Stornoway Barracks | BAOR Locations

Updated 9 August 2024

Stornoway Barracks formerly Bleidorn Kaserne – Spiegelberg

1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment arrived from Fürstenau north-west of Osnabrück 28 May 45 – moved to Detmold 1 Jul 45

More to follow
Source: 21st Army Group later British Army of the Rhine to Mar 49

Part II

Formerly known as Spiegelberg Kaserne. These barracks were home to an artillery unit whilst in German hands and then a displaced persons camp until 1947.

Home to:

14th Field Survey Squadron, Royal Engineers.
1st Bn Irish Rangers
1 ASSU 244 Signal Squadron (just after 1945)
22nd Signal Regiment 1950-1962
1st Bn Royal Hampshire Regiment 1957-October 1959
1st Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise’s) October 1959-June 1962 (1)
1st Bn Northumberland Fusiliers 1962-1966
3rd Bn Queens Regiment (Royal Sussex) 1966-1970 (2)
1st Bn The Light Infantry 1970-1974 (3)
2nd Bn The Light Infantry 1974-1978
1st Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers 1978-1982 (4)
1st Bn Royal Regiment of Wales 1982-1989
2nd Bn Royal Irish Regiment 1989-1993 (5)

Closed 24 August 1993

(1) The Battalion arrived from Cyprus in October 1959. Advance Party arrived 20th October and Leave Parties arrived in four groups between 10th November and 1st December. B Coy moved to Redford Barracks, Edinburgh in April 1962, with handover in Lemgo to 5th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers completed 4th to 8th June 1962.
(2) Arrived in Stornoway from Lydd in July 1966. Left for Ballykinlar in April 1970. On 31 December 1966 the regiment was amalgamated with The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment, The Queen’s Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment and The Middlesex Regiment to form The Queen’s Regiment, with the regiment then becoming 3rd Bn. Arrived in Stornoway from Lydd in July 1966.
(3) In May 1970 1LI moved from Northern Ireland to Lemgo in West Germany to join 20 Armoured Brigade as a mechanised infantry battalion.
(4) Replaced in August 1982.
(5) The barracks closing in 1993.

Stownaway Barracks, 1940

Stornoway Barracks in the hands of 1st Bn The Sussex Regiment/3rd Bn The Queen’s Regiment

Photos above courtesy of 1st Bn The Royal Sussex Regt – 3rd Bn The Queen’s Regt

Front gate of Stornoway Barracks shortly after 2 Royal Irish had upped sticks to Cyprus – circa 1994

Courtesy of Cfn David Potts

The barracks where home to the Light Infantry for nearly 9/10 years.1st Bn Light Infantry were there from I think 1970 until my old unit 2 Bn Light Infantry took over from them in, I think, March/April 1974. We had previously been in Meeanee Barracks in Colchester, now home to the Paras. I was posted there in May 74 from 15AYT in Seaburn following a 18 month tour skiving!

As you went in the main gate the Guardroom was on your right: that block also housed Sigs Plt, Recce Plt, Bugle Plt and other odds and sods from Command Coy/Hq Coy as well as Sigs stores. Further down from this Block was Bn HQ, Orderely Room and Pay Office were the Commerzbank used to come of a Friday to cash your cheques, saving you going into town.The block opposite this housed A and B Coy, and in a compound opposite BN HQ was A Coy Garages and A Coy Fitter Sect, REME. On the left the first block of garages housed the Signal Plt APCs, all Mk1s – in fact the whole BN was using MK1s, the only MK2s were the Swingfire vehs and the REME Pack Wagons.

As you walked up the main drag passed A/B Block on the left was the POL Point and REME Wksps At one time a swimming pool was here opposite the NAAFI, but had been filled before we got there. Past the NAAFI, on the right, that block held D Coy and Sp Coy. The last block at the top of camp was the Sgts’ Mess and out the back gate was the Church and the School. The other side of the main drag from the Sgts’ Mess was the Cookhouse, and opposite this was the Tailor’s shop and I thinks the Sandes’ shop selling the English newspapers. The rest of the garages were also on this side of the main drag.

I have a lot of good memories from my posting here. I only returned to England once during this time to attend a course and the School of Infantry wouldn’t let me fly straight back to BAOR so I had to take leave in UK, the worst two weeks of my life.

After Op Banner tours I still took my leave in Germany. I toured Europe by car with 1 mate – we had a whale of time.

Every time we came back from a tour we used to march through the town back to barracks where the local town paid for a beer wagon to welcome us back. We were the only Unit in Lemgo; the rest of the Bde was 10ks away in Detmold so when we went for 4 months the town was virtually deserted.

One of the Coys sank an APC in the dip tank at the back of the Sgts’ Mess. The same thing happened at the end of a CP Exercise when we where doing Flotation Trg at Hameln, across the Weser. I was the Sigs NCO running the Safety Net and a friend of mine was commanding an APC across when we both realised at the same time that it was sinking. He stood up in the turret giving a naval salute and went down with his ship. It wasn’t deep here and the top of the floation screen was out of the water. It was pulled out using the towchains already on the APC.

We also lost another APC which exploded in flames after refueling. We had to use the handbag fillers on MK1s to fill the tanks from jerrycans. This one was leaking so after filling the nearside tank it was moved to the offside tank: this is were the exhaust runs across top of the APC. After filling this he was told to move the APC. He told the Officer concerned that fuel had leaked and he was waiting for it to evaporate before he was moving. He was told to move it as he was holding up the Replen: he made sure everybody was well away from the vehicle, started it up put it in gear and stood on the driver’s seat as it started to move. It then exploded into flames, blowing him out of the seat. Boy was the QM glad that went up – all his diffy kit was on board 11C!

This reminded me of the time we wemt to Ireland from the UK using the ferry out of Liverpool. All the kit was stored in a container on deck which went over board in rough weather. I don’t know how many steroes were loaded on this container!

The Bn was posted from Lemgo to Ballykinler in January 1978. All of the Bn went on leave from Lemgo then went to Ireland from leave. I was the last of the LI to leave. I handed over most of the Signals Equipment to the Advance Party of the incoming Unit, 1 RWF, and showed them its uses etc. I left, I think on 18th December 1977, for leave. I did 6 months in Ballykinler and left the Army on the 18th July 1978.

Danny Kay Ex Sig Plt 2nd Bn Light Infantry