Altcar Training Camp

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox military installation

|name=Altcar Training Camp

|image=Altcar Training Camp entrance - geograph.org.uk - 418485.jpg

|caption = Altcar Training Camp

|type = Barracks

|map_type = Merseyside

|pushpin_map_caption = Location within Merseyside

|location = Hightown, Merseyside

|coordinates = {{Coord|53.52859|N|03.05912|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

|ownership = Ministry of Defence

|operator = {{army|United Kingdom}}

|built = 1860

|used=1860-Present

|architect =

|built_for = War Office

|garrison =

|occupants =North West Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

|current_commander = Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Black{{cite web|url=https://www.nwrfca.org.uk/rfca/altcar-training-camp/codes-retreat/|title=Code's Retreat|accessdate=11 March 2021}}

}}

Altcar Training Camp is located in Hightown, Merseyside, England. The {{convert|620|acre|ha|adj=on}} estate is composed of beaches, marshland, fields and small woods. The range is run by the North West Reserve Forces & Cadets Association.{{cite web|url=http://www.nwrfca.org.uk/rfca/altcar-training-camp/|title=Altcar Training Camp|publisher=North West Reserve Forces & Cadets Association|accessdate=8 July 2016}}

History

William Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton first made the site available for the Grand Lancashire Rifle Contest on 29 October 1860.{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/formbycivicsociety/15010081611|title=Altcar Rifle Range|date=20 August 2014|accessdate=8 July 2016}} He donated the land to the Volunteer Forces two years later. A railway station was established near the site in 1862 but closed in 1921. The site, which had been known as Altcar Rifle Range, was renamed Altcar Training Camp in 1970. In February 2016 a pavilion was burnt to the ground in a controlled fire to make way for new facilities.{{cite web|url=http://www.formbybubble.com/#!Dramatic-footage-of-the-fire-at-Altcar-Training-Camp-today/cmi1/56cc7d2b0cf2836ff5d60607|title=Altcar Training Camp|publisher=Formby Bubble|accessdate=8 July 2016}}

Gallery

File:Altcar rifle range - geograph.org.uk - 96902.jpg|Altcar Rifle Range

File:Altcar army camp 1981 - geograph.org.uk - 98387.jpg|Altcar camp 1981

File:Little Altcar - Rifle Club Huts.jpg|Little Altcar; the Club Huts

File:Alt Pumping Station - geograph.org.uk - 1227336.jpg|Alt Pumping Station

File:Entrance to "Training Area 6" - geograph.org.uk - 1226015.jpg|Entrance to "Training Area 6"

File:Phragmites - geograph.org.uk - 1227337.jpg|Phragmites

File:Nissen Huts - geograph.org.uk - 1225997.jpg|Nissen huts

File:Range Control - geograph.org.uk - 1227356.jpg|Range Control

File:Firing range danger flag by Alt estuary - geograph.org.uk - 420396.jpg|Range danger flag at Alt Estuary

References