RAF Innsworth

Last updated

RAF Innsworth
Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg
Innsworth, Gloucester, Gloucestershire in England
Gloster Javelin FAW9, UK - Air Force AN1357514.jpg
Gloster Javelin FAW9 'XH903' whilst on display during 1974 as RAF Innsworth's gate guardian.
RAF Innsworth badge.jpg
Multos sustentare
(Latin for 'Home to many')
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
RAF Innsworth
Location in Gloucestershire
Coordinates 51°53′35″N2°11′50″W / 51.89306°N 2.19722°W / 51.89306; -2.19722
TypeNon-flying administrative, headquarters and support station
Area75 hectares [1]
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Royal Air Force
ConditionClosed
Site history
Built1940 (1940)
In use1940–2008 (2008)
FateTransferred to British Army and became Imjin Barracks.

RAF Innsworth was a non flying Royal Air Force station, located on the north side of the city of Gloucester in England. The station closed in March 2008 and for the last 13 years of its life it was the headquarters of Personnel and Training Command . The site was transferred to the British Army and renamed Imjin Barracks becoming the home of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2010.

Contents

History

Second World War

Queen Elizabeth chatting with a WAAF sergeant whilst visiting RAF Innsworth during the Second World War. The Womens' Auxiliary Air Force, 1939-1945. C681.jpg
Queen Elizabeth chatting with a WAAF sergeant whilst visiting RAF Innsworth during the Second World War.

The station opened in 1940, the first unit based there being No 7 School of Technical Training who trained engine and airframe fitters and mechanics. More than 2,000 officers and men were based at Innsworth by the time training began in earnest in 1941, this being delayed due to the arrival of 1500 RAF evacuees from Dunkirk.

In December 1941, No 2 WAAF Depot was opened at Innsworth and from then on the Station became increasingly associated with the Women's branch of the service. By the end of 1941 the strength of the Station had risen to more than 4,000 including trainees. Eventually it was decided to reserve the Station almost exclusively for WAAF training, including barrage balloon training amongst other vital roles.

Post-war

By the end of the war, nearly 5,000 people were living on the Station, three quarters of them WAAF. It retained its training role, with the opening of No. 2 RAF School of Cookery in 1948. It was also the home to No. 33 Wing RAF Regiment which deployed squadrons to emergencies in Cyprus and Northern Ireland. The station housed the Education Book Depot, which would have come in handy with both Nos. 7 & 13 Schools of Recruit Training. Innsworth was also the headquarters of No.4 Police District, and maintained a police presence up until very recently, when it was the HQ of PSS (WR).

In 1951, the headquarters of the RAF Record Office which had been based nearby in Gloucester and Barnwood, moved to the station and gained Group status. Three years later in 1954 No. 5 Personnel Despatch Unit arrived, charged with the administration and processing of personnel selected for overseas service.

Just after the war ended, the RAF Base Accounts Office moved from York to Gloucester and grew into the Central Pay Office and became part of the RAF Personnel and Training Command, which formed in 1994, based at Innsworth. Many other changes have taken place at Innsworth over recent years; these include the formation of Personnel Management Agency, contractorisation of the Station Support Services and the transfer of certain administrative functions (RAF pay and pensions) to the tri Service, Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency (AFPAA), all in 1997. In March / April 2005 the MOD Medals Office and Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) were established at Innsworth under AFPAA management.

The station had always maintained a close association with the city of Gloucester, and on 7 April 1960, received the Honour of the Freedom of the City. The station has subsequently also received the freedoms of the Borough of Tewkesbury on 28 April 1977 and the Borough of Cheltenham in October 1986.

Closure

RAF drawdown

In 2005 it was announced that HQ Personnel and Training Command was to co-locate with HQ RAF Strike Command at RAF High Wycombe. The new collocated HQ's were subsequently merged to form Air Command and the decision was taken to close RAF Innsworth. The drawdown took place over the next three years with elements of the Personnel Management Agency moved to High Wycombe and RAF Cranwell and RAF Innsworth finally closed on 31 March 2008.

Transfer to British Army

Control of Innsworth was transferred to the British Army on 21 November 2008, when it was renamed Imjin Barracks. In 2010 the station also became home to the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, which relocated to Innsworth from the Rheindahlen Military Complex in Germany. [2] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe</span> NATO Headquarters in Belgium

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the village of Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Corps of Signals</span> Communications arm of the British Army

The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications and information systems essential to all operations. Royal Signals units provide the full telecommunications infrastructure for the Army wherever they operate in the world. The Corps has its own engineers, logistics experts and systems operators to run radio and area networks in the field. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems, providing command support to commanders and their headquarters, and conducting electronic warfare against enemy communications.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Brampton</span> Former RAF Base in Cambridgeshire, England

RAF Brampton was a non-flying Royal Air Force installation near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Formerly the home of RAF Support Command, it also became the home of several elements of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which itself was a result of a merger between the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) and the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA), and provided a base for the Defence Security & Assurance Services and Defence Estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imjin Barracks</span> Military installation near Innsworth, Gloucestershire, England

Imjin Barracks is a military installation situated near Innsworth in Gloucestershire that is home to NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Auxiliary Air Force</span> British military service in World War II

The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs, was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Personnel and Training Command</span> Former UK Royal Air Force command

Personnel and Training Command (PTC) was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innsworth</span> Human settlement in England

Innsworth is a suburb of Gloucester, it is also a civil parish and forms part of the borough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was 2,468.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JHQ Rheindahlen</span> Former military base in Germany

JHQRheindahlen 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands</span> Military unit

The 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands is a signal formation of the British Army's 3rd UK Division. Its headquarters is located at Venning Barracks, in Donnington in Shropshire.

Land Command was a military command and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Signal Regiment (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) is a part of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. The regiment's role is to provide electronic warfare (EW) capability in support of deployed Land Commanders, in order to enable operations in the electronic battlespace. It is the only British Army regiment capable of conducting sustainable electronic warfare in support of national operations worldwide. The regiment is currently based at Cawdor Barracks, on the site of the former RAF Brawdy, near Haverfordwest, in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Signal Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 1st Signal Brigade, formerly known as the 1st Signal Group, is a brigade of the British Army. The group was first formed in 1968 as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper which expanded support for NATO and the British Army of the Rhine. In 1987, the group was disbanded and merged into the 2nd Signal Brigade. In 1995, the brigade was reformed and has since deployed on operations across the globe in support of NATO and HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the British Army</span> Organisation of the British Army

The structure of the British Army is being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure. The Army is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), with Army Headquarters which is located in Andover, Hampshire. Subordinate to that post, there is a Commander Field Army, and a personnel and UK operations command, Home Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Air Defence Group</span> Formation of the British Army

7th Air Defence Group is a formation of the British Army and part of 3rd Division. It is responsible for all the army's ground based air defence assets. All of the organisation's subordinate units are drawn from the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Its headquarters are located at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island.

The 7th Battalion, The Rifles is an Army Reserve battalion of the British Army originally formed in 1999 as an independent regiment, however later became part of The Rifles following the Future Army Structure programme, and remains an integral part of the regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurkha Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion</span> Military unit

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.

Future Soldier is a reform of the British Army resulting from the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy published in March 2021. The aim of the reform is to create a more lethal, agile and expeditionary force, able to fight and win wars and to operate in the grey-zone between peace and war. Future Soldier was published on 25 November 2021 and deals with the organizational changes of the British Army, with changes to personnel and equipment were set out in the Defence in a Competitive Age paper published on 22 March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyber and Electro Magnetic Activities Effects Group</span> Future formation of the British Army.

The Cyber and Electro Magnetic Activities Effects Group is a combat support formation of the British Army due to form by late 2022. The group will bring together three specialist regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals under Commander Field Army.

The Field Army Troops is the name given to those units falling under direct control of Headquarters, Field Army.

References

  1. "Defence Estates Development Plan (DEDP) 2009 - Annex A" (PDF). GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2009. p. 43. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. "The former RAF Innsworth site in Gloucestershire was officially renamed Imjin Barracks at a special ceremony on Friday 21 November 2008". It was formerly known as RAF Innsworth.(Farewell Innsworth, welcome Imjin, An Estate and Environment news article, 24 November 2008).
  3. "The fanfare of ownership and naming has subsided and the real business of making a home for ARRC begins in a material way" (Work begins at Imjin barracks, This is Glostershire, 14 February 2009)
  4. "In 2010, Imjin Barracks in Gloucester (formerly RAF Innsworth) will become home to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) - a deployable NATO HQ relocating from Germany" (Defence in the South West, MOD, retrieved 2009-12-06)