Editing Carlisle (section)

==Armed forces==
[[File:Men waiting in ditches.jpg|thumb|Men of C Company 1st Battalion, [[Border Regiment]], waiting to repulse an attack by a [[Nazi Germany|German]] enemy barely {{cvt|100|yd|m}} away during the [[Battle of Arnhem]] in the Netherlands]]
As a frontier town for over a millennium and a half, Carlisle is a military city. It is the most besieged place in the British Isles, having been besieged at least ten times, and has garrisoned troops for most of its history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlisle Castle History and Research |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/carlisle-castle/history-and-research/ |access-date=5 May 2011 |publisher=English heritage |archive-date=4 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704140728/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/carlisle-castle/history-and-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Cumbria's County regiment, the [[Border Regiment]] made its headquarters at [[Carlisle Castle]]. The regiment was amalgamated with the [[King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)]] to become the [[King's Own Royal Border Regiment]] and subsequently the [[Duke of Lancaster's Regiment]] where its lineage continues. From 1720 to 1959, the regiment fought in many campaigns, including the [[French and Indian War]], the [[Battle of Culloden]], the [[First World War]] and the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Short History of the Border Regiment |publisher=Gale and Polden Ltd. |year=1944 |edition=6th}}</ref>

===RAF Carlisle===
{{Main|RAF Carlisle}}
[[RAF Carlisle]] also known as '''14 MU''' was located at Kingstown near the present-day [[Asda]]. The station closed in 1996 after nearly sixty years in a variety of roles. First established as '''RAF Kingstown''' in 1938, it was originally a bomber station, then one of the RAF's Elementary Flying Training Schools and latterly a post-war storage facility.

===RAF Spadeadam===
{{main|RAF Spadeadam}}
The largest RAF station by area in the country and one of only two [[electronic warfare]] ranges in Europe, [[RAF Spadeadam]] is located outside the City of Carlisle but maintains strong links with the local community; in 2018, it was awarded the Freedom of the City of Carlisle.<ref>{{cite news |title=RAF Spadeadam to receive Freedom of the City of Carlisle in celebration of RAF100 |url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2018/05/25/raf-spadeadam-to-receive-freedom-of-the-city-of-carlisle-in-celebration-of-raf100/ |access-date=23 August 2021 |work=Cumbria Crack |date=25 May 2018 |archive-date=11 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711011827/https://cumbriacrack.com/2018/05/25/raf-spadeadam-to-receive-freedom-of-the-city-of-carlisle-in-celebration-of-raf100/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Royal Observer Corps, Carlisle Group===
During the [[Second World War]] the air raid warning organisation No 32 Group Carlisle [[Royal Observer Corps]] operated in the city centre controlled from RAF Kingstown. The association with Kingstown developed further in 1962 when the ROC ceased its aircraft spotting role for the RAF and took on a new role plotting nuclear explosions and warning the public of radioactive fallout for the [[United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation]] (UKWMO).<ref>{{Cite web |title=ROC role |url=http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/atomic/ukwmo/ukwmo.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514094956/http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/atomic/ukwmo/ukwmo.htm |archive-date=14 May 2008 |access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref> A new administration building and a protected, hardened Nuclear Reporting bunker was built at RAF Carlisle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Observer Corps |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/roc/group_hq.html |access-date=1 January 2022 |first=Nick |last=Catford |website=Subterrania Britanica |archive-date=25 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025003958/http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/roc/group_hq.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2022}} The nuclear bunker was a standard above-ground structure and both the bunker and headquarters hutting were on a separate site at Crindledyke outside the main gates of RAF Carlisle. The Carlisle group was redesignated no 22 Group ROC.

The ROC constructed a smaller nuclear reporting post, Kingstown post (OS ref:NY 3837 5920), on the main RAF Carlisle site. The post was an underground protected bunker for a crew of three observers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuclear Monitoring Posts – Subterranea Britannica |url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/categories/nuclear-monitoring-posts/ |website=www.subbrit.org.uk |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=19 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419222654/https://www.subbrit.org.uk/categories/nuclear-monitoring-posts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The headquarters bunker accommodated an operational crew of around 100 with dormitory and canteen facilities an operations room and life support plant.

The Royal Observer Corps was stood down and its parent organisation the UKWMO was disbanded in December 1995 after the end of the [[Cold War]] and as a result of recommendations in the governments [[Options for Change]] review of UK defence. The ROC buildings were demolished in 1996 and replaced by a cellphone communications mast. The foundations of the nuclear bunker can still be partially seen outlined in the concreted yard, which also contains the Air Training Corps hut during recent further development of the site.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Subterranea Britannica: Research Study Group: Sites: Carlisle |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/c/carlisle/ |access-date=7 April 2017 |archive-date=15 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615153436/http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/c/carlisle/ |url-status=live }}</ref>