Bulford Camp
Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about 2 1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) northeast of the town of Amesbury.
Bulford Camp | |
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Bulford | |
![]() Gaza Road, Bulford Camp | |
![]() ![]() Bulford Camp Location within Wiltshire | |
Coordinates | 51°11′28″N 1°44′03″W |
Type | Military Base |
Site information | |
Owner | Ministry of Defence |
Operator | ![]() |
Site history | |
Built | 1897 |
Built for | War Office |
In use | 1897-Present |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | 3rd (UK) Division 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment 5th Battalion The Rifles |
![](../I/m/lossy-page1-220px-Bulford_Camp_during_World_War_II.tif.jpg)
History
The camp was built as a mixture of tents and huts in 1897.[1] The section called Sling Camp was occupied by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War. At the end of the war, the overcrowded camp was the site of the Battle of Bulford, when New Zealand troops staged a brief mutiny.[2][3] Later, New Zealanders awaiting demobilization left their mark by creating the Bulford Kiwi, a large chalk figure on the hillside overlooking the camp.[4][5]
Permanent barracks were built during the inter-war years: the current names were applied in 1931.[6] Carter Barracks, a hutted camp north of Bulford Droveway, beyond the northern boundary of the present site, were built in 1939-40 and demolished in 1978.[7]
Headquarters South West District was established at the camp in 1967,[8] but was disbanded on the formation of HQ Land Command in 1995.[9]
Today
The modern-day Bulford Camp is on two sites, separated by Marlborough Road. The camp on the eastern side contains Picton Barracks which since 1992 has housed the headquarters of 3rd (UK) Division and its Signals Regiment.[10] Kiwi Barracks, where many of the streets are named after New Zealand towns, houses 3rd Regiment Royal Military Police.[11] 5th Battalion The Rifles moved to Bulford Camp from Germany in 2016.[12]
The camp on the western side contains Ward Barracks which houses the headquarters of 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.[13] The Headquarters of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police is housed at Campion Lines which is also on the western side.[14]
The Household Cavalry Regiment moved from Combermere Barracks to Bulford Camp in May 2019.[15]
Churches
![](../I/m/Garrison_Church_of_St._George%2C_Bulford_Camp_-_geograph.org.uk_-_485329.jpg)
The garrison church of St George was built in 1920–1927.[16] Pevsner describes it as "large, Perpendicular, spick and span and smug".[17]
The Catholic church of Our Lady Queen of Peace was built in 1968, replacing a church of Our Lady of Victories which was opened in 1925.[7]
Schools
Kiwi Primary School, under County Council control since 1948, serves the camp from a building which was opened in 1965.[18]
The first school at the camp was opened in Wing Barracks before 1915, then transferred to the County Council in 1948 and renamed Wing County Junior School in 1955. In 1963 this school was combined with Kiwi Infants' County School to form the present Kiwi School.[19] Until 1997 there was a second primary school, Haig County Primary School.[20][21]
Former railway
In 1906 the Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway was extended from Amesbury into the camp. The station within the camp was the terminus for personnel while a goods track extended into Sling Camp. This extension was removed in 1933; the whole line closed to passengers in 1952 but goods services continued until 1963.[22]
References
- "Bulford Camp Then and Now". Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- "Merely For the Record": The Memoirs of Donald Christopher Smith 1894-1980. By Donald Christopher Smith. Edited by John William Cox, Jr. Bermuda. (A Bermudian officer (1914 Rhodes Scholar for Bermuda, later a prominent lawyer, and a Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) of Bermuda for twenty years) serving in the Royal Field Artillery, Lieutenant Smith's unit, among others, was sent with small arms to surround Bulford Camp for two days, after which the mutiny fizzled out).
- The Rhodes Trust. Register Of Bermuda Rhodes Scholars: 1914 - Smith, Donald Christopher (his brother, Sir Allan Chalmers Smith, was the 1912 Rhodes Scholar. 1913 Rhodes Scholar, Major Charles G.G. Gilbert, MC, was their cousin, and his son was Major-General Glyn Gilbert)
- "Facelift for the Bulford Kiwi" (PDF). Drumbeat. July 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- Michael Daly (16 June 2017). "Recognition for a giant chalk kiwi, but some of the history is a bit awry". Drumbeat. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Bulford". Wiltshire Community History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 15 pp 61-70 - Parishes: Bulford". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Paxton, J. (1972). The Statesman's Year-Book 1972-73: The Encyclopaedia for the Businessman-of-The-World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-230-27101-2.
- "Land Command Shapes Up", Jane's Defence Weekly, 15 July 1995.
- "3 Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "The location in the UK of each army regiment". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- "5 Rifles". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- "12th Armoured Infantry Brigade". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Household Cavalry parade marks departure for Bulford". Military Times. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- "Church of St. George, Bulford". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 152. ISBN 0-14-0710-26-4.
- "Kiwi School, Bulford". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- "Wing County Junior School, Bulford". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- "Haig County Primary School, Bulford". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- "Haig County Primary School". EduBase. Department for Education. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. p. 27. ISBN 1904349331.
Further reading
- Colleen Brown (2018). The Bulford Kiwi: The Kiwi We Left Behind. David Bateman Limited. ISBN 978-1-86953-984-9.