The Army Apprentice National Memorial

located at

The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Dedication and Remembrance Service, 9th September 2012.

© Text contributed by Gordon BONNER 49B Arborfield A.A.S.

After Dinner Speech.

Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of our Patron, General Berragan and the Trustees, our thanks and appreciation to you all for joining us in celebration of achieving the aim we embarked upon thee years ago.

Agincourt. Waterloo. Balaclava. The Somme. D-Day, Falkland Islands, Iraq, Afghanistan. Over six centuries, one man has fought in all those battles and helped shape the course of history: the British Soldier.

Wherever, whenever and against all the odds, the British soldier has always done his duty. And more.

All us who enlisted as craft apprentices and trained as soldier-tradesmen are the inheritors of that proud tradition, and we have done more than our duty in collectively raising funds and building our memorial. In following the flag, many before us and some who came after us, have paid the supreme sacrifice, thus in recognition of that we will place the rolls of honour of our respective associations into a time capsule at midday tomorrow..

Tomorrow, 9th of the 9, 2012, it will exactly sixty three years since I and my friends here on table number three became the Sept49’ers and the rest as they say is history. Today in a period of reflection, I was thinking about the future, not only of our trust fund, but also of our Individual Associations. What I am about to say is a personal view of the way ahead, a starter for ten, to open a discussion.

First, may I first draw to your attention, that, because the funds raised were collected from many sources, the ownership of the memorial is invested in the Trust Fund. At some time in the very near future the four sponsoring associations and their members need to join together and develop a strategy that will enable the associations to take on the responsibilities of full ownership of the memorial in a manner the will ensure its care and maintenance for the foreseeable future.

To this end, the Chairman of the Memorial Trust is to issue formal invitations to the Chairmen of the four sponsoring associations to attend our next AGM. Therefore, I would ask those here tonight to consider making the effort to attend that meeting and encourage other members of their individual associations to attend for what surely must be an important meeting that will determine the future direction of the Trust Fund.

Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no doubt that the environs of our schools and colleges were the foundation of the intellectual construct that turned us from the boys we were into the men we are today. Therefore it can be said that the emotional attachment to our schools was a significant component of the influences on our formative years, and adds to our dilemma when considering the future of our associations. Like it or not,” Boys Schools” have now flown into history’s yellowing pages.

As with any here, I attend reunions to refresh old friendships and make new ones, and frankly I care not where we meet. Last Remembrance Sunday I dined with a few members of my association at the Victory Services Club, London. It was a delightful evening, the location had no bearing on the pleasure of the evening, and it was the company of friends that was the true enjoyment.

For this reason, I believe we should relocate our reunions to the midlands (Arborfield did just that in July and by all accounts the reunion in the new location was well received.) and focus the real soul of our associations onto the Army Apprentice National Memorial, located at Alrewas, Staffordshire. A good example of such a transfer of allegiance is that Carlisle has chosen to dedicate their standard at tomorrow’s service.

I also believe, that in the immediate future, commencing tomorrow, we should once a year hold a remembrance service at the memorial at which we parade the four association standards, inviting all ex- army apprentices worldwide to come and join us. A good template for such an event could be the format we have used for this evening’s dinner night and service in the morning.

Further as time takes its toll on our membership, there is a case to be made for all ex-apprentices to join together into a National Association. Therefore when you leave here tonight, please consider what I have said, and discuss it with your individual associations, because I believe my suggestion has the merit of being a way forward into the future that will enable us to enjoy the company of our compatriots for many years to come.

Now it is my pleasure to introduce Colin Weir, ex-Chepstow, con man, raconteur, and Liverpool scally-wag.

First Published: 7th November 2012.

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