page_title: MoD Shoeburyness
section_title: RA School of Gunnery
hierarchical_section_title: MoD Shoeburyness / History / RA School of Gunnery
caption_attribution_description: English: Memorial Plaque
context_page_description: MoD Shoeburyness is a military installation at Pig's Bay near Shoeburyness in Essex.
context_section_description: In the wake of the Crimean War, the Royal Artillery School of Gunnery was established at Shoeburyness in 1859 'for individual improvement as well as for the advancement of artillery science in general'. Horseshoe Barracks and various other amenities were added not long afterwards and the site was extended to cover some 200 acres lying between Ness Road and the coast. 
  Over the years that followed Shoeburyness was integral to the development of new and improved artillery weapons. Alongside its use as a training facility, the ranges were used for experimental trials of guns, rockets and explosives and for the testing of armour and defensive works. As the scale of these experiments began to outgrow the site, its gun emplacements were adapted for seaward firing and it later specialized in coastal artillery training. 
  An accidental explosion in February 1885 killed seven Royal Artillery personnel including the Commandant and his deputy.
  After 1889, experimentation and testing was progressively moved on to 'New Ranges' to the north-east, but the 'Old Ranges' remained in active use as a training area.
caption: Memorial plaque unveiled in 1985
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