Royal Marines Barracks Chivenor is a

British military The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping e ...

base used primarily by UK Commando Force. It is situated on the northern shore of the

River Taw The River Taw () in England rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor, crosses North Devon and at the town of Barnstaple, formerly a significant port, empties into Barnstaple Bay in the Bristol Channel, having form ...

estuary, adjacent to the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

, on the north coast of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The nearest towns are

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

and

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parishes in England, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at th ...

. Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) and was operational between May 1940 and 1995 when it was transferred to the Royal Marines.

Etymology

The name ''Chivenor'' is first attested in 1285, as ''Chivenore''. This is thought to originate in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

as a personal name, ''Cifa'', in its

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

form ''Cifan'', combined with the Old English word ''ōra'' ('flat-topped ridge'). Thus the name once meant 'Cifa's flat-topped ridge'. The ridge in question runs from west to east along the north bank of the

, from Heanton Punchardon to Tutshill Wood on the northern fringe of

. Like Heanton Punchardon, RM Chivenor lies at the west end of the ridge.

History

RAF Chivenor

In the 1930s, a civil airfield was opened on or near the site of Chivenor farm. In February 1940 the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

took the site over, constructing an aerodrome in May 1940 for use as a

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

Station. Known as RAF Chivenor, the station opened on 25 October 1940 within No. 17 Group, Coastal Command. Initially, two units were based there initially: No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF and No. 252 Squadron RAF, both operating Bristol Beaufighters,

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

s and

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Bristol Blenheim, Blenheim li ...

s. After 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 ...

, the station was largely used for training, particularly weapons training. During the 1950s and 1960s, No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit RAF (229 OCU) used

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

aircraft for training. In 1974 229 OCU left for RAF Brawdy (where it was renamed as the Tactical Weapons Unit), with Chivenor placed into "care and maintenance" status for rebuilding, though No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (624 VGS) continued to fly from there. The RAF returned in 1981, with 2 Tactical Weapons Unit (2 TWU) and their BAE Hawks, moving in from RAF Lossiemouth. In 1992 2 TWU was renamed as 7 FTS before leaving in 1994 to merge with 4 FTS at RAF Valley, and the airfield was handed over to the RM.

Transfer to Royal Marines

From 1 October 1995 onwards, the Royal Marines took control of the base, it being renamed Royal Marines Base Chivenor (RMB Chivenor). It became home to the Commando Logistics Regiment, Royal Marines and 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers, now 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. The airfield remained an operational airfield, used by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and RAF Search and Rescue Force ( No. 22 Squadron RAF) as well as No. 624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF (624 VGS) operating Grob Vigilant T1 motor gliders, providing flights for the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

and

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

Proposed closure

''A Better Defence Estate'', published in November 2016, indicated that the Ministry of Defence would dispose of RMB Chivenor by 2027. However, following a concerted campaign to keep the base open, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

announced in February 2019 that the base would remain open.

Based units

Notable units based at RMB Chivenor.

Royal Navy

Royal Marines ( UK Commando Force) * Commando Logistic Regiment ** Headquarters Squadron ** Equipment Support Squadron ** Landing Force Support Squadron ** Logistic Support Squadron ** Medical Squadron ** Viking Squadron

British Army

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

(UK Commando Force) * 24 Commando Regiment **56 Commando Headquarters and Support Squadron **54 Commando Engineer Squadron **59 Commando Engineer Squadron **131 Commando Engineer Squadron **24 REME Workshop

Cadets

In December 2020 the

Volunteer Cadet Corps The Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC) is a national youth organisation managed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and sponsored by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The VCC comprises: * Headquarters VCC. Based at in Portsmouth. * VCC Training Centre. ...

started a unit of Royal Marines Cadets at RMB Chivenor. Due to COVID-19, face to face activities were put on hold but as of October 2021 the first cadets and adult volunteers will be starting training on site.

Role and operations

Commando Logistic Regiment

The Commando Logistic Regiment's role is to ensure the re-supply of ammunition, water, fuel and food, known as "combat supplies" to the ground forces, and to provide first-line medical care to any service person or civilian. It also provides specialist services to sustain the brigade's operation.

24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers

Formed in April 2008, 24 Commando Engineer Regiment is a unit of the British Army's Royal Engineers which supports 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines.

RMB Chivenor in the media

On 21 November 2008 the BBC Top Gear series filmed segments near to Chivenor. In the segments the presenter Jeremy Clarkson takes part in a mock battle on the beach at Instow with around 30 marines from Chivenor and elsewhere. The Sea Kings from 22 squadron A-Flight at Chivenor took a starring role in Episode 6 of the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

documentary television series Sea Patrol UK, with B-Flight of 22 Squadron at AAC Wattisham alongside Royal Navy and Coastguard units. The 2011 BBC television series '' The Choir: Military Wives'' featured Chivenor. The programme documented choirmaster Gareth Malone forming a choir of wives and partners of Chivenor personnel deployed on active service in the

Afghanistan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. In forming a choir, Malone aimed to raise the women's morale and raise their profile in the public perception. The song '' Wherever You Are'' was recorded by the Military Wives Choir and was released as a single in December 2011, with proceeds going to the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

and SSAFA Forces Help.

References

External links

Volunteer Cadet Corps

624 Volunteer Gliding Squadron

BBC News, 15 October 2004

722 (Chivenor) Sqn ATC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chivenor Organisations based in Devon Airports in Devon 624 VGS Royal Marines bases Barnstaple Royal Air Force stations in Devon Military history of Devon Royal Navy bases in England