Glen Parva Barracks

The barracks opened under the name of Wigston Barracks in 1881.^[1] Their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces.^[2] The barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot as well as the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot.^[3] Following the Childers Reforms, the barracks became the depot of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1881.^[3]

Tens of thousands of recruits and conscripts were trained there for deployment during the First World War.^[4] The barracks went on to become the regional centre for infantry training as the Forester Brigade Depot in 1960.^[5] They were closed in the late 1960s and most of the buildings were sold.^[1] Although Glen Parva Young Offenders Institution now occupies much of the site^[6] a unit of the Royal Army Pay Corps remained there until 1997.^[7]

• Beazley, Ben (2006). Postwar Leicester. History Press. ISBN 978-0750940689.