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Saturday. Drum Head Service.
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The
Army Apprentice National Memorial.
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R12 GB 015
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An earlier photo to set the scene of the Annual
A.O.B.A. Drum Head Service. A woodland
glade surrounds the memorial and provides an intimate location in which the
congregation can assemble to remember our comrades who have been recalled
to H.Q.
Alas the unremitting rain led to the service being
slightly curtailed but there was a determination that it would go ahead,
whatever the conditions.
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R14 TS DH1
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R14 TS DH2
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R14 TS DH3
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R14 TS DH4
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R14 MW 7292
The first tranche of a total of 58 Crosses of
Remembrance laid this year. The
annual number is increased by the belated reporting of the names of those
who have departed in earlier years, but whose details have only recently
been recorded. It is right that we
remember them all.
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R14 MW 7304
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R14 MW 7293
The Service was conducted by The Reverend Canon Bev
John, 66A.
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R14 MW 7296
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R14 MW 7295
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R14 MW 7298
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R14 MW 7301
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R14 MW 7302
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R14 MW 7303
The reading of the Roll of Honour, 58 names in total,
was made doubly difficult by the downpour and P.A. equipment having to be
protected. But read out it was. What a pity that a small group to one side
felt that their chatter was more important than honouring our comrades. It took several expressions of ‘shush’ to
get them to shut up. If you don’t
want to be part of the service, why turn up for it?
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R14 MW 7306
50 years on, the boys of the 1964 intakes.
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At the end of the service, should they so wish,
families were invited to take possession of the cross laid for their loved
one, a symbol of the respect which fellow Old Boys have for them. Those unclaimed would be placed on the
main memorial. After some time, I
took the liberty of taking a few of those, with connections to this web
site, to post on to the families who could not attend. I hope they will provide some comfort for
them.
Formalities over, it was time to return to the main
reception area for lunch. The offer
of a buggy ride was gratefully accepted, the walk back would be as long as
the walk down, and it’s a long way.
Sod’s law came into force at this point, it finally stopped
raining. Whilst the official
visitors were accommodated in the marquees for lunch, my manager and I
dined in the N.M.A. Arbor Restaurant where, it has to be said, the meal was
of very good quality. Replete, we
strolled over to the official lunch area to catch up on gossip with our
friends. Alas, at that time, no food
had been served which put us in an awkward situation. The decision was made to start off on our
journey home, goodbyes were said to friends we could locate and away we
went.
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The Editor.
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Published: 15th August
2014.
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  Saturday’s Events Continued.
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