England’s Military Heartland: Preparing for War on Salisbury Plain
Vron Ware, Antonia Lucia Dawes, Mitra Pariyar and Alice Cree
Manchester University Press 2025
ISBN: 9781526174840
266 pages, paperback

This publication is the culmination of a social study brought about by the Ministry of Defence’s expansion of the Salisbury Plain Training Area. The research was conducted by researchers, writers, columnists and editors in the academic fields of military race studies.

The importance of the landscape is considered from the outset, consisting of complex set of issues that co-exist in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is also considered by UNESCO to be of international importance, with the continuing use of this landscape as a military arena to prepare soldiers for battle.

The focus of the book lies in the social differences that these uses create, and these are drawn out through a number of techniques including interviews with staff from local authorities, current and ex-military personnel, and the indigenous population. We discover more about the co-dependency of the local population with the ‘defence industry’: the military presence and commercial and civilian contractors, and the unique socio micro-climate that this has created; a fascinating concept.

The book also considers the diversity of military presence and how integration after military life has worked, or not, for those who remained in the area, settling into new lives as civilians. The cultural changes for military families who are new to the area having been relocated from Europe (including the condition of military accommodation) are investigated alongside the effect of the military presence on the natural landscape, from attempts to protect archaeological heritage to the architectural landscape changes that military settlement brought. New insights have been shaped by the work, such as interestingly, but maybe not surprisingly, that young people from the area are far more likely to go into military service than those elsewhere in the county, and in the country, and the planned approach that the military has to this. The new ways of partnership working are considered alongside access and the balance of power over the area.

There are a number of photographs which help illustrate the concepts contained within the text, with comprehensive notes at the end and an index.

England’s Military Heartland is a fascinating read, a valuable study containing many voices, highlighting the natural divide of the county. It is a glimpse into a unique way of life that differs from any other part of Wiltshire, a thoroughly recommended read for anyone interested in the social history of the county, and who likes to be captivated by an original and unusual piece of work.

This publication is available to view at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre or to borrow via your local library, ref. ABP.354

Julie Davis

Local Studies Lead, Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre