MOD Worthy Down is a tri-service establishment in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It forms part of the wider Winchester Garrison and houses the headquarters of the Defence School of Logistics and Administration (DSLA), as well as the headquarters of the Royal Logistic Corps and Adjutant General's Corps. DSLA provides logistic support, personnel administration and leadership training to all three armed services. The site is north of Winchester, between the villages of South Wonston and Kings Worthy.
| MOD Worthy Down | |
|---|---|
| Near South Wonston, Hampshire, England | |
The site in 2017, during its extensive rebuild | |
MOD Worthy Down Location within Hampshire | |
| Coordinates | 51°06′37″N 01°19′08″W / 51.11028°N 1.31889°W |
| Type | Military establishment |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1960 |
| In use | 1960–present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants |
|
History
editAn airfield was established here in 1918 for the Royal Flying Corps, and became RAF Worthy Down. In 1939 the airfield was transferred to the Royal Navy and used by the Fleet Air Arm until 1950, then as an engineering training school.[1]
The site was handed over to the Royal Army Pay Corps in 1960 and became home to the Electronic Accounting Development Unit who housed their computer centre with its IBM 705 system there. The computer was used to process the 1961 UK census, which was the first to be processed electronically.[2]
With the merger of the Royal Army Pay Corps into the Adjutant General's Corps in 1992, the site became the headquarters of the Adjutant General's Corps and a training depot for members of the Staff and Personnel Support, Education and Training Services and Army Legal Service branches.[3]
The Defence Food Services School was built on the site in 2009.[4]
In 2012 the RAF School of Administration moved to Worthy Down from Southwick Park, near Portsmouth.[5]
On 9 June 2014 the Ministry of Defence announced that a new £250 million Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration was to be built at Worthy Down, with training facilities and living accommodation for up to 2,000 students and staff. The facility, which brought the training for key support roles for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force onto a single site for the first time, was completed in 2018.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (n.d.). "Worthy Down". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Taylor, A. B. (1962). "Problems of the census of Scotland, 1961". Transactions of the Faculty of Actuaries. 27. Cambridge University Press: 355 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Adjutant General's Corps Regimental Association (2013). "Regimental Association Subscriptions". Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. 21 April 2009. p. 57.
- ^ Masker, Rachel (27 June 2012). "£270m investment at Worthy Down MoD base near Winchester". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Ministry of Defence, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (9 June 2014). "Armed forces training gets £250 million boost". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Ministry of Defence (25 July 2018). "Worthy Down camp takes shape as first phase of construction completes". Retrieved 18 November 2024.