Army Base Repair Organisation facts for kids

The Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) was a special group that worked for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. Think of it like a big workshop for the military! ABRO's main job was to fix, repair, and even rebuild equipment for the British Armed Forces. They also helped the police and some local councils with their vehicles and machines. ABRO's history goes all the way back to 1858, when a group called the Corps of Armourers was formed.

What Was ABRO?

ABRO was an executive agency. This means it was a part of the government, but it had some freedom to manage its own work. Its main goal was to keep military vehicles and equipment in top shape. This was very important for the British Armed Forces to do their jobs well.

History of ABRO

How ABRO Started

On April 1, 1993, a big change happened. The Army's workshops in Great Britain were reorganized. These workshops used to be part of the Equipment Support Organisation. After the change, they became the Army Base Repair Organisation, or ABRO.

ABRO had its main office in Andover. It also had a special team for contract repairs. Plus, there was a network of workshops all over the country. At the start, ABRO had many workers. There were 3,581 civilian staff. Also, 219 military staff worked there.

Where ABRO Worked

Besides the main office in Andover, ABRO had several large workshops. These were important places for fixing military gear.

• Bovington
• Old Dalby, Leics
• Catterick
• Colchester
• Donnington
• Stirling
• Warminster

There were also smaller ABRO sites. These included places like Bicester, Edinburgh, Sennybridge, and York.

Becoming a Trading Fund

On April 1, 2002, ABRO changed again. It became a trading fund. This means ABRO started to act more like a business. It earned money by providing its services. This helped it to be more efficient. It was still part of the Ministry of Defence, but it had more control over its own money.

What Services Did ABRO Provide?

ABRO offered many important services. These services helped keep military equipment working.

• Maintenance, repair and overhaul: This means regular checks, fixing broken parts, and completely rebuilding old equipment.
• Complex service and repair: Handling really tricky or difficult repair jobs.
• Assembly, integration and test: Putting different parts together and making sure they worked.
• Calibration: Making sure tools and equipment were accurate.
• Diagnostics: Finding out what was wrong with a machine.
• Fleet management: Looking after many vehicles at once.
• Mobile support teams: Teams that could travel to fix things on site.
• Obsolescence management: Dealing with old parts that were no longer made.
• Re-manufacture: Taking old items and making them like new again.
• Workshop management: Running the repair workshops smoothly.

ABRO was a very busy organization. Each year, it worked on over 1,000 different types of military and commercial vehicles. It also handled more than 55,000 extra repair tasks. ABRO's yearly income was usually more than £147 million.

The End of ABRO

On May 22, 2007, a big announcement was made. Lord Drayson, who was a minister for defence equipment, said that ABRO would join another agency. It would merge with the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA). This new combined group would be called the Defence Support Group. This merger officially happened on April 1, 2008.