Bovington Camp () is a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

training areas that support Phase Two training for soldiers of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

and trade training for the Household Cavalry Regiment as well as other armoured units. It also houses

The Tank Museum The Tank Museum (previously the Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about north of the village of Wool and west of the major port of Poole. The collectio ...

on its property.

History

British Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles TR113

The camps at Bovington and Lulworth were originally established in 1899 as an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

training area and ranges. In 1916, they became training camps for the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps which relocated from

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The Heavy Branch was responsible for the operation of the

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

in the

. In 1917 the Heavy Branch split from the Machine Gun Corps to become the Tank Corps, with the Depot and Central Schools being based at Bovington. In 1937 the Central Schools became the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, with driving and maintenance training at Bovington and gunnery at Lulworth. The School became known as the Royal Armoured Corps Centre in 1947, now renamed The Armour Centre.

Resident units

The camp is home to: Ministry of Defence * Defence Support Group British Army *Headquarters,

*Regimental Headquarters, Royal Wessex Yeomanry, at Allenby Barracks *Regimental Headquarters,

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

, at Stanley Barracks *Armoured Trials and Development Unit * The Armour Centre **Combat Communication Information Systems (CIS) School **Armoured Fighting Vehicle Training Group *** Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, at Allenby Barracks ***Armoured Fighting Vehicle Schools Regiment ****Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Communications, Driving & Maintenance ****Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Gunnery, at Lulworth Camp Royal Navy *

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Centre of Recruiting **Royal Navy School of Recruiting * Viking Squadron, at Stanley Barracks

Training

Soldiers and Officers attend stage 2 training at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Training Group following initial training and undertake courses in gunnery, signals, driving, vehicle maintenance and tactics. The centre also provides through career, and promotion, training for soldiers and officers. The group delivers course through three operating sections; Communications, Gunnery and Driving & Maintenance. The majority of this training is delivered at Bovington Camp with live gunnery activities taking place at nearby Lulworth Ranges.

References

External links

Armour Centre, Bovington
{{authority control Villages in Dorset Training establishments of the British Army Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Military training areas in the United Kingdom