at JHQ Rheindahlen, near Mönchengladbach. The school operated from 1986 to 2013. It was one of several secondary schools in Germany operated by the Service Children's Education organization.
12 Flight Army Air Corps was an independent flight of the British Army's Army Air Corps.
Service Children's Education (SCE) is an organisation of the United Kingdom government responsible for the education of the children of British Armed Forces families and Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom. They provide schools and educational support services from Foundation Stage through to sixth form. They are headquartered at Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire.
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in western Germany.
The Multinational Division Central MND (C), was a multi-national division in NATO for Central Europe and had its headquarters at the British JHQ Rheindahlen with its barracks near Mönchengladbach.
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising five Army Corps from five NATO member nations. During the Cold War NORTHAG was NATO's forward defence in the Northern half of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Southern half of the Federal Republic of Germany was to be defended by the four Army Corps of NATO's Central Army Group (CENTAG). During wartime NORTHAG would command four frontline corps and one reserve corps. Air support was provided by Second Allied Tactical Air Force.
The 1987 Rheindahlen bombing was a car bomb attack on 23 March 1987 at JHQ Rheindahlen military barracks, the British Army headquarters in West Germany, injuring thirty-one. The large 300 lb (140 kg) car bomb exploded near the visitors officers' mess of the barracks. The Provisional IRA later stated it had carried out the bombing. It was the second bombing in Rheindahlen, the first being in 1973, and the start of the IRA's campaign on mainland Europe from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Although British soldiers were targeted, most of the injured were actually German officers and their wives.
Intelligence and Security Group (Germany) (abbreviated as Int & Sy Gp (G)) was an Intelligence Corps unit grouping of a number of intelligence and security companies based throughout the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). There were other similar units located in Mainland Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Kent School was a British secondary school in Germany, with boarding facilities, for the children of military personnel. It was located near the military complex at JHQ Rheindahlen, at Hostert, near Mönchengladbach. The school operated from 1963 until 1986 when it was amalgamated with Queens School, Rheindahlen, to become Windsor School. It was one of several secondary schools in Germany operated by the Service Children's Education organization.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.
The 4th Signal Group was a group sized unit of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Army that supported the British Army of the Rhine. The group's main job was to supervise all of the static communications used by the British Forces in Germany. It supported the British Army of the Rhine and 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force for just under 30 years.
The GurkhaAllied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion, or simply the GurkhaARRC Support Battalion is a combat support unit of the British Army, and one of only three units permanently assigned to NATO. For administrative purposes, the Gurkha ARRC Support Battalion falls under the oversight of the Royal Logistic Corps, though employs members from many other cap badges.