Ken Gillespie warns Victoria Barracks’ heritage may still be at risk

Saving Victoria Barracks from a sale was never the whole fight, former army chief Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie argues. In his view, the site’s importance goes beyond protecting an old building: it is about preserving a living part of the Army’s history and identity. Gillespie describes the barracks as the Army’s spiritual home, suggesting that its significance lies not only in its architecture but also in the traditions and memories connected to the place. A change in ownership, he implies, would not automatically protect those values, even if the buildings themselves remained standing. His warning is that heritage can be diminished without demolition. The character of a historic site may also depend on how it is used, cared for and understood by the people responsible for it. For Gillespie, the campaign should therefore be judged by more than whether a sale goes ahead. The former senior officer’s argument places the focus on what happens next: whether Victoria Barracks continues to function as a meaningful part of Army life, rather than becoming simply a preserved landmark. He frames the effort to protect it as a broader responsibility to keep its history connected to the institution and community that shaped it. The article presents Gillespie’s view as a call to look beyond the immediate property question. Preventing a sale may have been an important step, he suggests, but it will not by itself guarantee that the barracks’ living heritage survives.