A Brief History of the ATC in Devizes

                                               

A New Start for 2397 (Devizes) Squadron (1973 to date)     

In November 1973 the reborn squadron paraded for the first time with 80+ cadets under the command of Flt Lt Brian Swallow at the Church Walk TA Centre.  The unit had been able to regain the identity number used prior to 1969.

In 1992 the squadron was relocated to Le Marchant Barracks following a review of MoD properties which had marked the Church Walk site for disposal.  The downside was that the new premises were at the top of 42 stairs in the imposing main building. The great benefit was that a close co-operation was established with the resident permanent TA staff of the First Battalion, Wessex Regiment.  This enabled the squadron to develop its military style adventure training. Sadly, 1 Wessex was later disbanded and replaced at Le Marchant by a TA Company of the Second Battalion, Royal Gloucester, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment with very much depleted resources of personnel and materials to assist the ATC.  The TA Company in turn was disbanded in 1999 and the barracks marked for disposal as part of the 1998 Strategic Defence Review.   This left the squadron as the only occupants of the main building.

 

In 1998 the squadron took over responsibility for the Detached Flight based at the Upavon airfield from 1010 (Salisbury) Squadron. The Detached Flight had been formed to meet the needs of service dependants when Upavon was still a Royal Air Force station. The RAF had subsequently vacated the site which was then occupied by the Army as "Trenchard Lines".  There were few youngsters of cadet age in married quarters or in the nearest village so the flight personnel were transferred to the main squadron at Devizes. The Detached Flight was formally disbanded in March 2000.

 

 In 2001, the increasingly unsafe condition of the main Le Marchant Barracks building enforced the move to co-exist with the Devizes Platoon of the Army Cadet Force in the former Quartermaster & Sergeants Mess block as a temporary measure pending the construction of a purpose built joint Cadet Centre.

 

The new Cadet centre was opened in 2003 and also houses the Headquarters of Air Cadets South West Region and Wiltshire Army Cadet Force.  The main Barracks buildings have since been converted to apartments and the remainder of the site is now a housing estate.

 

 

Commanding Officers

 

 

                                                           Civilian Committee Chair