Tidworth Camp
| Tidworth Camp | |
|---|---|
| Tidworth | |
|
Lucknow Barracks | |
  Tidworth Camp Location within Wiltshire | |
| Coordinates | 51°13′56″N 1°40′28″W / 51.23217°N 1.67451°WCoordinates: 51°13′56″N 1°40′28″W / 51.23217°N 1.67451°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator |
 British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1897 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1897-Present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants |
1st Armoured Infantry Brigade 1st Artillery Brigade and Headquarters South West |
Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire.
History
The Camp was established when the War Office acquired Tedworth House and large tracts of land to the north of the house in 1897.[1] Southern Command was established at Tidworth Camp in 1905.[2]
Lucknow Barracks and Mooltan Barracks were completed in 1905, Tidworth Military Hospital was finished in 1907 and a Royal Ordnance depot was established during the First World War.[1] Aliwal Barracks, Assaye Barracks, Bhurtpore Barracks, Candahar Barracks, Delhi Barracks and Jellalabad Barracks were added later.[3] The names of the barracks evoke memories of battles in India and Afghanistan (e.g. Aliwal, Assaye, Bhurtpore, Candahar, Delhi, Jellalabad, Lucknow and Mooltan). During the Second World War the Camp was home to 8th Armored Division, a formation of the United States Army.[4]
A branch from the Midland and South Western Junction Railway at Ludgershall was built in 1901 and opened to passengers in 1902.[5][6] Goods tracks known as Tidworth Military Railway continued from Tidworth station into the military area. The branch returned to military control in 1955 and was closed in 1963.[1]
Tidworth Military Cemetery was set up to serve the barracks. It includes the war graves of 417 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 106 of the Second World War.[7]
Southern Command left the Camp and moved to Erskine Barracks near Fugglestone St Peter in 1949.[8] The Military Hospital closed in March 1977.[9]
Today
Delhi Barracks is home to Headquarters 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade and its affiliated units[10] and Jellalabad Barracks is home to Headquarters 1st Artillery Brigade and Headquarters South West and its affiliated units.[11]
In 2006 Aspire Defence won a 35-year private finance initiative (PFI) contract called Project Allenby Connaught to provide over 500 new or refurbished buildings and deliver a range of services across several garrisons, from construction to catering, stores management, transport, building maintenance, grounds maintenance and cleaning.[12] The renovation of existing buildings and the construction of new buildings aims to improve the quality of life for soldiers living and working on Tidworth Camp. Extensive reconstruction at the Camp involving 160 new or refurbished buildings was carried out between 2006 and 2014.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "Tidworth Concise History". Wiltshire County Council. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "General Sir Ian Hamilton". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Tidworth Overview". Aspire Defence. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ Leach, Charles R. (1956). In Tornado's Wake Argus. ISBN 0-89839-176-8.
- ↑ Historic England. "Tidworth Military Railway (1359011)". PastScape. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ Crawford, T.S. (1 August 2012). Wiltshire and the Great War. Crowood. ISBN 978 1 84797 447 1.
- ↑ "Tidworth Military Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ↑ "'Fugglestone St Peter', in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6". 1962. pp. 37–50. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Tidworth Military Hospital". Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "1 Armoured Infantry Brigade". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Historic event takes place in Tidworth Camp". British Army. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ↑ "Defence Infrastructure Organisation: Project Allenby Connaught". Ministry of Defence. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2015.