British Forces Aden was the name given to the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

stationed in the

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ') was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January ...

during part of the 20th century. Their purpose was to preserve the security of the Protectorate from both internal threats and external aggression.

History

British Forces Aden was originally formed as Aden Command in 1928.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Middle East and Mediterranean
On its establishment, Aden Command was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF)

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

which was responsible for the control all British armed forces in the Protectorate. It was renamed British Forces in Aden, or simply British Forces Aden, in 1936 and renamed again in 1956 as British Forces Arabian Peninsula. In 1959

Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

was divided into two commands split by the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

.''Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the corps (1920-2001)'' by Cliff Lord and Graham Watson, Page 54
/ref> The two parts were British Forces Arabian Peninsular, which was based at

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, and the remnants in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

which on 1 March 1961 was renamed Near East Command. On 1 March 1961 British Forces Arabian Peninsula was renamed, again, this time as Middle East Command (Aden). The senior commanders were Air Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy, C-in-C Middle East; Rear Admiral Talbot,

Flag Officer, Middle East The Flag Officer, Middle East was a command appointment of the Royal Navy, established for two distinct periods from 194658 and then from . From the appointment was located in the Suez Canal Zone or, after the Suez Crisis, in the Cyprus area; when ...

; Major General Jim Robertson, GOC

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

; Air Vice Marshal David Lee, Air Officer Commanding, Air Forces Middle East, and GOC East Africa Command. The GOC and AOC were working from the command HQ at Aden while FOME initially was at Bahrain with his headquarters at HMS Juffair. FOME moved to HMS Sheba in the naval dockyard at Steamer Point after the 1961 Kuwait crisis (Walker, Aden Insurgency, 90); Rear Admiral Talbot seemingly moved on May 1, 1962. Naval forces reportedly included three frigates, the Amphibious Warfare Squadron, the commando carrier , and 45 Commando Royal Marines based ashore at

. 45 Commando had arrived on 23 April 1960, disembarking from ''Dunera'', and settling in BP Camp, which had been turned over by 1st Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

. At the end of November 1967, following the British withdrawal from Aden at the end of the Emergency, the remaining British Forces in the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, including units at

Salalah Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani Governorates of Oman, governorate of Dhofar Governorate, Dhofar. It has a population close to 331,949. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest ...

and

Masirah Masirah Island (), also referred to as Mazeira Island, is an island off the east coast of mainland Oman in the Arabian Sea, and the largest island of the country. Administratively, it forms one of the five provinces (''Wilayah'', plural ''Wilay ...

, were reorganized under Headquarters British Forces Gulf, which was based at RAF Muharraq in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. British Forces Gulf was placed under the command of Rear Admiral John E. L. Martin, previously the last

, who handed over to Air Vice Marshal S B Grant on 4 April 1968. The command was disbanded on 15 December 1971.

Organization in 1939

The structure of the units based in Aden in 1939:

Aden Colony

* Headquarters * Aden Squadron,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

Aden Protectorate Levies The Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) was a military force recruited from indigenous tribal populations, for the local defence of the Aden Protectorate under British rule. The Levies were drawn from all parts of the Protectorate and were armed, t ...

– 4 Battalions * 2/5th Battalion,

Mahratta Light Infantry The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. Recruitment The class composition o ...

* 20th Fortress Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

* 5th Heavy Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* 9th Field Battery,

* 15th Air Defence Battery, Hong Kong and Singapore Royal Artillery

Commanders

Commanders have included:

Aden Command

*8 March 1928

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

W G S Mitchell *5 September 1929 Group Captain C T MacLean (later

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

) *7 August 1931 Group Captain O T Boyd *20 January 1934 Group Captain C F A Portal (Air Commodore from January 1935) *2 December 1935

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

E L Gossage

British Forces Aden

*1 July 1936 Air Commodore W A McClaughry *28 September 1938 Air Vice-Marshal G R M Reid *10 September 1941 Air Vice-Marshal F G D Hards *12 January 1943 Air Vice-Marshal F H MacNamara (

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

) *12 March 1945 Air Vice-Marshal H T Lydford *8 March 1948 Air Vice-Marshal A C Stevens *1 March 1950 Air Vice-Marshal F J Fressanges *11 March 1952 Air Vice-Marshal D Macfadyen *12 October 1953 Air Vice-Marshal S O Bufton *17 September 1955 Air Vice-Marshal L F Sinclair

British Forces Arabian Peninsula

*30 September 1957 Air Vice-Marshal M L Heath *19 September 1959

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Sir Hubert Patch *3 August 1960 Air Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy

Commanders (Air Forces)

Air Forces Middle East

* 1959 Air Chief Marshal DJ Pryer Lee * 1961 Air Chief Marshal F Rosier * 1963

Air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

J E Johnson * 15 December 1965 Air Vice-Marshal AH Humphrey

References

Bibliography

* {{British armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War Royal Air Force commands Joint commands of the United Kingdom 20th-century establishments in the Aden Protectorate 1928 establishments in Asia 1928 establishments in the British Empire Military units and formations established in 1928 Aden in World War II Military units and formations in Aden in World War II Military history of Aden during World War II Military units and formations established in 1961