Visit to the Church by members of the British Army Cultural Property Protection Unit
We were delighted to welcome members of the Army’s Cultural Property Protection Unit to the Church on the morning of Sunday 8th February. The Unit is based in Aldershot and is a specialist unit of about 15 personnel, primarily reservists, established to identify and protect cultural heritage sites, monuments and artefacts. They were accompanied by 2 US Army personnel and a Belgian Naval Officer who were also interested in these issues.
They were enthusiastic visitors to the Garrison Church. I gave them a history of the Church including the account of the circumstances in which 2 of the VCs on our memorial were awarded. They visited the crypt, as well as taking photos of many of the memorials within the Church. We provided them with tea and coffee, and their visit coincided with a group of veterans who were at the Church with David Ball.
A happy hour or so was enjoyed by all concerned, and the CPPU indicated that they would like to re-visit the Garrison Church on a regular basis. I was interested to learn that a Kings Gurkha Artillery unit has recently been established at Larkhill, and I hope that the Senior or CCPU Officer will put us in touch.
Tim Barnes
