MoD Bicester

MoD Bicester is a large military storage and distribution centre just outside Bicester in Oxfordshire.

History
The site dates back to September 1942 when a depot was constructed near Bicester to provide logistical support for operations in Europe during the Second World War. It is serviced by the Bicester Military Railway. In 1961 the ordnance depots at Didcot and Branston were closed and a Central Ordnance Depot was created at Bicester. Between 1980 and 1982 the ordnance depots at Chilwell and Ruddington were also closed resulting in an increased role for the central ordnance depot at Bicester. The depot became known as the Defence Storage and Distribution Centre in April 1999.

A bomb disposal training base, built at a cost of circa £100 million and including a cave complex, a dive pool and roadways was established at St George's Barracks on the site in March 2013. Then in September 2014, 23 Pioneer Regiment, which had been based at St David’s Barracks on the site since the 1940s, were disbanded. The Ministry of Defence has announced that 1st Regiment Royal Logistic Corps will move from Gütersloh in Germany to St David’s Barracks at Bicester by summer 2016.