| Stockport Armoury | |
|---|---|
| Stockport | |
 Stockport Armoury | |
  Stockport Armoury Location in Greater Manchester | |
| Coordinates | 53°24′10″N2°09′42″W / 53.40266°N 2.16165°W |
| Type | Drill hall |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1862 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1862 – Present |
Stockport Armoury is a military installation in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The building was designed by Henry Bowman as the headquarters of the 4th Administrative Battalion, Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1862. [2] The unit evolved to become the 4th Volunteer Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment in 1883 and the 6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment in 1908. [3] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front [4] and then being disbanded in 1920. [3]
After the war, a new 6th (Cheshire and Shropshire) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, was formed at the Armoury from the Cheshire Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, incorporating the former 6th Bn Cheshire Regiment and the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery. In 1921, the new unit was redesignated 60th (6th Cheshire and Shropshire) Medium Brigade, RGA. [5] [6] [7] In the late 1930s, the unit was converted into 81st Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, which saw service in The Blitz, in the Orkney and Shetland Defences, and in the Middle East during World War II. After the war it became 360th (Mobile) Heavy AA Regiment, but was amalgamated with other regiments in Manchester when Anti-Aircraft Command was disbanded in 1955. [6]
"A" Company, the Mercian Volunteers was formed at the Armoury in 1967 and evolved to become the "A" Company, the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment in 1988 and Salerno Company, the Fire Support Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment in 1995. [8] The presence at the Armoury was reduced to a mortar platoon of "B" (Cheshire) Company, The King's and Cheshire Regiment in 1999, of "A" (Cheshire) Company, The West Midlands Regiment in 2006 and of "A" (Cheshire) Company, 4th Battalion, The Mercian Regiment in 2007. [8] The Armoury is still an active Army Reserve Centre. [9]
The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured, mechanised, air assault and light.
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed Network Enabled Capability. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 1968, the four regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade amalgamated to form The Light Infantry, with the 1st KSLI being redesignated as the 3rd Battalion of the new regiment.
The Isle of Man Volunteers was a nominal battalion of Britain's Volunteer Force formed during the 1860s and disbanded in 1920. Its service companies saw active service in the Second Boer War and World War I. During its existence, the battalion had the distinction of being the only representative of the Isle of Man in the British Army, and the last Volunteer Force unit.
The 42nd Infantry Brigade, also known as 42 Brigade, was a brigade of the British Army.
The Home Service Force (HSF) was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. Each HSF unit was placed with either a Regular Army or Territorial Army regiment or battalion for administrative purposes and given that formation's title, cap badge and recruited from volunteers aged 18–60 with previous British forces experience. It was introduced to guard key points and installations likely to be the target of enemy special forces and saboteurs, so releasing other units for mobile defence roles. It was stood down in 1992.
The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineage is maintained by C Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.
The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It was then amalgamated with the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery.
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The Prescott Street drill hall is a former military installation in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
The St Paul's Street drill hall is a military installation in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
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The Cheshire Artillery Volunteers was a brigade of Volunteer artillery units raised in the county of Cheshire in the mid-19th century. Their successors served as field artillery in Palestine during World War I and as anti-aircraft (AA) gunners in the Middle East in World War II. They continued in the air defence role in the Territorial Army until 1955.
The 6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was a Territorial Force (TF) unit of the British Army. Formed in 1908 from Volunteer units recruited in Cheshire since 1859, it was one of the first TF units to go to the Western Front in World War I. It had a wandering existence, moving frequently from one command to another, seeing a considerable amount of combat at the Somme, Ypres, during the German spring offensive and in the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive. After the war it was amalgamated into a local artillery regiment.
The 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters was a former territorial infantry battalion that existed for a short time towards the end of the Cold War. Following reductions to the Territorial Army (TA) in 1992, the battalion was disbanded with elements helping to form RHQ & HQ Sqn of 37 Signal Regiment, and 96 Signal Squadron. This squadron was then reduced to a signal troop in 2009, but continues to exist as part of 48 Signal Squadron.
The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment was a Territorial Army unit of the regular Staffordshire Regiment which was formed in 1988, but disbanded in 1999. The battalion's successor continues to serve in the Mercian Regiment to this day.
The Mercian Volunteers was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1988. Upon formation, it consisted of a singular battalion, however it later raised a second in 1975.
The 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was a part-time infantry battalion based in Cheshire, England and tasked with home defence during its tenure. The battalion was formed in the latter part of the Cold War, but later disbanded forming two companies in the new local Territorial Army (TA) regiment, the King's and Cheshire Regiment. Today, the battalion's lineage is continued in Mortar Platoon, B Company, 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment.
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