Station History
The military links to
Innsworth date back to the
start of the Second World
War; with today’s NATO
barracks operating on the
site of a former wartime
Royal Air Force station.
The Station itself opened in
1940, with the first unit based
here being No.7 School of
Technical Training which
trained engine and airframe
fitters and mechanics.
Over 2,000 officers
and men were based
here at Innsworth
by the time training
began in earnest
in 1941; this being
delayed due to the arrival
of 1,500 RAF evacuees from
Dunkirk.
In December 1941, No. 2
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
(WAAF) Depot was opened
at Innsworth and from then
on the Station became
increasingly associated with
the Women’s branch of the
service. By the end of 1941
the strength of the Station
had risen to well over 4000
including trainees. Eventually
it was decided to reserve the
Station almost exclusively
for WAAF training, including
barrage balloon amongst
other vital roles.
By the end of the war
nearly 5,000 people were
living on the Station, three
quarters of them WAAF. It
retained its training role, with
the opening of No. 2 RAF
School of Cookery in 1948;
and was also the home of
33 RAF Regt Wing; which
deployed squadrons
to emergencies in
Cyprus and Northern
Ireland. The Station
housed the Education
Book Depot, which
would have come in
handy with both Nos.
7 and 13 Schools of Recruit
Training.
In 1951 the Headquarters of
the RAF Record Office which
had been based nearby in
Gloucester and Barnwood,
moved to the station and
gained Group status.
Three years later in 1954
No. 5 Personnel Despatch
Unit arrived, charged with
the administration and
processing of personnel
selected for overseas
service.
Just after the war ended
the RAF Base Accounts
Office moved from York to
Gloucester. This grew into
the Central Pay Office and
became part of the RAF
Personnel and Training
Command; which formed in
1994 and based at Innsworth.
The Station has always
maintained a close
association with the city
of Gloucester, and
on 7th April 1960,
received the Honour
of the Freedom of the
City. The station has
subsequently also
received the freedoms
of the Borough of
Tewkesbury and
the Borough of
Cheltenham.
Many other changes have
taken place at Innsworth
over recent years; these
include the formation of
Personnel Management
Agency, contractorisation of
the Station Support Services
and the transfer of certain
administrative functions
(RAF pay and pensions) to
the tri Service, Armed
Forces Personnel
Administration Agency
(AFPAA) (renamed
Defence Business
Services in 2014), all
in 1997. In early 2005
the MOD Medals Office
and Joint Casualty and
Compassionate Centre
(JCCC) were established at
Innsworth under AFPAA
management.
was taken to close RAF
Innsworth. The drawdown
took place over the next
three years with elements of
the Personnel Management
Agency moved to High
Wycombe and RAF Cranwell,
and RAF Innsworth finally
closed on 31st March 2008;
responsibility for the base
passing to the Army.
Under management of the
Army, the RAF Innsworth
site was officially renamed
Imjin Barracks at a special
ceremony on Friday 21st
November 2008.
In autumn 2010, NATO’s Allied
Rapid Reaction Corps and its
associated units moved from
In 2005
it was
announced
that HQ
Personnel
and Training
Command was to co-
locate with HQ Strike
Command at RAF High
Wycombe.
their home in Rheindahlen,
Germany to join the Defence
Business Service elements
already stationed at
Innsworth to continue the
military presence on the site.
The new collocated
HQs were
subsequently merged
to form Air Command
and the decision
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