British Forces Aden, as the British armed forces stationed in Aden Protectorate were known, was originally established as the Aden Command in 1928, and renamed British Forces Aden in 1936.

British forces captured Aden in 1839, seeking a strategic base in southern Arabia that could be used to protect British interests in the region, and in particular trade routes to and from India. Initially, the port of Aden was administered by British authorities in India, but during the course of the 19th century, treaties were drawn with local rulers, leading to the establishment of the Aden Protectorate, an area which encompassed the port of Aden and surrounding territories, and which the British had hoped would serve as a buffer to the Ottoman Empire. In 1937, the protectorate became a Crown Colony of the British Empire. By the 1950s, under pressure from Arab nationalist forces in surrounding countries, the British brokered agreements with local rulers to form the Federation of South Arabia. An insurgency of anti-British guerrillas eventually led to the full withdrawal of British forces in 1967, and the subsequent establishment of the Marxist-led People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden_Protectorate, accessed 16 July 2025.