Farewell to the Garrison Festival 27 June 2015

Troops first occupied Quebec Barracks in Bordon in 1903. The numbers of soldiers gradually increased as more barracks were built and during the two World Wars many hundreds of troops passed through as expeditionary forces and reached a high point in 1944, when Bordon played its part in the preparations for the D Day landings.

The first REME soldiers arrived in 1945 and the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (SEME) was created in 1961. In 2012 a Defence Technical Training Review was ratified and it was finally decided by RH Dr Liam Fox, Minister for Defence that Technical Training across all three Services would relocate to Lyneham, Wiltshire. The first phase of this relocation will start with REME in both Bordon and Arborfield. After a history of over 100 years in Bordon the army is scheduled to move out in 2015.

On the 1^st November 2012 the Defence College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering ceased to exist and de facto, so did SEME in Bordon. The School was renamed the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering Bordon (DSEME (Bor)).

History kindly provided by Drs Chris & Bill Wain of Woolmer Forest Heritage Society. To find out more about the history and archaeology of Bordon, Whitehill and the surrounding area, visit Woolmer Forest Heritage Society’s website at http://woolmerforest.org.uk/.