The Braganza Street drill hall is a military installation in Braganza Street,
Walworth
Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross.
Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...
.
History
The building originates from a pair of houses built in what was then known as New Street in 1833 and which were acquired by the 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1865.
The 19th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps evolved to become the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) in 1883
and the
24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen’s)
24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's) was a battalion of the London Regiment (1908-1938). Between 1908 and 1938 it was based at the Braganza Street drill hall, though in 1914 it mobilised for war at 71 New Street, Kennington Park Road.
...
in 1908.
The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. When the London Regiment was broken up in 1937, the battalion became the 7th (Southwark) Battalion, the
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...
.
[ The drill hall, in what was by then known as Braganza Street, was substantially re-built at that time and the enlarged facility was opened 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 curren ...
in 1938.[
After the war the battalion converted to artillery and, in 1947, became the 622nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, ]Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
.[ After the Royal Artillery went through a re-organisation and vacated the hall, a new field hospital, 217 (London) General Hospital ]Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
, was formed at the Braganza Street drill hall in 1967.[ That unit amalgamated with other field hospitals in 1995 to form 256 (City of London) Field Hospital][
]
References
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Drill halls in London
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth