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Prior to 1881, the 17th Regiment of Foot did not have a depot in Leicestershire. Under the prevailing brigade system, regiments shared a brigade depot. however, with the army reforms of that year, the 17th became the Leicestershire Regiment and the 27th Brigade depot was abolished. The army was reorganised along territorial lines and each county regiment was to have its own depot. That of the Leicestershire Regiment was the newly built Glen Parva barracks near South Wigston. The regiment also absorbed the Leicestershire Militia, and with it came the old militia headquarters, the Magazine on Oxford Street in Leicester. This became Regimental Headquarters, the most important building associated with the Tigers. Below are a selection of other sites with regimental connections:

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Regimental Headquarters: The Magazine, Oxford Street, Leicester as it appeared around 1900. Originally a gatehouse, it dates from the 14th Century. The building on the extreme left in this photo is the Victorian barrack block, which with three others formed Magazine Square.

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The Magazine as it appears today. The barrack blocks were demolished in the road widening schemes of the 1960s. The Magazine itself was scheduled for demolition but fortunately was repreived.
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The Regimental Depot: Glen Parva Barracks, Saffron Lane, South Wigston. Opened in 1881, the depot (also known as Wigston Barracks) was well known to several generations of Tigers who undertook their basic training there.

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In the defence cuts of the 1960s the army once more adopted a brigade depot system, and Glen Parva barracks became home to a section of the Royal Army Pay Corps, before most of the buildings were finally sold off.

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The Drill Hall, Loughborough, was Headquarters of the 5th battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment, from its creation in 1908 until the 1950s.
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Poonamallee Barracks, Belgaum, Madras, 1910. Home to the 2nd battalion for about eight years prior to the Great War. An absolutely typical later Victorian barracks in India: light and airy with large verandahs to provide ventilation in hot weather. It would be interesting to know if these barracks are still in existence?

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TA Centre, Ulverscroft Road Leicester. Built in the 1930s for the 4th battalion when it was converted to the 44th (Anti-Aircraft) Battery Royal Artillery. It has remained in use as a TA Centre by the Royal Anglian Regiment and latterly by the East of England Regiment. 

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CSM Rocky Coulson (centre) with (right) CSM Alec Pugh, 1st battalion, on the parade square of Mons Barracks, Iserlohn, Germany 1953. This was a former German Army barracks built for a Flak unit in the 1930s. it was superbly equipped, with modern kitchens, a gymnasium, motor transport garages, and sports fields. The only thing it lacked was a purpose built officers' mess, as the officers in the German army lived out of barracks.

Acknowledgements