Vauxhall Barracks is a military installation in

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

History

The barracks were established during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

alongside a depot for storing explosives from Woolwich Arsenal. By the end of the War 1,900 troops were based there. Then during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

elements of the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

were based at the barracks. The ordnance depot closed in 1964 when operations were moved to

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...

;

Didcot power station Didcot power station (Didcot B Power Station) is an active natural gas power plant that supplies the National Grid. A combined coal and oil power plant, Didcot A, was the first station on the site which opened in 1970 and was demolished betwee ...

was built on the site. The barracks, though, were retained; since 1982 they have has been the home of

11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC is a specialist regiment of the British Army's Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) responsible for counter terrorist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), the safe recovery or disposal of conventional mu ...

. They are now known as Vauxhall Barracks.

Based units

The following notable units are based at Vauxhall Barracks.

British Army

Royal Logistics Corps * 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment ** Headquarters 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Search Regiment ** 421 Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Search Squadron

Future

In November 2016, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

announced that the site would close in 2028. This was later extended to 2034.

References

{{reflist Installations of the British Army Barracks in England Didcot