The TA has occupied the site since 1934 when the previous TA Centre, Farringdon House, was built. Originally, the site was mostly occupied by search-light and anti-aircraft regiments of the Royal Artillery (TA) but from 1943 - 1944, the TA Centre was used as an Italian Prisoner of War camp. Some local residents can still recall memories from this time.
Various Territorial Army units occupied the building until June 1992 when 210 Transport Squadron, 151 (London) Transport Regiment (Royal Logistic Corps), took up residency. In December 2005 the old structure was demolished to make room for a new purpose-built TA Centre, fully equipped to meet the demands of a new modern Army.
At the ceremony, The Princess Royal inspected the Regimental Guard of Honour before unveiling the name plaque. She was then invited to look at a series of cups and trophies won by the regiment as well as displays of operational tours and ceremonial activities. Her Royal Highness also took the time to award Operational and Long Service Medals to members of the squadron before stepping inside the new building for a tour of the facilities and an opportunity to meet soldiers and their families at a private reception.
Commanding Officer of 151 (London) Transport Regiment (RLC) (V), Lieutenant Colonel Paul Oliver, said:
"We are all delighted that Her Royal Highness was able to accept our invitation to open the new TA Centre here at Stonecot Hill. We now have a fantastic training facility that is ideally suited to the needs of 210 Transport Squadron whose role is the movement and distribution of combat supplies around the modern battlefield. We should remember that the TA has never been in such demand to support the Regular Army on operations and access to a training base like this adds genuine value to the preparation for such deployments. In fact, 14 members of the squadron saw the building for the first time when they returned from operations in Afghanistan in March this year.
"Stonecot Hill is a site with an historic link to the Army and we feel privileged to have been able to return after a short absence while the TA Centre was re-built. We thank our friends and neighbours in the community for their warm welcome and for their continued support."
151 (London) Transport Regiment is London's only transport regiment. It can trace its history back to the foundation of The Royal Wagon Train in Croydon in 1801. Today it is a modern Territorial Army regiment that is currently as busy as any regular regiment fully embracing the One Army concept. The soldiers come from all walks of civilian life and they live and work within London's local communities. They give up their spare time to train as soldiers and deploy on operations in the same way as the Regular Army.
The regiment is one of the few TA units to have deployed independently under its own command and has recently returned from operations in Afghanistan.