1 Khaki country
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Vron Ware
Abstract
How would you know this is a historic military training area? How and when did this happen? How did the Ministry of Defence, and associated bodies, manage to justify occupying so much land, including forcibly deserted villages, over such a long period? This chapter offers a tour of the western side of the training area, noting the different structures that represent earlier phases of conflict. It then touches on questions of public access and environmental politics, offering a critique of ‘camouwash’ or military ‘greenwash’ that claims the army is preserving the distinct ecology of the plain rather than damaging it. It also shows how Britain’s imperial military heritage is manifest in the built environment of Salisbury Plain, tucked away and rarely noticed. The chapter situates the book within a genre of eco-political, decolonial place-writing, attentive to the country’s record of colonial violence while showing connections with its current network of military bases around the world.
Abstract
How would you know this is a historic military training area? How and when did this happen? How did the Ministry of Defence, and associated bodies, manage to justify occupying so much land, including forcibly deserted villages, over such a long period? This chapter offers a tour of the western side of the training area, noting the different structures that represent earlier phases of conflict. It then touches on questions of public access and environmental politics, offering a critique of ‘camouwash’ or military ‘greenwash’ that claims the army is preserving the distinct ecology of the plain rather than damaging it. It also shows how Britain’s imperial military heritage is manifest in the built environment of Salisbury Plain, tucked away and rarely noticed. The chapter situates the book within a genre of eco-political, decolonial place-writing, attentive to the country’s record of colonial violence while showing connections with its current network of military bases around the world.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Epigraph v
- Dedication vi
- Contents vii
- Introduction 1
- I The place 17
- 1 Khaki country 19
- 2 Contact zones 49
- 3 Military sprawl 68
- II The cost 89
- 4 Relocation, relocation, relocation 91
- 5 The khaki economy 113
- 6 Living next to a pipeline 136
- III The legacy 163
- 7 The shadow of war 165
- 8 This land is our land 187
- Conclusion 212
- List of figures 226
- Acknowledgements 228
- Notes 230
- Index 252
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Epigraph v
- Dedication vi
- Contents vii
- Introduction 1
- I The place 17
- 1 Khaki country 19
- 2 Contact zones 49
- 3 Military sprawl 68
- II The cost 89
- 4 Relocation, relocation, relocation 91
- 5 The khaki economy 113
- 6 Living next to a pipeline 136
- III The legacy 163
- 7 The shadow of war 165
- 8 This land is our land 187
- Conclusion 212
- List of figures 226
- Acknowledgements 228
- Notes 230
- Index 252
