Codford's First World War Landscape

Although Codford was peripheral to the main army training areas on and around Salisbury Plain, its easy rail and road access to Warminster and Salisbury made it an attractive location for garrisoning troops.

During the First World War, there were no fewer than 15 different camps built in and around Codford, at first to accommodate British troops before their deployment to France but after 1916 also Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZACs). The remains of rows of temporary wooden huts can be seen to the north of St Mary's church stretching along the eastern side of the Chitterne Road. Also clearly visible are the earthworks associated with the Codford Camp Railway that linked the civilian station with the camp sites. The track running from the Chitterne Road into the Punch Bowl would have served the New Zealand Military Hospital that was established there in 1916.