Mitcham Road Barracks is an

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

centre in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with a history dating back to 1794.

History

The barracks were designed as a depot for recruits of the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

, the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

and the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

regiments and were completed, as part of the British response to the French Revolution, in 1794. The barracks became the headquarters of the 2nd Surrey Rifle Volunteers in 1859. The 2nd Surrey Rifle Volunteers evolved to become the

4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The 4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (4th Queen's) was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 to 1961. Beginning from small independent units recruited in the South London suburbs, it was attached to the Queen's Royal R ...

in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. After benefitting from a major modernisation of the barracks in the 1930s, the battalion became a searchlight regiment in 1938 and a light anti-aircraft regiment in 1942. The battalion was reconstituted as 598th Light 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 ...

in 1947 and evolved to become a battery within 565th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery in 1955, while still based at the Mitcham Road Barracks. The unit reverted to its county infantry regiment status title as part of the 3rd Battalion, The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment in 1961. The battalion was reduced to company size as D Company, 6th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Queen's Surreys), still based at the Mitcham Road Barracks, in 1967. However the company was disbanded following a reorganisation in 1971. Meanwhile, C (Kent and County of London) Squadron, the

Royal Yeomanry The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in Leice ...

had also been formed at the Mitcham Road Barracks in 1967; it evolved to become C (Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry) Company, the Royal Yeomanry in 1999.

Current use

The barracks still remains an active

Centre. It currently accommodates: * C Squadron (

Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry was a unit of the Territorial Army ('TA') that was established in 1961 as the Kent and County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters). This was achieved through the merger of 297 (Kent Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Art ...

The Royal Yeomanry The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants, their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in Leice ...

, in Sharpshooter House * 150 Platoon, 133 Divisional Recovery Company, 103 Force Support Battalion,

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

* Mortar Platoon of B Company,

4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment (4 PARA), is an Army Reserve unit of the British Army. Now recruiting across the United Kingdom originally the Battalion covered the North of England, with its headquarters located in Pudsey, West Yorkshir ...

, in Arnhem House

References

{{reflist Drill halls in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Croydon History of the London Borough of Croydon