Arborfield Old Boys Association

“I am delighted to be associated with the planned Army Apprentice National Memorial.

Whatever indignities we suffered at the time I’m sure we all look back with gratitude to the officers and NCOs who shaped our characters in readiness for what lay ahead. We also value deeply the friendships we made with our colleagues and it is fitting that we should have this memorial to honour those who are no longer with us.

I hope that anyone reading this will feel motivated to join me in supporting such a worthwhile initiative.”

As we head up to our annual reunion for 2010, it seems remarkable that the idea of a memorial to the Arborfield Apprentice, was first discussed only a year ago this month at our last AGM.

The project has now expanded to include all the young men that took part in the life changing experience that the Army Apprentice Scheme offered to us all.

Although the project is now officially the Army Apprentice National Memorial, which is in essence being sponsored by the four establishments that we are all familiar with, Chepstow, Arborfield, Harrogate and Carlisle, it came as quite a surprise to the committee to discover that there were in fact more than ten places that Army Apprentices were in fact trained, ranging from Aldershot to Jersey, Deepcut to Gillingham and many more.

It may also come as a surprise that the training we received was not exclusive to our own eventual Corps of REME, but that young men were also officially termed Army Apprentices who found their trades in the RE, RAOC, Royal Sigs, RASC, RCT, RLC, RA, RAMC, ACC and also we now believe in the RAPC. Our national memorial will also be dedicated to these A/Ts as well.

All the Arborfield members on the committee are fully focussed on tasks vital to delivering the memorial for dedication day on Wednesday the 7th of September next year.

Our honarary secretary Gordon Bonner is doing stirling work as the person responsible for fund raising and publicity of the project. Anyone reading this on the website is left in no doubt as to the work and expertise of our webmaster Max Warwick.

Our committee vice chairman Keith Thrower is in charge of all things to do with the commemorative tablets (com tabs) which are being purchased in increasing numbers by donations from ex A/Ts and their families. These are, to a large extent, responsible for the rapid rise in our memorial funds, and keeping a very professional eye on the funds is our committee treasurer Mike Davis.

The team tasked with organising the dedication day event is made up of Johnny McGahan (Harrogate 59A) and Mo Hope (Arborfield 59B)and we are already well into making the provisional plans to be approved (or not!!) at our next management steering committee meeting in September. I am certain that in the next few months there will be quite a few issues to be thrashed out at committee before all arrangements are finalised and agreed upon, which is only to be expected when dealing with members of three different Corps and four location allegiances, all on the same committee.

I am fully confident that all the differences will be ironed out as everyone is fully focussed on providing a national memorial that we can all be extremely proud of.

This week the concrete has been poured into the reinforced excavation to form the memorial base, and I have it on good authority that when the eventual memorial is erected on it that it could withstand a small missile attack without being destroyed, lets all hope that we never have to make the stonemason eat his words !!!.

Everyone who has hit on this site or read the OBAN in the last year or visited the official AOBA website will be fully aware of how the project has progressed in such a short time, driven along by a dedicated committee drawn from members of the four primary schools/colleges.

There will be further updates as we proceed with the project.

Maurice "Mo" Hope

Arborfield 59B, A Coy