HQ Northern Ireland was the formation responsible for the British Army in and around Northern Ireland. It was established in 1922 and disbanded, replaced by a brigade-level Army Reserve formation, 38 (Irish) Brigade, in 2009.

History Ireland was partitioned in mid-1921. On 7 December 1922, the day after the establishment of the Irish Free State, the Parliament of Northern Ireland resolved to address King George V to opt out of the Irish Free State.

The same year (1922), the first General Officer Commanding, Northern Ireland District was appointed, Major General Sir Archibald Cameron.Archives catalogue for Sir Archibald Rice Cameron Collection, The Black Watch Castle & Museum, Perth, Scotland. His headquarters was established at Victoria Barracks, Belfast; he served until 1925.

During the Second World War the role of the District was enhanced from internal security to that of combatting any threat of invasion from the Republic of Ireland. In June 1940, VI Corps was formed to control the British forces based in Northern Ireland. The following month, it was transformed into HQ British Troops in Ireland (BTI, later renamed HQ British Troops in Northern Ireland or BTNI). Northern Ireland District was made responsible for local defence, and under certain conditions would control at least one division based there. However, BTNI became responsible for the overall defence of the territory and if needed would control forces assigned to Plan W, to counter a German invasion of the Republic of Ireland. The British Army's presence reached a peak of four divisions and generally maintained this strength (through the use of American troops after 1942) for most of the war. BTNI was disbanded at the end of the war, leaving Northern Ireland District as the sole command. The status district was upgraded to Command, under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Sir John Hackett, in 1961.

With the emergence of the Troubles, which started in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, the role of HQ Northern Ireland increased substantially as it took responsibility for "assisting in the defeat of terrorism and the maintenance of public order" and by 1972 it had 27,000 troops under its command.

On 31 July 1972, Operation Motorman was launched, the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. It aimed to eradicate the 'no-go zones' that had built up in several areas across Northern Ireland. In the days before 31 July, about 4,000 extra troops were brought into Northern Ireland. Almost 22,000 soldiers were involved, including 27 infantry and two armoured battalions, aided by 5,300 soldiers from the local Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR).An Analysis of Military Operations in Northern Ireland, prepared under the direction of the Chief of the General Staff. Retrieved 2 September 2007. Archived at Internet Archive. Several Centurion AVRE demolition vehicles, derived from the Centurion tank and fitted with bulldozer blades, were used. They were the only heavy armoured vehicles to be deployed operationally by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The tanks had been transported to Northern Ireland on board the amphibious landing ship HMS Fearless, and were operated with their turrets traversed to the rear and main guns covered by tarpaulins.Osprey Publishing: Centurion Universal Tank 1943–2003

On 30 January 2006 the Secretary of State for Defence announced to the House of Commons that 19 Light Brigade, then stationed at Catterick, would be re-roling into a light brigade and relocating to Scotland and Northern Ireland.Written Ministerial Statements for 10 May 2006 On 10 May 2006 it was further announced that "in addition to the HQ and other units of 19 Light Brigade that we expect to relocate to Northern Ireland in 2007 and 2008, a new and non-deployable regional brigade headquarters will form at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn. The current 107 (Ulster) Brigade, based at Ballymena, will merge on 15 December this year into HQ 39 Infantry Brigade, which will itself be replaced by the new regional brigade headquarters, 38th (Irish) Brigade under the command of the 2nd Division, on 1 August 2007".

On 6 August 2007 HQ Northern Ireland and 38 (Irish) Brigade combined to create a single transitional headquarters with a two star General Officer Commanding. At the same time the British military presence in the Province was reduced to about 5,000 troops.

On 1 January 2009 the name of the formation changed to 38 (Irish) Brigade and HQ Northern Ireland was dissolved with residual regional functions being migrated to HQ 2 Division in Edinburgh.38 Bde/HQ NI website accessed January 2008

Other services had a smaller 'footprint' in the province during the Troubles. The RAF's presence in Northern Ireland was based at RAF Aldergrove, and 230 Squadron was based there for many years, among other units. The Royal Navy no longer maintain a regular presence in Northern Ireland waters with the disbandment of the Northern Ireland Squadron. The Royal Navy's main presence is HMS Hibernia, which serves as the HQ of the Royal Naval Reserve's Ulster Division.Battle of Jutland veteran HMS Caroline to stay in Belfast Belfast Telegraph, 1 December 2009

Orders of battle Northern Ireland District Organization in 1939 Before the start of the Second World War, the British Army in Northern Ireland was known as "Northern Ireland District". It controlled many units including:

Headquarters – Belfast Regular Troops Northern Ireland District Signal Company, Royal Corps of Signals – Belfast 2nd Battalion, The South Wales Borderers – Derry 1st Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment – Holywood 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment – Ballykinler 2nd Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment – Belfast Commander Royal Artillery, Northern Ireland District Belfast Fire Command – Belfast Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Depot – Omagh The Royal Ulster Rifles Depot – Armagh Territorial Army 188th (Antrim) Independent Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery – Belfast Antrim Fortress Royal Engineers – Belfast The Supplementary Reserve North Irish Horse – Belfast 3rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters – Belfast 3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (Belfast) 8th (Belfast) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA 9th (Derry) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery Other Units 26th Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps – Belfast 53rd Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps – Belfast 54th Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps – Derry 15th Field Hospital Company, Royal Army Medical Corps – Holywood Northern Ireland District, Royal Army Ordnance Corps – Carrickfergus Northern Ireland District, Royal Army Pay Corps – Belfast

HQ Northern Ireland formations, December 1989

In December 1989 the following units were based in Northern Ireland under command of HQ Northern Ireland: Headquarters Northern Ireland, Lisburn, covering Northern Ireland 3rd Infantry Brigade, Armagh 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, Omagh 2nd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Armagh 3rd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Down 11th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, Craigavon 8th Infantry Brigade, Derry 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment 4th (v) Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers, Portadown 4th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Fermanagh 5th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Londonderry 6th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Tyrone 8th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Tyrone 39th Infantry Brigade, Lisburn 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers (TA), Armagh 1st/9th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Down 3rd Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, County Down 7th/10th Battalion, Ulster Defence Regiment, Belfast 655 Squadron AAC, Aldergrove 1 Flight AAC, Aldergrove

General Officers Commanding Northern Ireland General Officers Commanding have included:Whitaker's Almanacks 1922 – 2010Northern Ireland Command at Regiments.org

Northern Ireland District General Sir Archibald Cameron 1922–1925 General Sir Felix Ready 1926–1929 General Sir Arthur Wauchope 1929–1931 Major-General Sir Eric Girdwood 1931–1935 Major-General James Cooke-Collis 1935–1938 Major-General Robert Pollok 1938–1940 Major-General Hubert Huddleston 1940 Major-General Ridley Pakenham-Walsh 1940–1941 Major-General Vivian Majendie 1941–1943 Major-General Alan Cunningham 1943–1944 Major-General Gerard Bucknall 1944–1948 Major-General Ouvry Roberts 1948–1949 Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Denning 1949–1952 Lieutenant-General Sir John Woodall 1952–1955 Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Kimmins 1955–1958 Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Packard 1959–1961

Northern Ireland Command Lieutenant-General Sir John Hackett 1961–1963 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Anderson 1963–1965 Lieutenant-General Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick 1965–1966 Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Harris 1966–1969 Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Freeland 1969–1971 Lieutenant-General Vernon Erskine-Crum 1971 General Sir Harry Tuzo 1971–1973 General Sir Frank King 1973–1975 Lieutenant-General Sir David House 1975–1977 General Sir Timothy Creasey 1977–1979 General Sir Richard Lawson 1979–1982 Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Richardson 1982–1985 General Sir Robert Pascoe 1985–1988 General Sir John Waters 1988–1990 General Sir John Wilsey 1990–1993 General Sir Roger Wheeler 1993–1996 General Sir Rupert Smith 1996–1998 Lieutenant General Sir Hew Pike 1998–2000 General Sir Alistair Irwin 2000–2003 Lieutenant General Sir Philip Trousdell 2003–2005 General Sir Redmond Watt 2005–2006 Lieutenant General Nick Parker 2006–2007 Major General Chris Brown 2008–2009

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