The camp was established when the southwest part of the Maresfield Park Estate was requestioned by the
War Office from Count
Alexander Münster in 1914. During the
First World War, it served as a training camp for
Kitchener's Army and as a riding school for
yeomanry units, where they were prepared for deployment to the
Western Front. In 1920, it became the
School of Signals and Signal Training Centre and continued to serve in that role until the school moved to
Catterick Garrison, in
North Yorkshire in 1925. The Royal Signals continued to use the camp and the
Band of the Royal Corps of Signals was formed there in August 1938. A large number of units were accommodated at the camp in anticipation of the
Normandy landings during the
Second World War and King
George VI inspected the troops at the camp shortly before they departed for their ports of embarkation on the south coast. In 1948, the army camp became the depot of the
Intelligence Corps. The playwright,
Alan Bennett, was one of those who spent part of their
National Service at the camp in the 1950s. The camp continued to serve as the corps depot until the Intelligence Corps moved to
Templer Barracks in
Ashford, Kent in 1966. In February 1967, the
Queen's Own Hussars arrived at the camp from where squadrons were deployed to Aden in July 1967, to
Sharjah in July 1967, to
Singapore in October 1968 and to
Cyprus in June 1969. After the camp was decommissioned, the site was redeveloped and was made available for use as the training centre for
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and for use by small and medium sized businesses as Ashdown Business Park. ==References==