Aldershot Garrison Aldershot Garrison , also known as Aldershot Military Town , is a major garrison in South East England , located between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire . Established in 1854 , Aldershot has long been seen as the home of the British Army . The garrison was established when the war department brought a large area of land near to the village of Aldershot , with the objective of establishing a permanent training camp for the British Army . Over time , this camp grew into a military town and continues to be used by the British Army to the present day . It is home to the headquarters of the Support Command of the British Army , and it is also the administrative base for the 145th ( South ) Brigade and 101st Logistic Brigade . The garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations . In 1972 , the garrison was the site of one of the worst UK mainland IRA attacks of the time when a car bomb was detonated outside the headquarters mess of 16 Parachute Brigade . The Official IRA claimed responsibility , stating that the attack was in revenge for the shootings in Derry that came to be known as Bloody Sunday . At the time of the attack , Aldershot garrison was an entirely open garrison . Following the attack the Army took steps to secure the garrison by erecting security fences around most of the barracks and lines , as well as introducing armed security patrols . The Garrison area covers approximately 500 hectares . The total garrison population is about 10 , 500 . Adjacent to the military town is some 2 , 700 hectares of open military training area . Aldershot Garrison will serve as the hub for the future South East Super Garrison , which will include satellite establishments at Minley , Bordon , Sandhurst , Pirbright , Deepcut , Keogh , Arborfield , Winchester and Worthy Down . History . Established in 1854 , Aldershot has long been seen as the home of the British Army . The garrison was established when the war department bought a large area of land near to the village of Aldershot , with the objective of establishing a permanent training camp for the British Army . Over time , this camp grew into a military town and continues to be used by the British Army to the present day . Beginnings . Before the establishment of the ' Camp at Aldershot ' , the British Army did not have any single permanent camp for training troops on a large scale . Historically , troops had been stationed in long established garrisons , many of which could trace their histories back as medieval , or earlier , defensive positions . In 1852 , following the death of The Iron Duke , a group of reformers , which included Prince Albert , forged an alliance that would seek to improve the training of the Army . In 1853 , a summer camp was established at Chobham Common and two divisional size military exercises were conducted . Following the success of these maneuvers , it was decided that a permanent camp was needed where such exercises could be regularly conducted . Initially , Reigate was selected as a location that was strategically sound , and close enough to London , to defend against invasion from across the English Channel . Despite its obvious advantages , Reigate was situated in prime agricultural land that would prove too expensive to purchase . Lord Hardinge suggested Aldershot Heath as the location for the new training area , as land was less expensive , but still close enough to the South Coast to defend London . In January 1854 , the British Government ' s War Department purchased areas of heathland around the small village of Aldershot at £12 an acre . By 1861 , around 8 , 000 acres had been purchased . It was originally only envisaged to set up a tented camp for summer use ; however , following the outbreak of the Crimean War , it was necessary to accommodate a large number of troops , over a longer period of time and so two hutted camps , one north and one south of the Basingstoke Canal , were constructed . Between 1854 and 1859 , around 1 , 200 wooden huts were constructed by a local civilian contractor , at a cost of £100 , 263 . Queen Victoria and Prince Albert showed a keen interest in the establishment and the development of Aldershot as a garrison town . In 1855 , they had a wooden ' Royal Pavilion ' built , in which they would often stay when attending reviews of the army . In 1860 , Prince Albert established and endowed the Prince Consort ' s Library , which exists to this day . After the Crimean War , a division of regular troops was permanently based at Aldershot , and ‘ the Division at Aldershot ’ ( including artillery at Christchurch , Hampshire , and cavalry at Hounslow , Middlesex ) became one of the most important home commands of the British Army . In January 1876 a " Mobilization Scheme for the forces in Great Britain and Ireland " was published , with the " Active Army " divided into eight army corps based on the major Commands and Districts . The 2nd Corps was headquartered at Aldershot . This scheme disappeared in 1881 , when the districts were retitled ‘ District Commands ’ , with Aldershot usually listed as IX or X . In 1898 , ( when Queen Victoria ’ s son , the Duke of Connaught , was General Officer Commanding ) Aldershot Command was ranked I on the list . From 1901 to 1908 Aldershot Command was given the additional title of I Army Corps . The garrison subsequently became seen as home to the British Army . This status has been reflected in the use of Aldershot as a headquarters for a variety of regional commands over the last 100 years . HQ Aldershot Command continued in existence until c . February 1941 , when it was replaced by HQ Aldershot Area . In the 19th century . In the late 1870s , it was decided that the original hutted camp needed to be replaced with some more permanent structures . When the wooden huts had been built in the 1850s , the contractor had guaranteed the huts for 13 years ; in practice , many of those huts were still serving their purpose some 30 years later . In November 1881 , the first steps were taken to convert the hutted camp into permanent barracks . At this time , the first two brick buildings were constructed in North Camp ; this was quickly followed by the construction of a number of larger brick - built bungalows to replace the previous wooden designs . Between 1889 and 1893 , the remaining wooden buildings , in both North Camp and South Camp , were replaced by brick buildings . Field - Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood had recently been appointed General Officer Commanding at Aldershot and was keen to push forward the building of the new accommodation . It was also , at his request , that a convention for naming the barracks was formulated . Wood advocated that the new barracks should all be named to commemorate famous British victories ; initially this proposal met with some resistance , but was eventually adopted . The barracks in Stanhope Lines took names from the famous battles of the Napoleonic Wars and those in Marlborough Lines took names from Marlborough ' s campaigns . In the 20th century . The garrison use to be the corps headquarters for the Royal Corps of Transport and the Army Catering Corps ; when these were merged into the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993 , the corps headquarters moved to Deepcut Barracks . The garrison was also home to The Parachute Regiment from its formation in 1940 until the regiment moved to Colchester Garrison in 2003 . Today , the garrison is home to the headquarters of the Support Command of the British Army , and is also the administrative base for the 145th ( South ) Brigade and 101st Logistic Brigade . The garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations . 1972 IRA bombing . On 22 February 1972 , Aldershot experienced one of the worst UK mainland IRA attacks of the time . Seven people , all civilian support staff , including cooks , cleaners , and a Catholic priest , were killed and 19 people were injured , in a car bomb attack on the 16th Parachute Brigade headquarters mess at Aldershot garrison . This blast was later claimed , by the Official IRA , as revenge for the shootings in Derry that came to be known as Bloody Sunday . Until then , the military town had been open - plan , but the attack led to immediate action to secure military property by erecting security fences topped with barbed wire . Other security measures , including armed patrols were also implemented . Following the bombing , it was decided to erect a memorial plaque in the grounds of a prominent new building approximately one mile away in Aldershot ' s town centre . However , this was soon rejected , and once the building of the attack was demolished , the plaque was moved to its current position , on the site of the bombing . The grounds and the site of the memorial have been preserved by the Army ever since . Barracks , buildings and geography . Historical military town . Following Aldershot ' s establishment as a large permanent training camp in the 1850s , the military presence continued to grow . The garrison was divided into the North Camp and the South Camp , either side of the Basingstoke Canal . As more soldiers arrived , they were first housed in bell tents due to a shortage or permanent accommodation . Later , wooden huts were built , which were in turn replaced by brick built barracks in the 1890s . Much of the Victorian camp was demolished in the 1960s . North Camp . Prior to 1890 , Aldershot garrison lacked permanent accommodation to house the growing military presence . Following the Barracks Act of 1890 , North Camp was rebuilt with brick barracks named : Blenheim , Lille , Malplaquet , Oudenarde , Ramillies and Tournay . The new barracks were built by Henry Wells , a locally based building contractor . This group of barracks then became known as the Marlborough Lines . Today , the only surviving barracks of the Marlborough Lines group is Lille barracks . The Victorian buildings were largely demolished in 1958 , and then rebuilt with more modern facilities , although the original officers ' mess survives . North Camp is still home to the Garrison ' s original train station , North Camp railway station . South Camp . Like North Camp , the area known as South Camp was rebuilt at much the same time . Construction was completed by the same local company responsible for Marlborough Lines . This phase of construction saw nine barracks built , namely those of : Albuhera , Barossa , Corunna , Gibraltar , Maida , Buller , Mandora and McGrigor barracks . This group of barracks became known as Stanhope Lines . Many of these brick - build Victorian barracks were demolished in the late 1960s , to make way for what is now Montgomery Lines . One of the Victorian barracks did survive ; Clayton barracks is presently used as a transit camp to house soldiers attending Aldershot garrison on courses , or for sporting events and training . Montgomery Lines was completed in the 1970s and was built on the site of several barracks that formerly made up Stanhope Lines . Buller barracks also survives today , although the original Victorian barracks were demolished in the late 1960s , it was rebuilt in the 1970s . Modern military town . Today , the military town has a population of around 10 , 500 . This consists of around 3 , 900 resident soldiers , some 1 , 000 transient military personnel on courses or sport , 770 MOD Civil Servants and some 5 , 000 service dependents . The garrison contains 2 , 145 Service Family Accommodation quarters . The rest of the garrison comprises barracks , the Aldershot Military Stadium , Queen ' s Parade playing fields , Garrison Sports Centre and the Aldershot Centre For Health , which is a joint MOD and local authority venture . The garrison is mostly centred around the crossroads that join Queen ' s Avenue and Alison ' s Road . The military town includes some local landmarks , such as the Aldershot Observatory , Wellington Statue , Aldershot Military Cemetery , the Royal Garrison Church and other churches . Adjacent to the military town is some 2 , 700 hectares of open military training area . This area is open to the public when not in use for military purposes . Future development . South East Super Garrison . The Army selected Aldershot garrison as the hub of the new South East Super Garrison , which will include satellite establishments at Minley , Bordon , Sandhurst , Pirbright , Deepcut , Keogh , Arborfield , Winchester and Worthy Down . Aldershot Urban Expansion . In recent years , plans were unveiled for local government and planners to redevelop some of the land that comprises the military town according to Aldershot ' s Urban Extension or ' AUE ' . In August 2007 , a request was made by Hampshire County Council to Aldershot magistrates to extinguish highway rights from Defence Estates , of Pennefathers Road ( the site of the 1972 bombing ) as a public road . Although the road has been closed with controlled access since the attack , it was recently decided that , with impending redevelopment , it would be necessary to ' formalise the closure ' .