Bovington Camp
| Bovington Camp | |
|---|---|
| Near Dorchester | |
| File:Tank Training Area - geograph.org.uk - 432220.jpg Tank Training Area | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Barracks |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | File:Flag of the British Army.svg British Army |
| Location | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1899 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1899–present |
Bovington Camp (/ˈbɒvɪŋtən/) is a British Army military base in Dorset, South West England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison.
The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland training areas that support Phase Two training for soldiers of the Royal Armoured Corps and trade training for the Household Cavalry Regiment as well as other armoured units. It also houses The Tank Museum on its property.
History
[edit | edit source]
The camps at Bovington and Lulworth were originally established in 1899 as an infantry training area and ranges. In 1916, they became training camps for the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps which relocated from Norfolk. The Heavy Branch was responsible for the operation of the tank in the British Army. In 1917 the Heavy Branch split from the Machine Gun Corps to become the Tank Corps, with the Depot and Central Schools being based at Bovington.[1]
On 13 May 1935, whilst returning home to his residential cottage, Clouds Hill, T. E. Lawrence went to send a telegram. He swerved to avoid a collision with two boys on bicycles on the narrow road, lost control and was thrown from his Brough Superior SS100. He was rushed to a nearby military hospital at Bovington Camp, where he remained in a coma for six days until his death from sustained head injuries on 19 May.[citation needed]
In 1937 the Central Schools became the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, with driving and maintenance training at Bovington and gunnery at Lulworth. The School became known as the Royal Armoured Corps Centre in 1947, now renamed The Armour Centre.[1]
Resident units
[edit | edit source]The camp is home to:
Ministry of Defence
- Defence Support Group[2]
British Army
- Headquarters, Royal Armoured Corps[3]
- Regimental Headquarters, Royal Wessex Yeomanry, at Allenby Barracks
- Regimental Headquarters, Royal Tank Regiment, at Stanley Barracks[4]
- Armoured Trials and Development Unit[2][5]
- The Armour Centre[6]
- Combat Communication Information Systems (CIS) School[7]
- Armoured Fighting Vehicle Training Group[6]
- Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, at Allenby Barracks[6]
- Armoured Fighting Vehicle Schools Regiment
- Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Communications, Driving & Maintenance[6]
- Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Gunnery, at Lulworth Camp[6][8]
Royal Navy
- Royal Navy Centre of Recruiting[9]
- Royal Navy School of Recruiting[9]
- Viking Squadron, at Stanley Barracks[10]
Training
[edit | edit source]Soldiers and Officers attend stage 2 training at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Training Group following initial training and undertake courses in gunnery, signals, driving, vehicle maintenance and tactics. The centre also provides through career, and promotion, training for soldiers and officers. The group delivers course through three operating sections; Communications, Gunnery and Driving & Maintenance. The majority of this training is delivered at Bovington Camp with live gunnery activities taking place at nearby Lulworth Ranges.[11]
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
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