Campbell Barracks is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

base located in

Swanbourne Swanbourne is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Winslow and three miles (4.8 km) west of Stewkley. History The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin and may mean "swan stream". It was recorded ...

, a coastal suburb of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. It is named after Lieutenant Colonel Campbell (1842–1924), former commandant of the Commonwealth Military Forces in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

History

Campbell Barracks was originally acquired in 1935, to house coastal artillery, two six-inch guns. It was to host the northernmost part of Fremantle Fortress, the

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

coastal defences. Improvement work was carried out under the supervision of No. 6 Heavy Battery,

Royal Australian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's f ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it hosted both artillery and garrison infantry, and the surviving officers from were interrogated there after their mutually destructive battle with on 19 November 1941, "housed in tents in a wired off area on the grass outside the barracks", until they were moved to Victoria. The

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, ...

(SASR) has been based at Campbell Barracks since the regiment was first established as an independent company in 1957. Although Campbell Barracks is the home of the SASR, most of the training and selection for the regiment takes place in Bindoon, Western Australia. The SASR is a special forces regiment of the Australian Army and is modelled on the original British SAS, while also drawing on the traditions of the Australian Z Special Force commando unit, and the Independent Companies which were active in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

during the Second World War. The SASR's three 'sabre squadrons' rotate between the war/reconnaissance and counterterrorism/recovery roles. Two squadrons are maintained in the war/reconnaissance role with the remaining squadron filling the counterterrorism/recovery role. Rotations occur every 12 months, so each squadron fulfils the counterterrorism/recovery role and configuration every three years. Reports that the squadron filling the counterterrorism role is always designated 1 Squadron are incorrect as that practice ceased in the late 1980s. All three sabre squadrons are garrisoned at Campbell Barracks save for certain units within each sabre squadron that can be rotated amongst bases within Australia. This usually only occurs with the current Counter Terrorist Squadron. As stated in ex-SASR soldier Keith Fennell's book "Warrior Training", outside the headquarters for Campbell Barracks is a monument to every Australian SASR soldier who has died on active service with the regiment, be it during training or on deployment. The list currently stands at just over 40 soldiers, the majority having been killed in training accidents.

References

{{reflist Barracks in Australia Buildings and structures in Perth, Western Australia Swanbourne, Western Australia Military installations in Western Australia Coastal artillery