A UOTC was formed in Exeter in the late 1930s, but after supplying officers to the British Army during the Second World War, recruitment fell and the UOTC was placed in suspended animation in November 1947. The UOTC was formed on 1 April 1980 to provide military training for the students of the University of Exeter. Initially based at Higher Barracks, Exeter, the UOTC moved to Wyvern Barracks in February 1988, when Major-General Sir John Acland, its first honorary colonel, opened the Acland Building.