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ARMY REMOUNT DEPOT, ARBORFIELD Royal Army Veterinary Corps Brief History [Source: print media] Farmland to army garrison Until nearly 100 years ago the land now occupied by the sprawling
garrison of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Arborfield was
known as Bigg’s Farm, reputed for
its abundant corn crops and owned, like most of the land at the time, by the
Walter Family. Then, in 1907, several farms were sold. The War Office bought one
and, almost overnight, an army of workmen had moved in and transformed the
great meadows into a vast camp of wooden huts and stables. Within a short time hundreds of horses began to arrive and
Arborfield Cross became a Remount Depot and one of the Army’s main training
centres for chargers, cavalry and gun-carriage horses, the forerunner of
today’s modern army base there.
(above) AAS Arborfield site marked in red Contributed by: anonymous deceased estate “Bigg’s Farm” –
site of the Army Remount Depot & from 1939 The Army Technical School
(Boys)
Arborfield Cross is in the north-west
corner of the map. “Old Biggs’s Farm” became part of Arborfield Garrison.
The R.S.M.’s House 1930
Arborfield Army Remount Depot and (below) another view
Army Remount Depot Stables. To read an article on life at the Remount Depot, CLICK on the
PHOTO to visit the Arborfield Village History web site. Many more articles on
the subject are available on the web site. and (below) some of the Army Remount
Depot inmates
Not familiar with “Puff Billiards”? Log on to http://www.puff-billiards.com/ Published: 15th March 2007
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