| Arborfield Garrison | |
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Arborfield Garrison
Arborfield Garrison shown within Berkshire |
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| OS grid reference | SU767656 |
|---|---|
| Parish | Arborfield and Newland |
| Barkham | |
| Unitary authority | Wokingham |
| Ceremonial county | Berkshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Berkshire | |
Arborfield Garrison is a British Army garrison in the English county of Berkshire, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south east of the village of Arborfield Cross. The Garrison and its associated housing estates are split between the civil parishes of Arborfield and Newland and Barkham. Both parishes are within the unitary authority of Wokingham.
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The garrison was established in 1911 as the Remount Depot, which supplied the military with horses for both operational and ceremonial purposes.[1]
During the Second World War, the garrison functioned as the Army Technical School. Since its establishment, the garrison has been the location of a number of Army Apprentices College and technical schools, and has provided apprenticeships to an estimated 50,000 trainees.[1]
The Garrison was also the home of "Depot" REME, this was housed at Poperinge Barracks. The Barracks was named after a small town in Belgium and was previously located in the south-west of Arborfield Garrison, having been built back in 1939 to accommodate two Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiments of the Royal Artillery. These remained at Arborfield until just prior to D-Day in June 1944. Following their departure and up to July 1946, the barracks were then used as an Army depot for the assembly and dispatch of troops bound for service in north-west Europe.
In that month of July 1946, the REME Training Centre was formed and a Regimental Training Tactical Wing was established in the barracks - now to be known as 'Training Battalion and Depot REME'. The Barracks consisted of wooden huts mostly grouped in 'spiders', each spider being made up of six huts joined by corridors to central washing and utility rooms.
It was to be thirty-one years later, in October 1977, when Poperinge barracks finally closed as a training centre. Over the whole thirty-eight years of its existence, literally thousands of REME soldiers passed through the gates of Poperinge Barracks, on their way to operations and postings all over the world.
Arborfield is currently the location of the Regimental Headquarters of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of the British Army. Within the Garrison is a significant area of housing, containing a mixture of military and civilian properties.
The garrison contains Hazebrouck Barracks, which is a training base for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) School of Electronic and Aeronautical Engineering (SEAE). The potential craftsmen within SEAE, study in the school to learn a trade as aircraft technicians, avionics technicians, and electronics technicians, (which encompasses all maintenanence operatives for all land based electronic equipment).
The Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (DCAE), established on 1 April 2004 as a result of the Defence Training Review (DTR), is responsible for training of aircraft and avionic technicians. This college from its conception has been integrated as part of SEAE.[2]
The REME Museum of Technology is situated adjacent to the Hazebrouck Barracks main gate.
In 2004, Reading F.C. moved their training facilities to Hogwood Park, located within the garrison.[3][4]
It has been announced by the British Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox in July 2011 that Lyneham will be the new site of the Defence Technical Training Change Programme centre.[5] This coincides with the closure of REME's Technical training establishments at Arborfield Garrison and Borden Garrison, both of which are due to move to Lyneham by 2015.[6]
Under current plans the land will be sold to Wokingham District Council who wish to develop the land which will include 3,500 houses, retail units and a Secondary School.[7]
Arborfield Old Boys' Association Open to all ex-apprentices and PS of the Arborfield Army Apprentices School, or College or Princess Marina College, or Army Technical Foundation College - depends on when you joined. We meet every summer for our reunions - so why not join us?
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