Clive Barracks


Clive Barracks is a military installation at Tern Hill in Shropshire in Western England.

History

The barracks were established, on the site of the former RAF Tern Hill airfield, in 1976: they were initially named Borneo Barracks before being renamed Clive Barracks after Major-General Lord Clive who had been born in Shropshire. Some of the early units to use the site were the Queen's Lancashire Regiment who moved there in 1980 and the Royal Welch Fusiliers who moved there in 1984.
On 20 February 1989, two IRA bombers activated two bombs within the accommodation barracks at Tern Hill. At that time the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and the 1st Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment were located at the station. A sentry spotted two men behaving suspiciously and raised the alarm, the barracks were evacuated shortly before the bombs exploded therefore preventing certain loss of life. One of the accommodation blocks was destroyed in the blast. The bombers escaped by hijacking a car from a house down the road from the barracks.
Since 2007 the barracks have been the home of 1 Royal Irish Regiment.

Based units

The following notable units are based at Clive Barracks.

British Army

Infantry
Clive Baracks is home to 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment. It operates in the light infantry role and specialises in close combat, operating the Foxhound armoured vehicle.
As of 1 November 2018, there were 628 troops assigned to the regiment.

Future

In late March 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the site was one of ten to be sold in order to reduce the size of the Defence estate. The airfield will be retained as a Relief Landing Ground and practice area for No 1 Flying Training School based out of nearby RAF Shawbury. Later, in November 2016, it was announced that the site would close in 2022.