South West District was a district command of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

between 1967 and 1995.

History

The district was formed from 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division as part of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967. It had its headquarters at

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. Th ...

, Wiltshire, and was placed under the command of HQ

United Kingdom Land Forces United Kingdom Land Forces was a command of the British Army responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. The commander of the forces was known as Commander-in-Chief, United Kingdom Land Forces, who in ...

in 1972. In 1984-85 the district controlled a number of individual units, including 94th Locating 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 ...

Roberts Barracks The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Scho ...

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

; the Support Regiment RA; Headquarters 7 Regiment Army Air Corps; the UK contingent of the ACE Mobile Force; 1st Infantry Brigade at Tidworth; 43 Wessex Brigade in Exeter; and five planned companies of the

Home Service Force The Home Service Force was a Home Guard type force established in the United Kingdom in 1982. Each HSF unit was placed with either a Regular Army or Territorial Army regiment or battalion for administrative purposes and given that formation’s ...

. In 1992, Headquarters South West District controlled three of the Army's 20 training areas on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

. The district was disbanded on the formation of HQ

Land Command Land Command (or 'HQ Land') was a military command and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It ass ...

in 1995.

Commanders

General officers commanding included: *1967–1970 Major-General Thomas Acton *1970–1971 Major-General

John Douglas-Withers Major-General John Keppel Ingold Douglas-Withers, (11 December 1919 – 3 November 1997) was a British Army officer. Military career Douglas-Withers was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 5 October 1940 and served as a forward observer du ...

*1972–1974 Major-General Hugh Cunningham *1974–1975 Major-General George Cooper *1975–1978 Major-General Robert Lyon *1978–1981 Major-General Sir John Acland *1981–1984 Major-General Michael Gray *1984–1987 Major-General

Barry Lane Barry Douglas Lane (21 June 1960 – 31 December 2022) was an English professional golfer. He won five official European Tour events between 1988 and 2004. He played in the 1993 Ryder Cup and won the inaugural Andersen Consulting World Champion ...

*1987–1990 Major-General Anthony Jeapes *1990–1992 Major-General

Anthony Pollard Major-General Anthony John Griffin Pollard (born 8 April 1937) is a former British Army officer. Military career Educated at Oakham School and Jesus College, Cambridge, Pollard was commissioned into the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1956.''W ...

References

{{reflist Districts of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1967 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992

History

Commanders

See also

References