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The first recorded use by the military on the site of Ebrington Barracks was during the siege of Derry (1688 - 1689). King James II used the site to strategically bombard the Walled City during the siege (largely due to the fact that Ebrington is a much more elevated site and would have facilitated warfare).
A fort was located on the site with a battery of cannons directed towards the city. This structure was a rectangular enclosure with circular corner bastions to the north-west and an irregular complex of bastions to the south-west overlooking the city. Colonel O'Neill commanded a battery of canons and a regiment of infantry from this position.
In 1841, work commenced on the Ebrington Site to build what we now know to be the Star Fort after it was found that the area within the historic walls of Londonderry was getting 'tight'. The Fort saw its first expansion in 1875. Today, Parts of the Star Fort defensive walls can still be seen and cover the area around the existing Parade Ground.
In the 100 year initial history of Army use, the base was never used as a regimental depot but for most of the period housed parts of locally recruited regiments. A article in the Londonderry Standard in 1891 recorded the hope that the recently purchased land to expand the base would result in its becoming the main base for a regiment.
This was never to be. The 27th of Foot and 109th of Foot were initially stationed on the site. These evolved into the 1st Battalion the Enniskillen Dragoon Guards (main base Enniskillen) and the 2nd Battalion (Derry, Tyrone and Donegal) whose main base was located in Omagh. They occupied the site until the First World War being replaced during the war by the 3rd (reserve) Battalion of the Enniskillen Dragoon Guards.
After the 1st World War, the Barracks were host to a mixture of English and Scottish regiments posted to the city. Some of these regiments were the Sherwood Foresters, the
Leicester, Yorkshire and Lancashires, The South Wales Borderers and the Royal
Artillery.
At the start of the Second World War in 1939 a territorial unit from Wales replaced the
regular army. However, after the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940 the importance of
Ebrington and its city to the war effort steadily increased. The presence of U-boat
bases in France caused most Convoys from America to divert to the North Atlantic
route. Londonderry was the most westerly port and furthest from German airfields. A massive investment in port facilities and airfields was commenced. Many local people will remember the Airfield located at Maydown which no longer exists, along with Eglinton which is now the location of the City of Derry Airport.
The Army commander at Ebrington retained seniority for military matters in the city but
as the balance of military personnel shifted towards the Navy the Army presence was
reduced and the senior command was transferred to the Admiralty. Their commander
set up his headquarters in Dill House (now demolished) in the grounds of Magee
College.
In 1941 the Barracks were partly handed over to the first contingent of American
'technicians' to arrive in the city. These technicians were involved in the construction of
further military facilities prior to the formal entrance of America into the war.
In 1942 the barracks were transferred to the Royal Navy and incorporated into HMS
Ferret (the name for the Naval base in the City). At the peak of operations the base
handled an average of 120 Escort vessels and had a personnel strength of 30,000
men. Reports at the time describe the river thick with shipping. The base functioned as
a depot for ships refuelling and taking on munitions. It was also involved in the
development, planning and training of anti-submarine warfare throughout the war.
Devices claimed to be developed specifically at Ebrington include: sonar devices, antisubmarine weapons such as the Squid mortar system , depth charges and antisubmarine
tracking devices for planes. Squid mortar was developed and pressed into
action in a very short period. It increased the success rate in attacking submarines from
9% with depth charges to 35%. The Squid Mortar System was mounted on the prow of a ship. Whereas depth charges cut off radar contact, Squid used with Asdic radar meant that
ships did not have to travel over the top of their enemy. This allowed ships to keep radar contact while attacking submarines.
In 1945 the German U-boat fleet surrendered to the commander of HMS Ferret at
Lisahally. The boats were scuppered at the mouth of Lough Foyle.
The development of anti submarine doctrine and the coordination of air and naval
action had been closely associated with HMS Ferret during the war, and in the
subsequent period Ebrington remained a Naval Base and retained its role in anti
submarine development. The fort was renamed HMS Sea Eagle in 1947 and the Joint Anti-
Submarine School (JAAS) was added to its functions. This provided courses on Anti
Submarine warfare to all NATO countries until 1970. In 1955 the base was used as the
command base for a large Naval exercise involving a number of NATO Countries in the
North Atlantic. Rear Admiral GUG Simpson controlled the enemy 'Orange' submarine
force and Group Captain RT Gething of JAAS controlled their planes from Sea Eagle
premises. In 1951 the IRA raided the base and stole a quantity of arms causing
security to be increased. By the late 1950's however the Eglinton airbase and the
Kilnappy supply base (integral parts of the Navy facilities in the area) were closed and
operations were reduced at Sea Eagle. Small numbers of troops returned to the
barracks in 1958.
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In 1970 with the worsening security situation the base reverted to full Army use and to
its original name of Ebrington Barracks. It has been used as the headquarters of 8th Infantry Brigade throughout most of 'the Troubles'. This area covered the western of four command regions in the Province. Its parade ground has doubled as a helicopter pad and the link to the river has been used for quick connections to the main Cityside base: Fort George and for river patrols. The IRA attacked the base a number of times during the period of the conflict. A car bomb in the early seventies caused the main entrance to be relocated from Limavady Road, soldiers at the landing quay were attacked in the late 1980's and a bomb damaged the Browning Drive entrance to the base in the early nineties, causing the
guard house to be rebuilt. In January 2001 a mortar attack on the base caused a roof to
be damaged but did not explode. An IRA Bomb also exploded within the Warrant Officers & Sergeants Mess Killing Sgt David Evans of the Royal Engineers in 1976, and 18 year old Private Martin Pattern of the 1st Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment was shot dead on the Limavady Road as he returned to Ebrington Barracks in 1985.
The Chief Constable of the RUC announced in January 2002 that the Barracks would
close in response to the reduction of the terrorist threat and as part of demilitarisation.
The Final resident Battalion of Army personnel from The Coldstream Guards left Ebrington Barracks in 2003 and the Base closed.
The demolition process was done in different stages and started in 2005 with the removal of temporary structures When I visited the site in April 2008, this demolition work was nearing completion.
