Queen Elizabeth Barracks is a military installation in

Strensall Strensall is a village in the Strensall with Towthorpe civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Foss north of York and north-east of Haxby. From the 2011 Census, the civil parish of ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England.

History

Strensall Camp, which covers about and stretches to Towthorpe (to the west), was formed by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in 1884 for training troops. The land that formed the common and Lord's Moor itself was bought in 1876 for £300,000 From the then lord of the manor, Leonard Thompson and other landowners. This arrangement was made permanent in 1884 through the Strensall Common Act. The Act was part of the response of the Government to the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...

, a series of reforms of the British Army by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 designed to put the British Army on a more professional footing and to create reserve forces stationed around the country. The main purpose of the Act was stated as: Though the Ministry of Defence exercises all legal rights over all of the training area, the Act of 1884 enshrines the rights of civilians to have common access rights when not in use for military purposes. When training commenced, it was home to up to 8,0000 soldiers under canvas, until permanent buildings were erected in 1880. The camp was an important mustering point for troops prior to mobilisation for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. During the

second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the camp was also the training ground for the local Haxby and Wiggington Home Guard. The barracks were renamed Queen Elizabeth Barracks in the 1950s and went on to become the regional centre for infantry training as the

Yorkshire Brigade The Yorkshire Brigade was an administrative brigade formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of Yorkshire, England. After the Second World War there were 14 infantry depots in Britai ...

Depôt in 1960. This followed the 1957 Defence Review that resulted in the amalgamation of a number of battalions and regiments and the renaming of the Yorkshire and Northumberland Brigade to be simply the

. The barracks then became the depot of the

King's Division The King's Division was a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. History The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshi ...

in 1968 following the unification of the Yorkshire Brigade with the Lancastrian and North Irish Brigades. Recruit basic training included drill, weapons training, fieldcraft as well as recreational opportunities before passing out. On 11 June 1974, the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

planted and exploded devices at the camp, though there was no loss of life. In November 2016, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

announced that the site would close in 2021. This was subsequently extended to 2024.

Site details

The current site has capacity for a turnover of 120,000 accommodation spaces to be used in each training year. There is separate messing facilities for Junior Ranks, Senior Non Commissioned Officers and Officers. Other facilities include workshops, Motor Transport garage and offices. Entrance to the site is from Strensall Road which forms the western boundary of the camp. A number of sporting facilities are also on site and include grass pitches for Football, Rugby, Hockey and Cricket. Like a number of military establishments, the barracks has its own church, St Wilfred's. The geology of the site consists of a bedrock of Sherwood Sandstone. There are drift deposits that belong to the Sutton Sand Formation.

Current units

Current units at the site are: *Army Training Unit (North East) *1st (United Kingdom) Divisional Training Advisory Team (DTAT) *Headquarters, Yorkshire (North and West) Army Cadet Force *Strensall Detachment, B Company, Yorkshire (North and West) Army Cadet Force *4 Infantry Brigade Cadet Training Team *Headquarters, 2nd Medical Brigade **

Medical Operational Support Group Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

(V) ** 34th Field Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps ** 306th Hospital Support Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps (V) ** 335th Medical Evacuation Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps (V) ** Central Reserve Headquarters, Royal Army Medical Corps (V) ** Army Medical Service Training Centre

References

{{reflist, 2 Installations of the British Army Barracks in England