Stirling Lines

Stirling Lines is a British Army garrison in Credenhill, Herefordshire; the headquarters of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR). The site was formerly a Royal Air Force (RAF) non-flying station for training schools, known as RAF Credenhill.[2][3]

Stirling Lines
Near Credenhill, Herefordshire, in England
A Dauphin II of No. 658 Squadron based at Stirling Lines
Stirling Lines is located in Herefordshire
Stirling Lines
Stirling Lines
Location in Herefordshire
Coordinates52°05′06″N 002°47′42″W
Grid referenceSO454428
TypeArmy barracks
Area392 hectares (970 acres)
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorBritish Army
Controlled bySpecial Air Service
ConditionOperational
Site history
Built1939 (1939) (as RAF Credenhill)
In use1939 – 1994 (RAF)
1999 – present (British Army)
Garrison information
Occupants
Airfield information
IdentifiersICAO: EGVH
Elevation240 metres (787 ft) AMSL
Helipads
Number Length and surface
08/26 150 metres (492 ft) Grass
Source: UK Military AIP[1]

History

In 1958, the Special Air Service (SAS) was temporarily based at Merebrook Camp in Malvern, Worcestershire, a former emergency military hospital that had remained largely unused since 1945.[4] In 1960, the SAS moved to a former Royal Artillery boys' training unit, Bradbury Lines in Hereford, which was renamed in 1984 to Stirling Lines in honour of the regiment's founder, Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling.[2] In 1994, the RAF ceased using RAF Credenhill; the Army then obtaining the site to redevelop as a new base for the SAS; works commenced in 1997.[5][2] The SAS commenced relocation of staff and equipment to Credenhill from Hereford with the redevelopment of the site. The move was completed in May 1999.[5][2] On 30 September 2000, the official opening ceremony was held for the new Stirling Lines with the clock tower re-erected on the new parade ground.[2][4] The Hereford site was sold to a property developer in March 2001.[6]

Based units

The following units are based at Stirling Lines:[7][8]

References
  1. No 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit. "AD 3 EGVH - Hereford" (PDF). United Kingdom Military Aeronautical Information Publication. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  2. Goodwin, Nicola (6 May 2010). "SAS: Troopers tell their stories". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  3. "RAF Hereford (Credenhill) - RAF Stations - H". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. M B Barrass. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. Bennett, Richard M. (2003). Elite forces : an encyclopedia of the world's most formidable secret armies. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 9781852279745.
  5. "Unit History: RAF Credenhill". Forces War Records. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  6. "Former SAS site plan set to impact". Hereford Times. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  7. Coughlin, Con (30 January 2013). "The SAS: a very special force". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  8. "Special forces regiment created". BBC News. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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