Star comment: Shropshire's pride over Army link
Shropshire has many surprises for outsiders, who probably have an image of it as a place of sheep and cows.
One of those surprises is that a significant part of the rural landscape was once highly industrialised.
And another is that Shropshire is, and was, a military county with a proud heritage. One hundred years ago, in the early months after the outbreak of the Great War, Shrewsbury, a garrison town, was a busy place. The same was true in the Second World War. Oswestry is another Shropshire town with a proud military tradition.
Which brings us to Donnington. As war clouds gathered in the 1930s it was chosen as the site for a major stores and supplies depot when the War Office decided to move all stocks out of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to a site less vulnerable to bombing.
It went on to become the biggest military stores depot in Europe and has quietly played a vital part in all the conflicts and operations in which British forces have been involved. It is a huge military and civilian complex which has been a major provider of jobs.
The world has changed and some of the old threats have faded. Successive Governments have looked round to see how they can make savings in defence spending.
It is then a wonderful vote of confidence in Donnington that it has become the headquarters to one of the biggest Army brigades in Britain. While some bases have understandable concerns about their future, Donnington is to support about 15,000 soldiers around the West Midlands.
There is the old cliche of using it or losing it. Donnington is being used. And it has the advantages of being at the heart of the community and having the support of the community. Donnington was just a village before the military base came, and hundreds of houses were built to accommodate the workers at the depot.
There is a potential new chapter. Donnington is bidding to become a super-depot, the hub of the Army's entire logistics operation. If successful, it would mean a major development "outside the wire". Donnington would break out of its current boundaries.
There is a big prize in safeguarded jobs, new jobs, and a huge boost to the local economy.
And it would mean for generations to come, Britain's warriors would have cause to thank the loyal Shropshire folk for giving them the tools with which to do the job.
