The site was chosen in 1936 as one of a number of less vulnerable locations for storing ordnance and other military equipment previously kept at London's Woolwich Arsenal.

This was designed to provide employment in what was then a depressed area, following the closure of the Lilleshall Company's New Yard engineering works in St George's several years earlier.

Brigadier de Wolff also convinced Wellington District Council to build housing for the civilian staff, many of whom had moved from Woolwich.

[8] In 2015, Donnington was selected as the site for a new 'Defence Fulfilment Centre' for the newly-privatised Logistics, Commodities and Services element of Defence Equipment and Support.

[16] In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the Parsons and Venning Barracks sites would close, with an "Estimated Date of Disposal" in 2020.