RM Poole

Royal Marines Base Poole
Near Hamworthy in England
Landing craft moored alongside pontoons at RM Poole
RM Poole Shown within Dorset Show map of Dorset RM Poole RM Poole (the United Kingdom) Show map of the United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°43′13″N 002°01′18″W
Type	Royal Marines Base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Royal Navy
Controlled by	Royal Marines
Condition	Operational
Site history
Built	1942 (1942)
Built for	Royal Air Force
In use	1942-present
Garrison information
Occupants	Royal Marines

Royal Marines Base Poole (RM Poole) is a British naval base located in Napier Road in Hamworthy, a suburb of Poole, Dorset, England on the Poole Harbour and is the centre for Royal Marines Commandos activities.

History

The base was built in 1942 with the creation of RAF Hamworthy. In 1944, control of the site was handed over to the Royal Navy for use as a naval establishment. The site was known as HMS Turtle and was used for training personnel for the D-Day landings. In May 1944, the site was closed but a small number of personnel were retained for basic maintenance of the base. The site was re-opened and taken over by the Royal Marines in 1954 and became known as the Amphibious School, Royal Marines. In 1956, it was expanded and was renamed the Joint Service Amphibious Warfare Centre (JSAWC). In the early 1960s, it was renamed the Amphibious Training Unit Royal Marines (ATURM). The Technical Training Wing was moved from Eastney Barracks to Poole in 1973 and the base became known as the Royal Marines Poole.^[1] 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, which are responsible for landing craft training, was formed at the site in October 2001^[2] but moved to RM Tamar in August 2013.^[3]

The base has its own internal training area, which is located at the northern edge of the unit. It has been described as being a pre-deployment training area with a Forward Operating Base (FOB) scenario, a street façade and an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) lane.^[4]

Operations

The Royal Marines have four Squadrons based at RM Poole,^[5] as well as use of 148 (Meiktila) Battery Royal Artillery.^[6][7]

References

1. Ladd, James D. (1983). SBS : the invisible raiders : the history of the Special Boat Squadron from World War Two to the present. London: Arms and Armour. p. 258. ISBN 0-85368-593-2.
2. "The History of RM Poole". Royal Navy. 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
3. "Harry's heroes: Prince opens Royal Marines' new £30m amphibious complex in Plymouth". Navy News. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
4. "RM Poole, Hamworthy" (Word Document). gov.uk. MS word doc, para 13: Ministry of Defence. 5 December 2007. p. 1. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
5. Bailey, Stephen (25 September 2007). "Poole-based RM troops in daring hostage rescue". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
6. Bailey, Stephen (5 August 2011). "Questions over future of Royal Marines Hamworthy base". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
7. Martin, Andy (2 September 2013). "Poole soldiers to join US Marines for elite training exercise". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 18 November 2016.

External links

• Map showing RM Poole and northern exercise area