Stirling Lines

Stirling Lines
Near Credenhill, Herefordshire, in England
Stirling Lines
Location in Herefordshire
Coordinates 52°05′06″N 002°47′42″W / 52.08500°N 2.79500°W / 52.08500; -2.79500Coordinates: 52°05′06″N 002°47′42″W / 52.08500°N 2.79500°W / 52.08500; -2.79500
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator  British Army
Site history
In use Hereford 1984-1999
Credenhill 1999-present
Garrison information
Occupants 22 SAS
658 Sqn AAC
SRR
264 Sig Sqn (SAS)
267 Sig Sqn (SRR)

Stirling Lines is a British Army garrison in Credenhill, Herefordshire the headquarters of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS) with the site formerly a Royal Air Force non-flying station for training schools RAF Credenhill.[1][2]

History

In 1958, the Special Air Service (SAS) was temporarily based at Merebrook Camp in Malvern, Worcestershire a former emergency military hospital that had remained largely unused since 1945.[3] In 1960, the SAS moved to a former Royal Artillery boys' training unit, Bradbury Lines in Hereford, which was renamed in 1984 to Stirling Lines in honour of the regiment's founder, Colonel David Stirling.[1] In 1994, the RAF ceased using RAF Credenhill, the Army then obtaining the site to redevelop as a new base for the SAS; works commenced in 1997.[4][1] The SAS commenced relocation of staff and equipment to Credenhill from Hereford with the redevelopment of the site. The move was completed in May 1999.[4][1] On 30 September 2000, the official opening ceremony was held for the new Stirling Lines with the clock tower re-erected on the new parade ground.[1][3] The Hereford site was sold to a property developer in March 2001.[5]

Based units

The following notable units are based at Stirling Lines:[6][7]

British Army

Joint Forces Command (UK Special Forces)

Joint Forces Command (UK Special Forces) / Royal Corps of Signals

Army Air Corps

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Goodwin, Nicola (6 May 2010). "SAS: Troopers tell their stories". BBC. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "RAF Hereford (Credenhill) - RAF Stations - H". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. M B Barrass. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 Bennett, Richard M. (2003). Elite forces : an encyclopedia of the world's most formidable secret armies. London: Virgin. ISBN 9781852279745.
  4. 1 2 "Unit History: RAF Credenhill". Forces War Records. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Former SAS site plan set to impact". Hereford Times. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Coughlin, Con (30 January 2013). "The SAS: a very special force". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Special forces regiment created". BBC News. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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