Glen Parva Barracks was a military installation at Glen Parva near South Wigston in Leicestershire.
| Glen Parva Barracks | |
|---|---|
| Glen Parva | |
 Glen Parva Barracks | |
  Glen Parva Barracks Location within Leicestershire | |
| Coordinates | 52°34′59″N 01°08′42″W / 52.58306°N 1.14500°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1881 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1881-1970 |
History
editThe barracks opened under the name of Wigston Barracks in 1881.[1] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces.[2] The barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot as well as the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot.[3] Following the Childers Reforms, the barracks became the depot of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1881.[3]
Tens of thousands of recruits and conscripts were trained there for deployment during the First World War.[4] The barracks went on to become the regional centre for infantry training as the Forester Brigade Depot in 1960.[5] They were closed in the late 1960s and most of the buildings were sold.[1] Although Glen Parva Young Offenders Institution now occupies much of the site[6] a unit of the Royal Army Pay Corps remained there until 1997.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "Billets and Barracks". Green Tiger. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Echoes of the past in these Army cuts". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Training Depots". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Wigston in the First World War". Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Infantry Brigade Depots (Location)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 7 March 1958. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "HM Prison Glen Parva Visiting Information". Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Beazley, chapter 2
Sources
edit- Beazley, Ben (2006). Postwar Leicester. History Press. ISBN 978-0750940689.