THE Army Officer Selection Centre based at Leighton House is staying in Westbury.
The confirmation came from the Defence Secretary, the Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP last month in the House of Commons following concerns that it could be leaving the town.
“Result! Defence Secretary in response to my question in the House of Commons just announced Army Officer Selection Board will stay at Leighton House Westbury,” said local MP Andrew Murrison.
“Looking forward to the certainty and investment this implies.
“For 20 years, I’ve been fighting for what at times seemed like a rearguard action to keep Army Officer Selection in Westbury.”
The Defence Secretary paid tribute in House of Commons to the centre in Westbury saying, ‘The Army wouldn’t be the Army’ without it.
“I did not want to see it leave Westbury and my Right Honourable Friend persuaded me against any move,” he told Andrew Murrison. “I’m delighted its going to remain there and my Honourable Friend, the Minister for Procurement, will be delighted to meet you about investment opportunities.”
Applicants who wish to become officers in the British Army need to pass selection at the centre, located on Warminster Road, before moving on to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire. Prince William and Prince Harry both undertook the officer selection process in Westbury.
Colonel Lucy Giles, President of the AOSB said, “The Army Officer Selection Board (formerly known as the Regular Commissions Board) has a proud history at Westbury, since the establishment of a formal mechanism to assess and select individuals for commission into the British Army almost 75 years ago.
“Over our long history we have seen many excellent officer cadets selected for a successful career in the Army, and we continue to welcome on average 4,500 candidates a year. We are therefore delighted that this prestigious selection process will remain at Westbury with the recent confirmation that Leighton House will be retained to meet an enduring military requirement.
“It is my privilege as President AOSB and Head of Establishment to have the opportunity to take the organisation forward and continue to provide candidates of the highest calibre for an Army fit for the future.”
In 2016, Leighton House estate was set to be sold off for housing, but the owner, the Ministry of Defence, has since reversed the decision.
Leighton House and its 40-acre estate has a rich history, with the Listed house built around 1800 by the prominent Phipps family, whose fortune was made in the clothing industry.
In 1888, the estate was sold to William Henry Laverton, who had taken over Westbury’s Angel and Bitham mills from his uncle, Abraham Laverton. William Laverton sold the estate in 1921 and it became a boys’ school, Victoria College. The school closed in 1936 and in 1939, the site was used during the war as a convalescent hospital. After the war, the site was used by the War Office as a selection board for National Service, before becoming the Regular Commissions Board, selecting officers for Sandhurst, since 1949.
