Dartmoor Training Area

Dartmoor Training Area (DTA)
Dartmoor National Park, Devon
MOD danger sign on Roos Tor
Coordinates	50°39′12″N 3°59′41″W / 50.653347°N 3.994856°W / 50.653347; -3.994856
Type	Training Area
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	British Army
Controlled by	Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Site history
Built	1890s (permanent structures)
Built for	War Office
In use	1870s-Present

The Dartmoor Training Area (DTA) consists of approximately 13,000 hectares (50 square miles) of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England.

The British army has been using Dartmoor for training purposes since around 1800. After the opening of HMP Dartmoor in 1809, the battalion of soldiers guarding the around 5,000 prisoners there began practicing musketry at a firing range at Hart Tor.

Over the next decades, troops stationed around Plymouth trained in the area, notably in 1853 before and during the Crimean War. In addition, the local Militia also kept in a high state of readiness, training on Dartmoor, often at Haytor.

In 1869, a new type of artillery munition developed by Henry Shrapnel was tested near Postbridge. Four years later, a major exercise was held by the First and Second Divisions, involving over 12,000 men and 2,100 horses, in the Ringmoor, Roborough and Yennadon Downs area. Rainstorms caused the training to be cut short.

During this time, the nation's main artillery training area was at Shoeburyness, where the guns fired out to sea. As technology advanced and ranges increased, this became inadequate. The War Office agreed with the Duchy of Cornwall and the town council of Okehampton to set up a training range in north Dartmoor. The first temporary camp was established in 1875 on Halstock Down and artillery firing between the East Okement and Taw Rivers lasted for three weeks. Flags identifying the affected areas were flown on Halstock Hill. Over the next years the number of field and horse artillery that came to the area steadily increased until training went on throughout the summer months. The Okehampton railway line established in 1871 facilitated access to the area. In the 1890s, a military stop was built just below Okehampton Camp.

Although the people of Okehampton appreciated the additional business brought by the troops, the graziers protested as the lifestock was driven off. However, an agreement was reached and from 1882 compensation was paid to them.

Until the 1890s the soldiers and horses were quartered in tents built by the first troops to use the facility each year. Then the War Department took out a 999-year lease on 93 acres from the Okehampton Park Estate. Okehampton Artillery Practice Camp was built in 1892-4 at a cost of ₤13,469. Likely following the plan of the tented camp, the officer quarters were located on the high ground to the south. The stables could house up to 760 horses. The officers' stables still exist today and are used as troop accommodations. A guard house was built, not controlling access to the camp but overlooking the area where the guns were stored when not in use. Administration of the camp was by two NCOs called "Barracky Bills" who lived there with their families. Their quarters and working areas also still exist. A small permanent staff ran the training exercises. This camp accommodated two brigades at a time, of four batteries of six guns each. The troops (around 170 men and 90 horses per brigade) usually stayed at the camp for two weeks.