Keogh Barracks is a British Army installation on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England.

Keogh Barracks
Mytchett, Surrey
Entrance to Keogh Barracks
Keogh Barracks is located in Surrey
Keogh Barracks
Keogh Barracks
Location within Surrey
Coordinates51°16′45″N 0°43′03″W / 51.2793°N 0.7176°W / 51.2793; -0.7176
TypeBarracks
Site information
OwnerMinistry of Defence
Operator British Army
Site history
Built1938
Built forWar Office
In use1938–Present
Garrison information
Occupants2nd Battalion, Ranger Regiment

History

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The barracks were commissioned to accommodate the Army School of Hygiene[1] and are named after Sir Alfred Keogh, a former Director-General of Army Medical Services.[1][2] The foundation stone for the main building was laid by Lieutenant General Sir James Hartigan, Director-General of Army Medical Services, in February 1938.[3] The Museum of Military Medicine has its origins in the "Mytchett Collection", a collection of documents accumulated there since 1952.[4] In 1954, the RAMC Field Training Centre took over administration of the barracks.[5] The depot of the Royal Army Medical Corps arrived from Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham in 1964[6] and the Field Training Centre subsequently became known as the Royal Army Medical Corps Training Centre.[7]

By the 1990s, the Royal Army Medical Corps Training Centre had changed its name to the Army Medical Services Training Group.[8] The Army Medical Services Training Group amalgamated with the equivalent organizations in the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to form the Defence Medical Services Training Centre at Keogh Barracks in 1996.[9] It moved to Whittington Barracks as the Defence College of Healthcare Education and Training in 2014.[10]

A major refurbishment costing £50 million was carried out at Keogh Barracks in order to accommodate 4 Armoured Medical Regiment in 2015.[11] In June 2015, 4 Med Regt moved into the barracks, relocating from nearby Normandy Barracks. 4 Med Regt later moved to Tidworth in July 2019, as part of the Army 2020 Refine programme.[12]

By 2016, 22 Field Hospital were also based at Keogh Barracks. 22 Field Hospital was re-designated as 22 Multi-Role Medical Regiment in 2023, as part of the Future Soldier reforms. The regiment is the 'Vanguard’ medical regiment, held on high readiness to deploy at short notice worldwide.[13] 22 MMR is scheduled to move from Keogh Barracks, to Preston in 2023.[14]

The barracks is also home to the 2nd Battalion, Ranger Regiment, which was previously 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.[15] 2 RANGERS is a Special Operations battalion, operating in small teams, regionally aligned to East Africa.[16]

Current units

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Keogh, Sir Alfred Henry (1857 - 1936)". Parr's Lives of the Fellows. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  2. ^ "RAMC Reunited Newsletter November 2015" (PDF). Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Two photographs of the laying by Sir James Hartigan, DGAMS, of the foundation stone of the Sandhurst Block of Keogh Barracks, Mytchett, Surrey, on 17 February 1938". Wellcome library. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Royal Army Medical Corps Muniments Collection". AIM 25. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  5. ^ Ahern, Colonel T. M. R. (1 July 1958). "The Field Training Centre" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  6. ^ "ASU Building, QE Barracks, Church Crookham" (PDF). Oxford Archaeology. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  7. ^ Jefferson, T. (1991). "First Aid Training: An Appraisal. The Soldier's Longest Journey" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps. 137. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1991; 137: 27-30: 27–30. doi:10.1136/JRAMC-137-01-06. S2CID 2437294. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Flag Lowering Ceremony". Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Memorandum submitted to the Defence Committee by the Ministry of Defence responding to the Committee's Questions on the Defence Medical Services". Hansard. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  10. ^ "£138m UK defence medical training hub opens". Government Opportunities. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  11. ^ "£50 Million Refurbishment At Keogh Barracks". Forces Network. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  12. ^ Sadler, Claire (13 May 2019). "Army Medics Exercise Freedom Of Aldershot Ahead Of Tidworth Move". Forces Network. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  13. ^ "22 Field Hospital | The British Army".
  14. ^ "Future Soldier Guide - adr010310-futuresoldierguide_30nov.pdf" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Tigers training to be Rangers | The British Army".
  16. ^ "Ranger Regiment | The British Army". 1 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Future Soldier Guide" (PDF). 25 November 2021. p. 70. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  18. ^ "22 Multi-Role Medical Regiment (@22Med_Regt) / X". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 1 October 2023.