BASSINGBOURN Barracks opened its gates to potential new recruits when it held a three-day Army careers exhibition. More than 7,000 students aged between 15 and 18 attended on Wednesday last week to get a flavour of Army life, and the careers that are avai

BASSINGBOURN Barracks opened its gates to potential new recruits when it held a three-day Army careers exhibition.

More than 7,000 students aged between 15 and 18 attended on Wednesday last week to get a flavour of Army life, and the careers that are available.

A further 6,000 visited on Thursday, and a similar number came on Friday.

Major Geoff Woodcock, from the Royal Signals regiment, is based at Bassingbourn.

He said: "This event is to show the students the hundreds of trades there are in the Army.

"The Army needs everything, including electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen.

"It is not just for soldiers."

Students who visited the exhibition were able to see examples of military hardware, including tanks and helicopters.

They were also able to speak to serving soldiers and to find out more about life in the Army.

The exhibition coincided with the 70th anniversary of Bassingbourn Barracks, which was built in 1938 for the Royal Air Force.

The base was used by the US Air Force (USAAF) during the Second World War and was handed over to the Army in 1969.

And since 1993, the base has been used as a phase one training centre, where new recruits are taught basic soldiering skills including using weapons, marching, map-reading, and first aid.

Last year more than 1,200 new Army recruits were trained at Bassingbourn.

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