 Special service in honour of Army Apprentices to be held at the National Memorial Arboretum
A new national memorial to The Army Apprentice will be dedicated at a special ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum on 7 September 2011.
The Old Boys Associations of the former Arborfield, Carlisle, Chepstow and Harrogate schools have joined together to plan, design and build the memorial to all Army Apprentices who were trained as soldier-tradesmen and who served worldwide in peace and war.
The memorial, which incorporates the motto ‘Remember with Pride’, is engraved with the Army Apprentice school badge and HM The Queen’s crown. The symbols of the cross and the crown stand respectively for Character and Loyalty. Four granite benches surround the memorial, each inscribed with the name of one of the four main Army Apprentice schools.
The Army Apprentice Scheme ran from 1923 to 2004 and trained more than 70,000 soldier tradesmen for the technical corps of the British Army – 50,000 of who passed through the four main schools. Young men who started as young as 14 years old have gone on to serve in every conflict since the First World War, including Afghanistan .
The incredible story of the Army Apprentices challenges stereotypes. The shared experience of education, training and comradeship enabled a significant majority of the boys to go on and achieve notable careers in the services, commerce and industry. In fact, a number of former Army Apprentices went on to become Generals, and many received awards for gallantry in all areas of operation worldwide.
Major Gordon Bonner (Retd), Honorary Secretary of the Memorial Steering Committee, said “Those of us who had the privilege of serving as Army Apprentices gained an education for life. This memorial is a fitting tribute to those friends and colleagues with whom we served and to those who gave their lives in the service of this country.”
He went on to explain: “Although Army Apprentice training in the British Army has now ceased, young men have the opportunity to join the Army’s Technical Corps, starting their careers as Apprentice Tradesmen at the Apprentices Foundation College in Winchester ”.
The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK ’s year-round centre of Remembrance; a spiritually uplifting place which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice, and fosters pride in our country. The Arboretum is part of The Royal British Legion family of charities.
For further information on the Army Apprentice Memorial visit www.armyapprenticememorial.org.uk.
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