Robertson Barracks, formerly RAF Swanton Morley, is a military installation near

Swanton Morley Swanton Morley is a village and civil parish situated in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre of Norwich and three miles from Dereham, at the geographical centre of Norfolk. It covers an ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. It is home to

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales and the bordering English counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshir ...

and is set to close in 2029.

History

RAF Swanton Morley

RAF Swanton Morley was a new station planned under the RAF expansion scheme but not completed before the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was part of 2 Group,

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

until December 1944 when it was handed over to 100 Group – the RAF unit responsible for countering German defences against the British strategic bombing – as they needed another airfield close to their HQ at

Bylaugh Hall Bylaugh Hall, also known as Bylaugh Park, is a country house situated in the parish of Bylaugh in Norfolk, England. History The estate was acquired by Sir John Lombe Bt (c. 1731–1817) in 1796. His fortune came from his family's silk throwing ...

. On 4 July 1942, American and British airmen took off from this station as part of the first combined bombing raid of World War II. 226 Squadron RAF had been tutoring the US 15th Bombardment Squadron. Both

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

were at RAF Swanton Morley for this mission, which saw six crews from 15th Bombardment Squadron fly a raid with six crews from the RAF, using Boston light bombers belonging to 226 Squadron. The raid was made at low level against German airfields in the Netherlands. During the Second World War the station was home to the Bomber Support Development Unit (BSDU) of 100 Group. After the Second World War the station was home to No. 1 Air Signallers' School, and the Radio Warfare Establishment RAF, which later moved to

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) an ...

. From June 1953 to 1995 the station was also used by 611 Volunteer Gliding School, when the station was listed for closure under ''

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces ...

''.

Robertson Barracks

The army barracks, named after Field Marshal Sir William Robertson, were established when

RAF Swanton Morley Robertson Barracks, formerly RAF Swanton Morley, is a military installation near Swanton Morley in Norfolk. It is home to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and is set to close in 2029. History RAF Swanton Morley RAF Swanton Morley was a new stat ...

was handed over to the British Army in 1995. In April 1998, it became the base of the

9th/12th Royal Lancers The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. In the later years ...

, who were replaced by the

Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northern England, from County Durham, Northu ...

in August 2000. The Light Dragoons left the barracks on 6 June 2015 and were replaced by the

who were returning from Germany. The Army sometimes uses the

Mid-Norfolk Railway The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" o ...

to transport equipment, such as armoured vehicles used by 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, to their training facilities in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Units

Current

The

are currently based at Robertson Barracks and are scheduled to be relocated to the new Caerwent Barracks on the base's closure.

Former

Future

In 2013, the British Government identified Robertson Barracks as one of seven "core bases" in which it would invest. However, in November 2016, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

announced that the site would instead close in 2031, this was later brought forward to 2029.

References

{{reflist Barracks in England Installations of the British Army Swanton Morley Royal Air Force stations in Norfolk Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom