THE CLOSURE OF BRITANNIA BARRACKS 31 MARCH 1995
The following extract was published in the Britannia and Castle Newsletter in April 1967:
'Britannia Barracks, the Regiment's home in Norwich since 1887, will cease to be occupied by any unit of the Regiment after 31 March when the 4th (Territorial) Battalion is disbanded. Contact with the barracks will continue whilst the Norfolk and Suffolk Headquarters of the Royal Anglian Regiment and the Royal Norfolk Regiment remain in the old hospital block. How long this situation will remain is anyone's guess, but judging by the time usually taken to reach decisions in such matters it is unlikely there will be any developments for a year or so.'

The decision was certainly long in the making, but twenty years on, the barracks has finally closed. For those with fond memories it is undoubtedly a sad event, bringing to an end over a hundred years of the Regiment's tenure.
For the staff at RHQ extricating ourselves from the ample barracks and bedding-in at our "cosy" married quarter at the TA Centre was not without its challenges. Those who visited us in our former abode will be aware that a hundred years of occupation has allowed the accumulation of all sorts of things.

A sense of humour has been a primary requisite for the past few months ...

When they told us the Barracks was closing
We didn't believe them at all.
For years they'd been saying "We're moving"
And "the writing is now on the wall".

So for months we continued regardless
But no one went back on the plan.
So we thought we'd better start packing
And investigate hiring a van.

We thought that once we got going
Things would just fall into place.
We knew we could rise to the challenge
There was no way we could lose face.

We went off to Sainsburys for boxes
And filled them so full that we found
That despite all our efforts at packing
They were too heavy to lift off the ground. 

At this point we started to panic
And decided to call for advice.
The Major with training behind him
Came up with a plan in a trice.

Now we knew where the campaign was going
We knew in the end we would win.
We'd just keep all the things that we fancied
And put all the rest in the bin. 

Ted was our unsung hero.
He toiled for days upon days
And came up with methods for lifting
Awkward things in ingenious ways.

His courage was never in question,
There was nothing that he couldn't crack.
But he went off on leave once we got here
And we're worried he'll never come back. 

And now as we look from the office
At a wall and a bit of barbed wire,
We think of the days at the Barracks
When our aspects were notably higher.

We're grateful for our rehousing
And we don't want to kick up a fuss.
If our jobs go too, we know what to do
'Cos Pickfords have nothing on us!

Lindsey M

OVERHEARD
'It will give me less space to be untidy', said Major Reeve about the move of RHQ to Aylsham Road from Britannia Barracks.

BRITANNIA BARRACKS The Britannia Aug 1948 and repeated in B&C 85 Dec 95
The magnificent view from Britannia Barracks was almost spoiled in 1880 when it was intended to build a railway between the barracks and the Close. Luckily, the project was never carried out. Riverside Road, the main approach to the barracks from the city was, when the barracks were built, little more than a country lane. The barracks were built in 1886 and the tale goes that the Norwich City Council, having given permission for them to be erected on Mousehold overlooking the city, requested that they be given a pleasing appearance when viewed from the city. The two blocks of buildings were named "Britannia" and "Cameron" - the latter after Colonel Cameron who commanded the IX Foot throughout the Peninsula War. The Depot of the Regiment moved from Great Yarmouth in 1887 and Major Otway Mayne, OC the advance party, was responsible for planting the trees and shrubs.
During the 1914-18 War many thousands enlisted at the Depot and in the Autumn of 1914 some 1600 men awaiting voluntary enlistment lay out on the grass, the barrack accommodation being full.
Lt Col Hadow, who commanded the Depot in 1920, arranged for the building and layout of the sports field - no mean task for it meant clearing and levelling a great deal of wild heathland, the laying of turf and the planting of windbreaks. During the 1914-18 War many thousands enlisted at the Depot and in the Autumn of 1914 some 1600 men awaiting voluntary enlistment lay out on the grass, the barrack accommodation being full. (Maj RD Ambrose MBE DCM)

THE FIRST REGIMENTAL MUSEUM
In 1934 Major AJ Shakeshaft started a Regimental Museum in a hut near the Officers' Mess.

NELSON BARRACKS The Britannia Aug 1948 and repeated in B&C 85 Dec 95
The Nelson Barracks, the old Cavalry Barracks, were built in 1791 and in 1905 the Secretary of State for War laid a foundation stone for a new Cavalry Barracks on the ground used in 1948 as a civilian aerodrome. The stone was carefully laid, carefully taken up again and the barracks have never been built. (Maj RD Ambrose MBE DCM)