Arromanches Camp

Arromanches Camp
Located near Instow in Devon
Royal Marines Base, Instow
Arromanches Camp Location within Devon
Coordinates	51°02′35″N 4°11′09″W / 51.04306°N 4.18583°W / 51.04306; -4.18583Coordinates: 51°02′35″N 4°11′09″W / 51.04306°N 4.18583°W / 51.04306; -4.18583
Type	Royal Marine Barracks
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Controlled by	Royal Navy
Site history
Built	1939 (1939)
Built for	Admiralty
In use	1939-Present
Garrison information
Occupants	11 Amphibious Trials and Training Squadron

Arromanches Camp is a military installation operated by the Royal Marines at Instow in North Devon located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) south west of Barnstaple, Devon, and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) north east of Bideford, Devon, England.

History

The site, which was established in 1939, was used as a training facility for troops preparing for the Normandy landings at Arromanches on Gold Beach in June 1944 during the Second World War. In the 1970s the towns of Instow and Arromanches instigated an arrangement whereby families visiting each other's town every other year staying with a host family.^[1]

Operations

There site is split into two different areas, firstly the camp where the workshops and accommodation are located and secondly the beach located 1.2 miles (1.9 km) south west which is where the main landing craft are based. The site is occupied by 11 Amphibious Trials and Training Squadron, part of 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, which carries out training for operations which include disembarking from landing craft, wading across a water gap of up to 1.5m (4 ft 6 inches) in depth, an activity known as fording, and arriving at a beachhead.^[2] The site is also used for trialling new landing craft: the Royal Marines have been moving away from the use of flat-bottomed landing craft or DUKWs to armed powerboats.^[3] The site is available for filming.^[4]

References