Thiepval Barracks is a British Army barracks and headquarters in Lisburn, County Antrim. It is also the site of the stone frigate HMS Hibernia, Headquarters of the Royal Naval Reserve in Northern Ireland.
From 1954, the barracks contained the operational headquarters of No 31 Belfast Group Royal Observer Corps (ROC) who operated from a protected nuclear bunker on Knox Road within Thiepval Barracks. Converted from a 1940s anti-aircraft operations room (AAOR), the bunker would support over one hundred ROC volunteers and a ten-man United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation warning team, responsible for the famous four-minute warning in the event of a nuclear strike on the UK. The ROC would also detect radioactive fallout from the nuclear bursts and warn the public of approaching fallout. The two organisations were stood down at the end of the Cold War.[3]
In early 1970, the barracks also became home to 39 Infantry Brigade[4] and provided the headquarters for the Ulster Defence Regiment.[5] The brigade, as 39 Airportable Brigade, was involved in The Troubles in Northern Ireland, eventually taking on responsibility under HQ Northern Ireland for an area including Belfast and the eastern side of the province, but excluding the South Armagh border region. For most of the conflict, signals support for the brigade was provided by 213 Signal Squadron.[6] From September 1970, the brigade was commanded by (then) BrigadierFrank Kitson.[7]
On 7 October 1996 the Provisional Irish Republican Army penetrated the heavily fortified base to detonate two car bombs. The first detonated at 15:35 GMT followed by the second around ten minutes later close to the base's medical facilities where victims were gathering. Warrant Officer James Bradwell (43) was killed and 21 soldiers and 10 civilians were injured. This bombing was the first major attack on a military base in Northern Ireland since the ending of the IRA's ceasefire with the 1996 Docklands bombing.[8][9]
HMS Hibernia is the name given to a stone frigate of the Royal Navy, which serves as the headquarters of the Royal Naval Reserve in Northern Ireland and is Northern Ireland's only Royal Navy stone frigate. It was commissioned in 2009 to replace the C-class cruiserHMS Caroline as the training establishment for the RNR in Northern Ireland,[11]Hibernia is located within Thiepval Barracks.[12] The unit numbers approximately 100 officers and ratings and is also home to University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) Belfast.[13][14]
Potter, John (2001). A testimony to courage : the regimental history of the Ulster Defence Regiment. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN978-0-85052-819-0. OCLC854583867.
