History

Ritchie Camp was initially established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to provide accommodation for units based at RAF Kirknewton. After the War it provided accommodation for

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units based there. As part of the drawdown of British Forces from West Germany, the 1st Battalion The

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

returned from Minden in March 1968 and were stationed at Ritchie Camp before moving in January 1972 to Hong Kong.British Army units 1945 on
/ref> In 1971, it was announced that the 1st Battalion The

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

were to be reformed. At that time, Balaklava Company, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were based in Gibraltar. They returned home, via Barnard Castle, County Durham and became the nucleus of the new battalion which assembled in Ritchie Camp. From here they undertook 3 tours of duty in Northern Ireland. Amongst visitors to the regiment were the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne. When the battalion moved to

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

in November 1974, the 1st Battalion The

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

took up residence, arriving from Cyprus, til June 1976 when they moved to Munster. They were replaced by the 1st Battalion The Queen's Own Highlanders from Osnabrück in June 1976, leaving in March 1980 for Hong Kong. The 1st Battalion The

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

, transferring from Chester in March 1980, were resident in Ritchie Camp until February 1983, when they moved on to Hemer. In 1981, they were participants in the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. In February 1983, they moved to Hemer, when the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots moved in from Ballykinler. They moved in March 1985 to Werl, handing over the camp to The 1st Battalion The Black Watch who had been in Werl. After a short stay, they moved a few miles to Redford Barracks, Edinburgh in April 1986. Responding to a Commons Written Question on 26 February 1987, the Secretary of State for Defence stated that 'We have recently agreed in principle to make these sites ( Winston camp, Lanark, and Ritchie camp, Kirknewton) available to the United States forces for use as peacetime medical storage facilities and as hospitals which would be activated in the event of war.' The Americans handed the site back to the MoD in 1991, when it was described as a Contingency Hospital. A Tree Preservation Order was placed on Ritchie Camp in December 1987. The Princess Royal, Patron, Crucial Crew Project, attended a Crucial Crew event hosted by the

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fett ...

'F' Division at Ritchie Camp on 13 June 1993. In 1999, the camp was demolished and replaced with up-market housing, and the area renamed 'Newlands'.

References

{{Authority control Barracks in Scotland Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland