Back Lane drill hall | |
---|---|
Newtown, Powys | |
Back Lane drill hall (on the left) | |
Coordinates | 52°30′59″N3°19′03″W / 52.51633°N 3.31763°W Coordinates: 52°30′59″N3°19′03″W / 52.51633°N 3.31763°W |
Type | Drill hall |
Site history | |
Built | 1855 |
Built for | War Office |
In use | 1855 – 1955 |
The Back Lane drill hall is a former military installation in Newtown, Wales.
Newtown, the largest town in the county of Powys, Wales, lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw large population growth as firms settled, changing its market town character. Its 2001 population of 12,783 eased to 11,357 at the 2011 census. It is known as the birthplace of Robert Owen in 1771, whose house stood on the present site of the HSBC Bank. The town has a theatre, Theatr Hafren, and a public gallery, Oriel Davies, displaying contemporary arts and crafts.
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.
The building was designed as the headquarters of the 5th Volunteer Battalion, The South Wales Borderers and was completed in 1897. [1] This unit evolved to become the 7th Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1908. [2] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Gallipoli and ultimately to the Western Front. [3]
The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It first came into existence, as the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1689. Based at Brecon the regiment recruited from the border counties of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire and Brecknockshire, but was not called the South Wales Borderers until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in a great many conflicts, including the American Revolutionary War, various conflicts in India, the Zulu War, Second Boer War, and World War I and World War II. In 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the Welch Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Wales.
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and to take part in the imminent war with France. The regiment was numbered as the 23rd Regiment of Foot, though it was one of the first regiments to be granted the honour of a fusilier title and so was known as The Welch Regiment of Fusiliers from 1702. The "Royal" accolade was earned fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713.
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
After the Second World War the battalion converted to become the 636th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Royal Welch) and then amalgamated with the 635th (Royal Welch) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery to form the 446th (Royal Welch) Airborne Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery at Caernarfon Barracks in 1955. [2] The Back Lane drill hall was then decommissioned and was subsequently used for local community events including amateur dramatics. [4]
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Holocaust, mass strategic bombing of cities, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war so far.
Caernarfon Barracks is a former military installation in Caernarfon, Wales.
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