Kendrew Barracks 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 ...

barracks located north east of Cottesmore,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

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 barracks opened in 2012, at the site of former RAF Cottesmore.

History

RAF Cottesmore

RAF Cottesmore opened in 1938 and operated until 2012. It was home to both 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 ...

and the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during its lifetime. Cottesmore was the home of the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment which trained

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary #Variants, Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS ...

crews, and was the last operational home of the

British Aerospace Harrier II The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest developme ...

Transfer to British Army

In July 2011, Defence Secretary

Liam Fox Sir Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

announced that Cottesmore would house the British Army's East of England Multi-Role Brigade. The Army took over the site in April 2012 and Kendrew Barracks was officially opened in October 2012 by the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

. The new barracks were named after Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew. Kendrew Barracks sign - geograph

The barracks became home to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, which moved from Dhekelia Garrison,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 2012. A second regiment, 7 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, moved to the base in June 2013. From 2017 to 2019, the barracks was home to 2nd Battalion,

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen ...

. As of 1 November 2018, there were 1,127 troops assigned to the units based at the barracks. On completion of their Cyprus tour in 2023, the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (known as the Vikings) moved to the barracks to join the 2nd Battalion (known as the Poachers), which will remain at Kendrew Barracks. In the future, the Royal Anglian Regiment will no longer participate directly in Cyprus rotations, and therefore will be based at Kendrew Barracks for the foreseeable future.

Future

Work to construct new facilities for the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment of the

Royal Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and c ...

is expected to be completed in December 2025. The regiment will relocate from

St George's Barracks, North Luffenham St George's Barracks is a British Army installation near to the village of North Luffenham in Rutland, England. It is set to close in 2026. History The barracks was established on the site of the former RAF North Luffenham airfield in 1998. It ...

, which is expected to close in 2026. Eleven new buildings are to be constructed, with four being refurbished or retrofitted, providing 173 kennels for permanent, isolation and

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

requirements. The £61 million project also includes a veterinary centre and training facilities, squadron offices, stores, gym and the repurposing of hanger B as a regimental headquarters and

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

stores.

Based units

The following notable units are based at Kendrew Barracks.

British Army

Queen's Division The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the East & South of England, and Gibraltar. Formation The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counti ...

** 1st Battalion,

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regi ...

** 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment
* 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team * Headquarters Centre

References

External links

Royal Anglian Regiment7 Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrew Installations of the British Army Buildings and structures in Rutland Barracks in England 2012 establishments in England