British Forces Gibraltar

British Forces Gibraltar is the British Armed Forces stationed in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is used primarily as a training area, thanks to its good climate and rocky terrain, and as a stopover for aircraft and ships ''en route'' to and from deployments East of Suez or in Africa.

History

British Armed Forces in Gibraltar had been predominantly naval-led since the 1890s. In the 1950s discussions about the creation of NATO's Allied Forces Mediterranean led to the Flag Officer Gibraltar being placed in command of NATO forces in the area.

However, many years later, the British Royal Navy captain serving as Head of Sea Section in Operations Division, SHAPE, was to have to deal with the re-absorption of Spain into NATO in the early 1990s. Arranging the NATO-Spain-Gibraltar-UK linkages involved "delicate negotiations," but British plans, to Captain Peter Melson's knowledge "committed no forces to defence of the Strait, while Spain was willing to commit substantial elements of their ORBAT rder of battle, their armed forces"

The last UK based army battalion, 3rd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, left Gibraltar in 1991 and the Royal Gibraltar Regiment took charge of local defence under the new headquarters British Forces Gibraltar.

HM Dockyard, Gibraltar

HM Dockyard, Gibraltar was active from 1895 to 1984. The dockyard was used extensively by the Royal Navy, docking many of the Navy's most prestigious ships. In the early 1980s a decision by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to cut back the Royal Navy surface fleet meant that the dockyard was no longer financially viable.

In 1984 the dockyard passed into the hands of the UK ship repair and conversion company, A&P Group. A government grant and a prospect of lucrative Royal Fleet Auxiliary refit contracts did not help A&P Group however and they passed the yard into the hands of the Government of Gibraltar.

The current dockyard is still used by the Royal Navy and is referred to as 'His Majesty's Naval Base Gibraltar (HMNB Gibraltar)'.

Permanent units

Though Gibraltar's current garrison is much smaller than it had been before the end of the Cold War, a sizable force still exists, including:

Ministry of Defence

* Armaments Depot, Gibraltar, Defence Equipment and Support
* Kings lines oil fuel depot, Oil and Pipelines Agency

Army

* Royal Gibraltar Regiment (Hybrid), at Devil's Tower Camp (Mixed infantry-focused unit)
* Buffadero Training Centre

Navy

* Windmill Hill Signal Station
* His Majesty's Naval Base, Gibraltar
** Gibraltar Squadron, at His Majesty's Naval Base, Gibraltar
*** River-class offshore patrol vessel: – permanently deployed at Gibraltar since April 2021
*** ''Cutlass-class'' patrol vessels (replaced previous ''Archer-class'' boats 2021/22):
**** HMS ''Cutlass'' (arrived in Gibraltar, November 2021)
**** (arrived in Gibraltar, March 2022)
*** x3 Pacific 24 Rigid-hulled inflatable boats

Air Force
* RAF Gibraltar, the Royal Air Force's military aerodrome in Gibraltar, also doubles up as the territory's civilian airport.

Flag officer commanding

Senior Officer, Gibraltar

Post holders included:
* Captain Claude E. Buckle: August 1889 – February 1892
* Captain Atwell P.M. Lake: February 1892 – January 1895
* Captain James A.T. Bruce: January 1895 – January 1898
* Captain Charles C. Drury: January 1898 – September 1899
* Captain William H. Pigott: September 1899 – October 1902 (later V.Adm Sir William Harvey Pigott)

Flag Officer, Gibraltar

Post holders included:
* Vice-Admiral Sir William A. Dyke Acland, Bt.: October 1902 – July 1904
* Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Chichester, Bt.: July 1904 – September 1906
* Rear-Admiral Sir James E.C. Goodrich: September 1906 – September 1909
* Vice-Admiral Frederick S. Pelham: September 1909 – October 1912
* Vice-Admiral Frederic E.E.Brock: October 1912 – October 1915
* Rear-Admiral Bernard Currey: October 1915 – July 1917 (and as Senior Naval Officer and in charge of all Naval Establishments, Gibraltar)
* Rear-Admiral Sir Heathcoat S.Grant: July 1917 – July 1919
* Rear-Admiral Sir Reginald Y.Tyrwhitt, Bt.: July 1919 – January 1921
* Rear-Admiral Henry B.Pelly: January 1921 – January 1923 (also Admiral Superintendent, Gibraltar Yard)
* Rear-Admiral Walter M. Ellerton: January 1923 – April 1925
* Rear-Admiral Richard G.A.W.Stapleton-Cotton: April 1925 – April 1927 (also Admiral Superintendent of H.M. Dockyard, Gibraltar)
* Rear-Admiral Cyril S. Townsend: April 1927 – April 1929 (also Admiral Superintendent of H.M. Dockyard, Gibraltar)
* Rear-Admiral Berwick Curtis: April 1929 – April 1931
* Rear-Admiral Thomas N. James: April 1931 – May 1933
* Rear-Admiral Francis M. Austin: May 1933 – May 1935
* Vice-Admiral Sir James M. Pipon: May 1935 – May 1937
* Rear-Admiral Alfred E. Evans: May 1937 – May 1939, as Rear Admiral-in-Charge, and Admiral-Superintendent HM Dockyard Gibraltar

Flag Officer, Gibraltar and North Atlantic

* Rear-Admiral Norman A. Wodehouse: May–November 1939
* Admiral Sir Dudley B. N. North: November 1939 – December 1940
* Vice-Admiral Sir G. Frederick B. Edward-Collins: December 1940 – December 1942

Flag Officer, Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches

Post holders included:
* Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Edward Collins : December 1942 - January 1943
* Admiral Sir Frederick Edward Collins : January 1943 - August 1943
* Vice-Admiral Sir Harold M. Burrough: September 1943 – January 1945
* Vice-Admiral Sir Victor A.C. Crutchley: January 1945 – December 1946

Flag Officer, Gibraltar

Post holders included:
* Vice-Admiral Ernest R. Archer: December 1946 – June 1948
* Vice-Admiral Patrick W.B. Brooking: June 1948 – June 1950
* Vice-Admiral Lord Ashbourne: June 1950 – May 1952
* Rear-Admiral St. John A. Micklethwait: May 1952 – October 1953
* Rear-Admiral Harry P. Currey: October 1953 – May 1956
* Rear-Admiral Roy S. Foster-Brown: May 1956 – February 1959
* Rear-Admiral Philip F. Powlett: February 1959 – March 1962
* Rear-Admiral Erroll N. Sinclair: March 1962 – July 1964
* Rear-Admiral Thomas W. Best: July 1964 – November 1966
* Rear-Admiral Michael F. Fell: November 1966 – April 1968
* Rear-Admiral Ian W. Jamieson: April 1968 – October 1969
* Rear-Admiral A. Rodney B. Sturdee: October 1969 – January 1972
* Rear-Admiral Hubert W.E. Hollins: January 1972 – May 1974
* Rear-Admiral Sefton R. Sandford: May 1974 – September 1976
* Rear-Admiral Michael L. Stacey: September 1976 – January 1979
* Rear-Admiral Gwynedd Pritchard: January 1979 – January 1981
* Rear-Admiral D. John Mackenzie: January 1981 – January 1983
* Rear-Admiral George Vallings: January 1983 – March 1985
* Rear-Admiral Peter G.V. Dingemans: March 1985 – September 1987
* Rear-Admiral the Hon. Nicholas J. Hill-Norton: September 1987 – January 1990
* Rear-Admiral Geoffrey Biggs (January 1990 – April 1992)

Commander British Forces, Gibraltar

Post holders included:
* Rear Admiral Jeremy Sanders (April 1992 – December 1994)
*Major-General Simon Pack (December 1994 – April 1997)
*Commodore Alastair Taylor (April 1997 – June 1999)
*Commodore Andrew Willmett (June 1999 – December 2001)
*Commodore Richard Clapp (December 2001 – May 2004)
*Commodore David White (May 2004 – 8 January 2005)
*Commodore Allan Adair (19 January 2005 – 1 May 2007)
*Commodore Matt Parr (1 May 2007 – February 2009)
*Commodore Adrian Bell (February 2009 – September 2010)
*Commodore Tom Karsten (September 2010 – November 2012)
*Commodore John Clink (November 2012 – August 2014)
*Commodore Ian McGhie (August 2014 – July 2016)
*Commodore Mike Walliker (July 2016 – September 2018)
*Commodore Timothy Henry (September 2018 – July 2020)
*Commodore Steve Dainton (July 2020 – present)

See also

* List of British Army installations

Notes

External links

British Forces Gibraltar Community SiteBritish Army – GibraltarRAF Gibraltar

{{Gibraltar topics

Joint commands of the United Kingdom