Salisbury Plain Training Area

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Salisbury Plain Training Area
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain warning sign.jpg
Sign on Salisbury Plain
Wiltshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Salisbury Plain Training Area
Location within Wiltshire
Coordinates 51°14′49″N1°53′31″W / 51.247°N 1.892°W / 51.247; -1.892
TypeTraining Area
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Controlled byFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Site history
Built for War Office
In use1898–present

The Salisbury Plain Training Area is a large expanse of land on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, which is managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

History

Rough map of military training area (green) on Salisbury Plain within Wiltshire (blue); it accounts for about half the area of Salisbury Plain Wiltshire map with military training area on Salisbury Plain.jpg
Rough map of military training area (green) on Salisbury Plain within Wiltshire (blue); it accounts for about half the area of Salisbury Plain

The British Army's Salisbury Plain Training Area covers roughly half of the plain (and makes up about 11% of Wiltshire). The army first conducted exercises on the plain in 1898. From that time, the Ministry of Defence bought up large areas of land until the Second World War. The MoD now own 150 square miles (390 km2) of land, making it the largest military training area in the United Kingdom. [1] Much of this land is let to farmers or grazed under licence, while around 47 square miles (120 km2) (12,000 ha) are used for live firing, where public access is greatly restricted or permanently closed. [2] The land and facilities are managed by the MoD's Defence Infrastructure Organisation. [3]

The largest camps and barracks in or near the training area are at Larkhill, Bulford, Tidworth, Trenchard Lines (Upavon) and Waterloo Lines (Warminster). [4] Copehill Down is an urban warfare training site. Several installations have been built and since removed, including the Stonehenge Aerodrome and Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway. A grass aerodrome at Netheravon was used by the RAF until 1963, then by the Army Air Corps until 2012, and is now a tri-service installation. [5]

The Royal School of Artillery has been based at Larkhill since 1915, and live firing is conducted on the plain for approximately 340 days of each year. In the early 2000s, military personnel from the UK and around the world spent some 600,000-man days on the plain every year. [6]

In 1943, the village of Imber was evacuated to allow training for Operation Overlord to be conducted. The village, in an isolated position within the plain, has remained closed except for an annual church service and some bank holidays. Roads in the Imber area are also closed, as they lie within the Imber Range live firing area; it is possible to walk all 30 miles (48 km) of the perimeter of the range on public footpaths. [2]

Keevil Airfield, a few miles north of the training area, is used by aircraft and helicopters during exercises. [7] The training area is close to other military facilities including the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down (much of whose work is secret), Boscombe Down airfield, and Middle Wallop Army Air Corps Base in Hampshire, where pilots train on the Westland Apache. [8]

BFBS Radio broadcasts from studios on Marlborough Road, Bulford, on DAB, FM and satellite channels. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imber</span> Human settlement in England

Imber is an uninhabited village and former civil parish within the British Army's training area, now in the parish of Heytesbury, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. It lies in an isolated area of the Plain, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) west of the A360 road between Tilshead and West Lavington. A linear village, its main street follows the course of a stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal School of Artillery</span> Military unit

The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is based at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of the Salisbury Plain Training Area. The school is the primary training facility for Royal Artillery recruits, and is also home to the Gunnery Training Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larkhill</span> Army Garrison near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England

Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) west of the centre of Durrington village and 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about 10 mi (16 km) north of Salisbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allington, Salisbury</span> Village in Wiltshire, England

Allington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Amesbury and 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Salisbury. The parish includes the village of Boscombe; both villages are on the River Bourne and the A338 road. Most of the west boundary of the parish is also the county boundary with Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulford</span> Village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain

Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, near Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitterne</span> Human settlement in England

Chitterne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. The village lies in the middle of Salisbury Plain, about 7 miles (11 km) east of the town of Warminster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Sarum Airfield</span> Airport in Salisbury

Old Sarum Airfield is a grass strip airfield 2 nautical miles north-north-east of Salisbury, in Laverstock parish, Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Keevil</span> Former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England

Royal Air Force Keevil or more simply RAF Keevil is a former Royal Air Force station lying between the villages of Keevil and Steeple Ashton, about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the town of Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durrington, Wiltshire</span> Village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England

Durrington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Amesbury, 10 miles (16 km) north-northeast of the city of Salisbury, and 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northeast of the Stonehenge monument. It is on the eastern part of Salisbury Plain, the largest remaining area of chalk grassland in northwest Europe. The parish includes the hamlet of Hackthorn, on the northern outskirts of Durrington, and the military settlement of Larkhill, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulford Kiwi</span> Chalk carving in Wiltshire, England

The Bulford Kiwi is a large depiction of a kiwi, carved in the chalk on Beacon Hill above the military town of Bulford on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It was created in 1919 by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who were awaiting repatriation following the end of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netheravon</span> Village in Wiltshire, England

Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon and A345 road, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulford Camp</span> Military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England

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) north-east of the town of Amesbury. The camp forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figheldean</span> Human settlement in England

Figheldean is a village and civil parish on the River Avon, 3+1⁄2 miles (6 km) north of Amesbury in Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netheravon Airfield</span> Ministry of Defence grass strip airfield on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England

Netheravon Airfield is a Ministry of Defence grass strip airfield on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1913 by the Royal Flying Corps, it became RAF Netheravon from 1918 until 1963, then AAC Netheravon until 2012. Buildings from 1913 and 1914 survive on part of the site. The site forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison.

The Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway was a branch line in Wiltshire, England, constructed under a light railway order dated 24 September 1898. It was opened for military traffic from Amesbury to the east-facing Newton Tony Junction on 1 October 1901. A west-facing junction, Amesbury Junction, where the branch burrowed under the main line, opened on 2 June 1902. The line closed in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rollestone</span> Human settlement in England

Rollestone is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shrewton, on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, England. It is near the River Till. Its nearest town is Amesbury, about 5 miles (8.0 km) away to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterloo Lines</span>

Waterloo Lines is a British Army barracks on Imber Road in Warminster, Wiltshire, England. It is currently home to a number of Army specialist training schools and a sizeable portion of the Headquarters Field Army.

South West District was a district command of the British Army between 1967 and 1995.

Policing in the English county of Wiltshire (including the borough of Swindon) is the responsibility of several civilian and military authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehenge Aerodrome</span>

Stonehenge Aerodrome or Stonehenge Airfield was a short-lived military airfield of the Royal Flying Corps on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, in use from 1917 to 1921. It was built around 300 metres (980 ft) south-west of Stonehenge on the site of existing cottages, and spanned both sides of the New Direct Road turnpike. The base was opened in November 1917, construction having started earlier in that year, as part of the scaling up of military flying capability for World War I. The aerodrome was not complete when the war ended, but construction continued past the end of the war.

References

  1. ↑ "Salisbury Plain Training Area". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Imber Range Perimeter Path". GOV.UK. Defence Estates. 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "The defence training estate". Ministry of Defence. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "A Better Defence Estate" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. November 2016. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Officers' Mess and Quarters, Airfield Camp (1284240)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "ATE Salisbury Plain (leaflet)". British Army. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Residents of Wiltshire treated to open day at Keevil Airfield". Royal Air Force. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "673sq is back!". Scramble.nl. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "Forces radio stations merge". Salisbury Journal. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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