www.caterhambarracks.org.uk
History ... and your home
A hundred-and-thirty years ago, the British Army was dying.
Troops lived in crowded, disease-ridden barracks and the life expectancy of a soldier in peacetime was less than that of a civilian. Recruiting was becoming impossible.
Alarmed Government and Service chiefs drew up urgent plans for new barracks with unheard- of standards of accommodation, spacious and hygienic, to meet the emergency. The Caterham Depot was the result. And, occupied by the Guards, it became the blueprint for all Army accommodation. Recruits came back and the crisis ended.
During the next century, Caterham Guardsmen distinguished themselves in two world wars and countless lesser conflicts, adding to the regimentsí unique tally of Victoria Cross awards. The costs were high. Thousands of Caterham Guardsmen lie in foreign cemeteries. A Guardsmanís-eye view of life in that remarkable and dangerous century is told in
The Guards and Caterham
The Soldiers' Story
The man who deserted one regiment in World War II, joined the Irish Guards at Caterham - and won the Victoria Cross. Another other man who joined at Caterham, founded the SAS.
Terry Waite - 'What I learned at Caterham kept me sane during five yearsí solitary confinement in an underground Beirut cellar'.
The Commandant's account of the night IRA horror came to the Depot.
Life and death in the Depot under Luftwaffe day and night raids which caused huge damage and mounting fatalities during World War II.
The Guards and Caterham; The Soldiers' Story tells of courage and endurance at astonishing levels and it only costs £10 (all proceeds go to Guards' charities).
Order your copy from Ron Melvin (one of the authors)
His email is RGSM55@aol.com
©Copyright 2002, Caterham Barracks Community Trust. Updated November 2007
