Birdwood Barracks
 Birdwood Barracks
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| country | Germany | ||
| local community |
 Rödinghausen
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| Coordinates : | 52 ° 13 ' N , 8 ° 30' E | ||
| Opened | 1952 | ||
| Closed | 1993 | ||
| Formerly stationed units | |||
| Signals Regiment Transport Regiment RCT Transport Column RASC |
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Location of the Birdwood Barracks in North Rhine-Westphalia |
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The Birdwood Barracks were until 1993 a barracks of the British Rhine Army in Rödinghausen - Ostkilver in East Westphalia .
history
After the end of the Second World War , Ostwestfalen-Lippe was an important stationing area for the troops of the British Rhine Army. The garrisons of the 1st British Panzer Division ( headquarters in Herford ) and the 2nd British Panzer Division (headquarters in Lübbecke ) were located in the immediate vicinity of Rödinghausen . Rödinghausen was therefore conveniently located as a location for a barracks for logistics and command support troops , although Rödinghausen has so far not had any military infrastructure that could be taken over by the defeated Wehrmacht. By 1952, the Birdwood Barracks were completely rebuilt on a 27 hectare site near the Löhne – Rheine railway line . Many of the soldiers also lived in nearby Bünde, ironically mostly in the immediate vicinity of the location of the Soviet Military Liaison Mission (SMM) in the British zone. Soviet espionage activities were therefore always expected around the Birdwood Barracks . A military airfield planned in 1953 was not built, neither was a planned expansion in 1956 and a planned shooting range in 1984. The latter plan was criticized, among other things, during a demonstration at the Heerhof in Rödinghausen, which was accompanied by TV media presence, since Rödinghauser citizens, among other things, their status as a health resort saw endangered. Until recently the barracks also had no training area . During the Cold War, therefore, exercises were mostly held in the open. The nearby Wiehengebirge and the Nonnenstein were included as a suitable place for setting up mobile field radio equipment . The buildings themselves had the character of flat, barrack-like accommodations. The barracks also had a sports field and a small garrison church.
After the end of the Cold War, the Allied troops in East Westphalia were significantly reduced and regrouped. The Birdwood Barracks were therefore abandoned. The barracks were handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany on December 17, 1993. This ended the history of Rödinghausen as a garrison town. In mid-1995, the site of the former Rödinghausen community barracks was sold.
Todays use
After 1993, the barracks buildings were completely demolished and the contaminated sites on the 27 hectare site were disposed of. The community of Rödinghausen developed the area into a commercial and industrial area. For this purpose, the infrastructure (roads, sewage systems, etc.) was completely rebuilt or the existing structure was renovated. In the meantime, medium-sized and smaller companies have settled on the former barracks site. The largest of these is Hellmann Fleisch KG, which operates a logistics center here.
Stationed units
The units stationed in Ostkilver included:
- 2nd Division Signals Regiment: Telecommunications regiment of the 2nd British Armored Division
- 2nd Divisional Transport Column RASC: Transport unit of the 2nd British Armored Division, RASC ( Royal Army Service Corps , Supply Force )
- 1st Armored Division Transport Regiment RCT: Transport regiment of the 1st British Armored Division, RCT ( Royal Corps of Transport ), relocated from the Münster-based Dennis Barracks to Rödinghausen from 1984.
Army aviation units with skeeter helicopters were temporarily stationed in the barracks .
Web links
- BAOR Locations: Birdwood Barracks (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Botzet, R. (1988): Events, Merckworthy Keys and Begehbenheyten from Rödinghausen. On the occasion of the hundred years of independence of the office / the community Rödinghausen from the previously unpublished material . 2nd Edition. Rödinghausen community. Rödinghausen 1988. ISBN 398017090X