Fovant Badges: Chalk memorials of the First World War in Wiltshire.
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 10
March 2026
The county of Wiltshire is home to around 20% of the British Army, including the major military garrisons of Warminster, Larkhill, Bulford, and Tidworth, most of which are centred around the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA), the largest military training area in the United Kingdom.
In addition to those currently in use, there are also numerous historical sites that once accommodated military personnel during the First & Second World Wars. As you take the A30 out of Salisbury and approach Fovant, it is easy to assume the area has always been quiet & peaceful. However, during the First World War, the surrounding countryside became home to several large camps housing tens of thousands of British & Australian soldiers preparing for, or returning from, service in France.
The camps functioned as staging posts where soldiers were trained & organised before being deployed to the battlefields of northern France. Far from temporary tented encampments, they developed into substantial settlements, with wooden barracks & huts, as well as facilities including hospitals, cinemas, canteens & shops. A railway spur was also constructed from the nearby village of Dinton to transport supplies, equipment & wounded soldiers returning from active service.
Life at Fovant would have included long periods of training followed by long periods of waiting for deployment or recovery. To occupy themselves, & in remembrance of fallen comrades who gave their lives, many units carved their regimental cap badges into the chalk escarpment overlooking the camps. There were originally over 20 badges but many have now disappeared. Many badges were also added after the wars.
Badges that can be viewed today include:
Devonshire Regiment
Wiltshire Regiment
Australian Imperial Force
YMCA
Royal Corp of Signals
After the war, many military camps were dismantled including the camps at Fovant but the chalk badges, known collectively as the Fovant Badges, remained as one of the most remarkable & visible legacies of the Great War in the English landscape. Unfortunately over time, many were lost to erosion or neglect, but thanks to conservation efforts of local villagers & with support from Regimental associations many badges have survived.
At the end of the second world war the Fovant Home Guard Platoon formed into the Old Comrades Association & undertook restoration of the badges. In 1961 the Fovant Badges Society was formed becoming a charitable organisation with objectives being to maintain & preserve the badges.
Conservation work to the badges, carried out by the Fovant Badges Society along with local volunteers & serving soldiers, takes place in June each year & involves maintenance tasks such as weeding & weed suppression. Re-chalking of the badges takes place when required & involves the delivery of the chalk via truck & then distribution by wheelbarrow & bucket.
Maintenance to the badges can only take place with generous grants including those from the Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs & the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund, local businesses & members of the public. Without this generous assistance the future of the site would be in doubt. All this vital work ensures that the badges remain visible for future generations & more than a century later the Fovant Badges continue to link the Wiltshire landscape with the human stories of the First World War.
The Fovant Badges are best viewed from public footpaths & viewpoints around Fovant, including from the layby on the A30.
If you wish to find out more, become a member or give your support to the site why not visit the Fovant badges website
