| Victoria Barracks, Bodmin | |
|---|---|
| Bodmin | |
 The keep, now a museum | |
  Victoria Barracks, Bodmin Location within Cornwall | |
| Coordinates | 50°27′55″N04°42′54″W / 50.46528°N 4.71500°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1859 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1859-1968 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry |
Victoria Barracks was a military installation in Bodmin, Cornwall.
The barracks originally comprised a keep, adjoining stables and a parade ground completed in 1859. [1] In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the barracks became the depot for the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot and the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot. [2] Following the Childers Reforms, the 32nd and 46th Regiments amalgamated to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry with its depot in the barracks in 1881. [2] The keep became the gatehouse and a hospital and married quarters were added at that time. [1]
During the Second World War the barracks were an infantry training centre. [3] In 1959 the barracks became the depot of the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry and continued in that role until the regiment was disbanded in 1968. [4]
The keep is still standing and hosts Bodmin Keep, Cornwall's Army Museum. Founded in 1925, the museum displays small arms, machine guns, maps, uniforms and paintings, and George Washington's Bible, captured by the 46th Regiment of Foot in 1777. [5] Exhibits also included Harry Patch's medals [6] and Herbert Carter's Victoria Cross. [7]
The Rifle Volunteers was a regiment of the British Territorial Army. In 2007, it was re-designated as 6th Battalion, The Rifles.
Major Samuel Hill Lawrence VC, born in Cork, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
William Oxenham VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry (SCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in October 1959 by the merger of the Somerset Light Infantry and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and was itself merged with three other regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade in 1968 to form The Light Infantry.
The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry which was again amalgamated, in 1968, with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry. In 2007, however, The Light Infantry was amalgamated further with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to form The Rifles.
The 32nd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 46th Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881.
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The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the Dorset Regiment to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment which, in 2007, was amalgamated with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, the Royal Green Jackets and The Light Infantry to form a new large regiment, The Rifles.
The Keep, Dorchester is part of the former county barracks of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot. The barracks were built in about 1880 and housed various regiments as units were amalgamated. It ceased to be used in 1958 and most of the site was redeveloped in the 1960s, but the keep remained in Ministry of Defence hands and is now used as a regimental museum.
The 46th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881, becoming the 2nd Battalion of the new regiment.
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959.
In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.
DMS Whittington, otherwise known as Defence Medical Services Whittington, is a military base in Whittington, Staffordshire, near Lichfield in England. It is home to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, the Headquarters of the Surgeon General and subordinate medical headquarters, and the location of the Defence Medical Academy.
The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital before returning to full duty. Normally, a variety of regimental stores will also be kept at the depot. The regimental depot is not the same as the regimental headquarters, though in practice the two will often be co-located in the same place.
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Gibraltar Barracks is a military installation located on Out Risbygate, Bury St Edmunds.
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