As usual, a Court meeting was held prior to the dinner and we were pleased to welcome new Liveryman Rosemary Charles.
We were also very pleased to have Dr Kevin Stenson Chief Executive of the Smallpeice Trust as our guest speaker and he was accompanied by Georgina Hare of the Arkwright Trust with whom we have established an engineering scholarship. Liverymen and guests were very interested in what he had to say about the need for more young people to study STEM subjects. A copy of his speech can be downloaded here.
Liveryman and Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework Dr Susan Kay Williams was on hand to introduce two prize winners - Jasmine Dawson, who also received a prize last year and Rebecca Offredi - who brought samples of their beautiful work.
Major Tony Harris Second-in-Command 3 PWRR read citations for Lt Tony Long who was presented with the Needlemakers Sword and Sgt Olivery Soord Gurney who received the Salerno Trophy.
A small number of photographs of the evening are available on Flickr.
The annual ladies event is always popular and well enjoyed and this year was no exception. On 24th July twenty Lady Liverymen had an interesting and informative visit to the London Mithraeum. The presentation of the huge number of artefacts and of the Roman Temple of Mithras with lights and mist, creating the illusion of walls and pillars, was thought to be very clever and worth a return visit. This was followed by a delicious Afternoon tea at Millie’s Lounge at The Ned where it did not take long for the sandwiches and cakes to disappear!
Master I shall try to be brief, but as you know this is not one of my strong points
My last report was of course part of Common Hall, which if I may say so, was a triumph. The court meeting held in front of members of the Livery, brought the workings of the Court to life in the eyes of those attending who have not had experience of the Court’s activities and deliberations.
The speeches by the representatives of those who have benefited from bursaries or awards made by the Company again brought to life the real benefit to people’s careers, and to their professional work, that comes from the donations from the Company’s charitable funds. The representatives all spoke brilliantly and made me feel very proud of the connection between the Needlemakers and these bright, intelligent and eloquent young people.
Haberdashers’ Hall was a stunning location and the lunch that followed warm and delicious.
To be as brief as I can I would like to make reference to three events that took place since Common Hall.
Firstly I would like to make mention of your tour and reception of the House of Lords, where sadly I personally had missed the cut and did not attend. But from all that I heard it was a stunning success, even the security disturbance that occurred that evening, could not wreck what had been organised, and in a peculiar way enhanced the experience as the Lord’s work was suspended I believe, giving much greater access to those of the Company that enjoyed the tour. Our thanks go to our Chaplain for officially hosting the reception.
The second event was the Zeppelin walk that followed the path of one of the Zeppelin raids on London and introduced a happy party to so many hidden sites of London where my highlights were the visit to St Etheldredar’s Ely Place and the Museum of the Order of St John. A big thanks goes to Court Assistant Vic Flintham and his chum who guided us with infinite patience and a plethora of interesting facts.
The third event was the wonderful long weekend in Nottingham.
Some members of the Court may not be aware that I spent a very enjoyable three years at the University, and it is not true that Florence and Jessie Boot were contempories of mine.
So to stay on campus and in a very pleasant hotel brought back many memories many not repeatable in present Company.
No sooner had we arrived than we were transported to the Art Gallery on the Campus where a member of the Art faculty guided us through an exhibition.
We then were whisked off to The Trent Building to be entertained to dinner by our Host, the Vice Chancellor Professor Sir David Greenaway.
The next day we went to the engineering block, a place I had never visited being a Social Scientist, and introduced to the research work being undertaken into 3D printing. Professors and doctors put on a demonstration so interesting and informative, that I remembered why I had found academic studies at Nottingham so fulfilling. I carry an example of what can be produced by such a printer with me today.
Then before you could say Heath Robinson we were whisked away to Southwell Minster for a concert and Lunch with the Bishop. Nick Macrae opened doors here, as he was a chum of the bishop, who was very eloquent and hospitable.
No time to draw breath and we found ourselves in the Council House at a reception with the brand new Lord Mayor of Nottingham and of course the Sherriff of Nottingham. Nottingham being a very Labour local Authority, did I spot the odd edginess of some of our Company as the Lord Mayor addressed us in the Council Chamber, not at all, everyone was delighted to discover that it was a Needlemaker, who lead one of the uprisings that culminated with the rise of the Luddite Rebellion.
It was so appropriate that the next day we visited the framework knitters Museum, as the Luddites destroyed a number of their larger machines. We then went on our way to Belton House.
That evening we gathered as Needlemakers so often do to enjoy our company with good wine and fine food.
Sunday will always stay in my mind because of our trip to Papplewick Pumping Station. Once again Master you contrived to arrange the pumping Station pulling water up from the aquifer below, to be started and kept running as we marvelled in this feat of Victorian engineering. I can only describe it as a ballet of metal and steam. All the volunteers entertained us as Jim Naughty might at a prom at the Albert Hall. All delighted in the spectacle that is only seen a very, very few times a year.
Then we moved on to Hardwick Hall to marvel at the collection of Tapestries.
Then to return to dine at Trent Bridge Cricket Club, where as darkness fell the ground was lit up for our delectation, and brought a tear to the eye of this member of the MCC.
Master did you have a special surprise up your unrobed sleeve, to bring joy to the faces of all present for not only did you have the head of , yes the social science faculty and Pro Vice Chancellor to address us but he then put on a performance of magic to entertain us, which still has Past Master Pamela Goldberg amazed at how he guessed the name of her childhood cat.
Dare I say it, yes I do. Master it was a Master Stroke.
Our final day was disrupted by an accident that delayed our coach reaching the Campus to take us the several miles to the agricultural School, Sutton Bonnington, where as an agricultural economist I had been taken to be able to tell the difference between a Swede and a Sugar Beet.
Did that disrupt the rapidly expanding Veterinary School from putting on the most amazing demonstration of various pieces of equipment, where students among others showed me how to insert a needle, yes a needle, into the vain of variously sized animal veins.
I would also mention the visit to the university archives where we discovered the rumbustious lives lead by the Needlemakers of Nottingham in the 18th or 19th century or the delicious lunch that followed, but time is short.
Master they say that a genius is someone who has an infinite capacity for taking pains, sadly the genius here was not this alumni from Nottingham university . Through your organisation and the selection of events, so many involving the use of needles from the ejection of material used by 3D printers, to those used by the veterinary students at Sutton Bonnington, this was the work of a genius.
Any liverymen who are going to watch the Lord Mayor's Show are welcome to dine at Plaisterers' Hall where lunch will be served 12.00 for 12.30 The two course lunch with wine is £47 pp, with options for children at £20 and £10. Entertainment for all ages is included.
If you would like to attend, please confirm with the Clerk by 20th September.
Sunday Sept 3rd saw the start of the visit to Bath. At 6.30 pm plenty of sparkling wine was served to the 49 thirsty Needlemakers gathered in the lower ground floor bar of the Francis Hotel. This was after a fairly chaotic journey in the hotel lift. Like the Grand Old Duke of York, when it was up it was up but when it went down it went up again - it yo-yo-ed from floor to floor in a haphazard fashion. There was a similarly chaotic situation ensuring that we were each served the appropriate pre-ordered dinner. Colin Finch was drummed in to deputise for Liz ( who must have been losing her cool as well as her voice) persuading people to put their hands up for chicken then for fish. Eventually everyone was happily served and we had the usual jolly Needlemakers evening.
Monday Sept 4th. Lacock day. About a 35 minutes drive into the Wiltshire countryside which looked lovely - leaves on trees just beginning to turn. We wandered around the Abbey Gardens before the house itself was open - it's amazing how a large group of quite noisy Needlemakers can get dispersed! The Abbey cloisters were being used for filming and there were huge marquees and noisy generators on the lawns. Poor Liz hadn't been told aboutthis until the last minute but it really didn't spoil our visit. We had coffee in the new Courtyard Cafe - so new that it hadn't really got its act together but we welcomed a long sit-down.
The village is an enchanting time-warp and its buildings are fascinating. AND it was such a pleasant day that most of us were able to eat our lunches outside at various locations. Martin, our excellent coach driver, drove us back through Corsham and told us about the secret WW 2 underground weapons store that was linked to the GWR in a tunnel.
Dinner in the evening was at Hall and Woodhouse restaurant across Queen Square from the hotel. An unusual and extremely attractive ex-auction house on 2 floors with a spectacular staircase. Good food too!
On Tuesday Sept 5th Liz led a group of us ( about 20 people ) across town ( unerringly reading her map!) where there was a wonderful exhibition of modern tapestries. The permanent collection is lovely too and this is definitely a place I'd like to go back to.
At 12.50 we were all back on the coach again for our trip to Highgrove. We got there early so Martin obligingly gave us a little tour of Tetbury first. The entrance to Highgrove is quite modest and then there is a long drive through well-kept farmland and a warm, if very security-conscious, welcome to the Orchard House Visitor Centre. We were divided into 2 groups and then sub-divided so there were about 12 people with each guide. Liz had suggested gum boots but unfortunately I hadn't taken her seriously! The heavens opened, it POURED with rain and was quite muddy and puddley under-foot. The tour of the garden took 2 hours - it's not THAT big but of course we had to stop to be told things quite frequently. It's very whimsical ( our guide's favourite word ) and typically Prince Charles - not a bit "Capability Brown"). It is sub-divided into "rooms" and themes. The little follies were mostly made of wood from fallentrees on the estate and rather "homespun". One is a sort of cross between a garden shed and a chapel which Prince Charles uses as his "sanctuary". We also saw some nice-looking cows and Brian Hatfield saw Camilla's horse at the stables!
We had a splendid champagne and cream tea in the Orchard House - beautifully served and welcoming. We had time to browse in the well-stocked shop and we were also GIVEN souvenir engraved glass candle holders and a glossy guide book.
In the evening, we could choose our own restaurant. David and I went to Martini's ( excellent Italian place renowned for its fish) in George Street. Christine Flintham chose this and both Fradds - Simon as well as Liz- were in the group.
On Wednesday Sept 6th we travelled about an hour by coach to Bruton in Somerset. As usual, Martin gave us a running commentary and we heard about the old coal-mining industry based in Radstock which was en route. We arrived at Hauser and Wirth Art Gallery and Garden at about 10.30. There we were divided into 2 groups for guided tours of the current exhibition by the American artist Rashid Johnson. His work needed a bit of explaining but the architecture and the gardens could really speak for themselves. The garden ( only 2 years old!) had been designed by the landscaper who made New York's Skyline Garden - great blocks of colour and clumps of graceful waving grasses. Slowly we meandered to the extraordinary balloon-like pavilion at the topof the slope. We were then able to look back to see properlythe clever modern extensions made to the original old C18th stone farm buildings. Wells Cathedral had inspired the stark and simple concrete columns making the cloisters. Several architecture prizes had been won. The Pavilion, made of fibre glass, had been erected originally at the Serpentine Gallery in London's Hyde Park.
Lunch was at Roths which runs the food side of the place. 3 substantial courses were served fairly informally from dishes in the centre of the long tables. The decor and food were in the modern "shabby-chic" mode but the way the food was served reminded me of the way the dining table had been laid for Henry Fox Talbot and friends at Lacock Abbey.
On our return journey, Martin drove us through the pleasant market town of Frome.
Evening meal ( as if we needed it!) was "own choice" and preceded by farewell drinks hosted by the Master in the ground-floor bar.
David and I were sorry that we were unable to attend the visit on Thursday, Sept 7th to Bath's famous Fashion Museum but we did note that it stuck really to a Needlemakers' theme. The whole of the visit to Bath had been so well co-ordinated and planned to the last detail.
At the Master's initiative, all Liverymen who had joined the Company in the last 3 years together with their consorts, were invited to The City Livery Club on Wednesday 8 November in the evening to meet each other in the company of a number of both current and non current members of the Court. In a very relaxed atmosphere, supplied with delicious canapés and suitable refreshment everyone who was able to make it, enjoyed the chance to to get to know each other that takes so much longer to achieve at more formal events in the annual calendar.
The Senior warden spoke briefly about how the Company carries out its activities through its committee structure and encouraged everyone to complete the survey, recently sent out. Past Master Pamela Goldberg, Chair of the Charities Committee, spoke briefly on the rational of the committee in its programme for giving and an interesting question and answer session followed.
Everyone commented on how worthwhile and good fun the evening had been and thanked the Master for getting them all together in this way.
This month, Liveryman Mike Lee attended the Arkwright Scholarship Awards Ceremony, his report is below:
As representative of the Needlemakers at this awards ceremony, I attended the function in IET and had time to meet with our scholar, Paddy Deegan and his parents before the ceremony and had a long chat with them. Paddy is a very confident person at the age of 16 and was most appreciative of the scholarship that he has been awarded. He certainly has a leaning towards engineering and has set his goals on somewhere like Imperial College for future education although he is enjoying the "hands-on” education that he is already getting at the Aston University academy. Although he has only just started, he is enjoying only going to the Academy Tuesday ~ Friday as Monday is reserved for his work experience.
He is the middle of three children with an older brother and a younger sister. His parents while not being in Engineering fields, both have engineering connections in their family background. Rather interestingly, he has an aunt who lives in Redditch and has visited the Forge Mill Needle Museum.
He obviously had done his homework because during the pre-awards chat session, he admitted he had done some research on the WCN and openly admitted that he couldn’t easily relate from that to the connections with the Needlemaking industry although he was aware of Redditch and Studley’s history of needle manufacture and fishing tackle (as well as Springs, light engineering and the Royal Enfield cycle heritage!)
I have asked him to stay in contact with the Needlemakers and have stressed that we are very keen to monitor his progress over the next few years and his A Level results.
The Arkwright Trust this year had record numbers: 1958 applicants who sat the Arkwright Aptitude test, 651 progressed to the interview stage and 425 scholarship being awarded across 3 awards ceremonies. Paddy is the first person from his previous school to be awarded such an award.
I actually started my duties on 23rd September last year when I attended the 25 Anniversary Reunion and Colours presentation of The Princess of Wales’s Regiment in Canterbury. CO Colonel Andy Betts paraded using the Needlemakers Sword which is presented each year at our July Dinner.
Later in the year at the Regiments Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral I witnessed the laying up of the Old Colours. Truly memorable to represent The Livery at these events.
Another special Occasion was the Choral Eucharist and Blessing of the Jubilee Vestments at Southwark Cathedral. You may recall that in 2015 There was a service to bless the Copes. The Needlemakers Livery provided the funds for the material to make the Copes and The Broderer’s Company funded the material for the Vestments. The Master Borderer was scheduled to be part of the Blessing in the event Our Chaplain, Bishop Christopher decided the Master Needlemaker should also be part of the ceremony. A real Privilege.
Recently I attended The Lord Mayor's day at Treloars School together with the Masters of 50 Livery Companies. The School has 196 day and residential students aged 2 to 16 with varieties of disability, all use wheelchairs which are custom made. The event included a tour and we went into a Maths class and biscuit making class which was great fun. One bright young man asked if we knew the founder Sir William Treloars. The School was started by the then Lord Mayor Sir William Treloars in 1908!! The Head Girl on greeting the Lord Mayor asked what car he drove. After the response she added , Why do you not have a helicopter?. You will, hopefully, be aware of our contribution to the school and the fact that an anonymous donation is enabling us to look at SEMH (Social Emotional and Mental Health) Training for staff.
It was a privilege to welcome Emma Harrison the Development Manager of King Edwards School, Witley with two of their pupils at our January Lunch. Students Harry and Lucie have received music bursaries from our charitable fund enhanced by a donation from my discretionary charitable fund. The School was founded in 1553 as Bridewell Royal Hospital by Nicholas Ridley and King Edward V1 and has been supported by City Institutions since inception .
I have attended many functions representing The Needlemakers on your behalf but do not propose to list them here. Suffice it to say that it opens your eyes to ideas of best practice and also enables you to realise that there are many common challenges for the movement as a whole.
I look forward to your company at our Banquet on 26th February and hope that some of you will join Tiz and I in Suffolk in May.
As most liverymen will know one of the important charities that the Company supports is Treloars which supports and educates physically and intellectually challenged young people through from nursery to college. On September 27 September the college opened its doors to a number of supporting livery companies and as the Company link I supported Senior Warden Anthony and Junior Warden Andrew on their initiation to this remarkable institution.
After coffee and an introduction from Jon Colville, Director of Fundraising, we were conducted to observe dieticians at work in the treatment room with a new body mass index machine now used routinely to monitor the health of students. One of the challenges facing staff is in supporting students in the transition from college to work and our next destination was the 6th form class room where we met a number of inspirational students and staff.
Our final, formal, insight was to inspect the College’s brand new coach. Built at a cost of £285,000 it is purpose-built to accommodate 11 wheelchairs plus seating for staff. It will allow more students to travel safely together to a wide range of events.
A special treat was meeting the two staff members who are using our major donation to study the special demands of social, emotional and mental health in context with a view to rolling out a programme internally to other staff. (As a reminder to members, we have tried to apply our limited resources with Treloars to projects that have a knock-on effect, thus getting a very big bang per buck.) The staff in question are Caroline Casula, speech and language therapist, and Zoe Haddock, occupational therapist. We hope to see more of them in the future and wish them well with their studies.
The Installation Dinner was held at Saddlers' Hall where the Master Colin Tiffin installed Anthony de Lacey as the new Master and he then installed Andrew Whitton as Senior Warden and Philip Law as Junior Warden.
The Company enjoyed wild boar for dinner whilst being entertained Claire Presland who had studied at the Guildhall School of Music, an organisation that the Company supports and had also sung at the wedding of the now Immediate Past Master.
The Dinner was preceded by a Court Meeting at which liverymen Benjamin James and John Scott were welcomed to the Court taking their place as Assistants. Three new liverymen were clothed - Ana Barber and Marcus Bentley who both have family connections with the company and Claire Chitty.
The Annual Service was held at St James Garlickhythe led by the Honorary Chaplain The Right Reverend Christopher Chessun Bishop of Southwark
On Sunday 19 January the Master and Past Master Pamela Goldberg set off together to represent the Company at the unveiling of the Memorial Wall at the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment head quarters in Canterbury. It was a cold winter's afternoon as we took our seats on the parade ground at the Leros Baracks, with to our left, the the senior army officers present including the Colonel of the Regiment Lieutenant Doug Chalmers and the families of those soldiers who had lost their lives in recent conflicts, including the Falklands War and Iraq.
As always the ceremony was immaculately carried out, with military precision and timing, with the last post followed by reveille bringing home the sacrifice of these soldiers to their families, regimental colleagues and other guests, alike. But the most striking moment came as each name of those commemorated and where they had lost their life, was called out by various soldiers, placed randomly among the assembled throng. The list was too long, the sacrifice too great, but all were very proud of these heroes.
Following the service we met the Commanding Officer and his wife for a cup of tea and then set off back to London recognising the value of the Needlemakers' donation towards the construction of this tribute to the fallen Tigers of recent times.
The Junior Warden and his wife Carol had an excellent evening at the Vintners Hall, for the annual Junior (and equivalent) Wardens event, arranged by the WCMPC (Manufacturers of Playing Cards). This year was indeed a card competition, following dinner.
There were 35 Liveries represented, about 110 people in all.
The card game was called Swedish Pursuit, a modification of the children's game Uno and other derivatives. It's about 80% luck! I was able to make it to the play-offs, being in the top 10 out of 110. There, my luck rather deserted me, so I was amazed to hear my name called out for 3rd prize! About five of the 10 finalists were connected to MPC, and so weren't considered for this part of the prize giving. I received a nice presentation pack of cards from the principal guest, Sheriff Liz Green.
The overall winner on the night, who did actually get a prize, was the wife of MPCs Master - the second year running this has happened. She had only learnt the rules the night before - much amused embarrassment all round.
Besides collecting donations for the Lord Mayor's Appeal, the main purpose of the evening was networking, which was also successfully achieved.
On a most beautiful, sunny Tuesday, 26th February 2019, a party of twenty-two Livery Needlemakers and their guests arrived at Hampton Court Palace for the Master’s Day visit to the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) for a tour of the RSN and the current ‘Embroidered Home’ exhibition. The Royal School of Needlework guides and co-ordinator Natalie Thew kindly greeted our small gathering at the main entrance. There was much to chat about and catch up on in the glorious sunshine, whilst we waited for everyone to arrive; especially to compare notes on the transport and typical delays and cancellations caused by the train services and motorway traffic. However, we were soon all gathered in the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) classroom to enjoy the curator Susan Kay-Williams fascinating talk on the history of the RSN.
Susan briefed the group about the history of the school, which was founded in 1872 by Lady Victoria Welby with Princess Helena as the President. In 1875 the school was granted Royal patronage and became the Royal School of Art Needlework.
There are several courses for students such as:
The Certificate & Diploma in Technical Hand Embroidery is based at Hampton Court Palace and taught in other UK satellites across the country, internationally in Japan and in the USA.
The BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery for Fashion, Interiors and Textile Art taught at the RSN.
The Future Tutors programme, for those that want a career in teaching qualification.
On-line and Day courses are also available.
Susan had hand-picked some special antiquities to show us: The Irish Lord Chancellors purse from the 1850s; a chess piece made from silver metal thread work; American grain/flour sacks from the mid 20th century; pillow cases and tray covers.
The RSN is commissioned sometimes for the most secret of work for royalty and celebrities – only the actual stitchers know for whom, where and when!
The tour of the Embroidered Home was introduced comparing the changes in soft furnishings through the ages from Tudor, Georgian and Victorian to the 20th century. Susan then talked us round the Embroidered Home display, which was beautifully curated, and we were also introduced to the students (who also benefit from the Needlemakers’ charitable payments) and samples of their work in the 2nd year of their course.
We were also introduced by volunteer Janice Williams to other fine work displayed within the RSN; some of which was quite breath-taking, especially a huge Japanese abstract of flowers in gold thread – it was stunning.
Following such an informative morning, we then made our way to the Italian restaurant La Fiamma for a wonderful 3 course lunch. This was much appreciated, as we were starving.
For those who were really making a day of it, a tour of the Hampton Court Palace followed in the late afternoon but with a warm sun to spur them on.
Last week Immediate Past Master Colin Tiffin and his consort represented the Company at the annual service of King Edward's Witley, a school that we support via music bursaries. The service was at St Bride’s off Fleet Street which if you have not been is a delightful light and airy church with a great atmosphere. It is attended by The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress together with most of the pupils and the school choir.
The choir are of an extremely high standard and the organ voluntary of Toccata, Symphony no5 op42 was performed by a school sixth former. What we heard confirms our support for music bursaries at the school.
We retired to The Guildhall for a buffet lunch where I was able to chat with the Director of Development Lesley Humphreys and her assistant Connie Sturgess both of whom were complimentary of our continued support for the school activities.
In passing the Lord Mayor , Peter Estlin, who was a pupil at the school and a Governor, thanked the Needlemakers for their support.
It was an opportunity to keep the company in contact with the school and ensure that we are recognised for our contribution.
Liveryman Mike Lee (our Representative on C & G Council) and I represented the Company, in this the 140th Anniversary of the foundation of City & Guilds. The presentations were made by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Alderman Peter Estlin. We were one of fourteen companies presenting prizes. Shaun Dixon, of Coleg Cambria-Deeside College, was our winner, but unfortunately was unable to attend and so last year’s winner Victor Walsh, his lecturer accepted the prize on his behalf.
There were also presentations under the Master Certificate Scheme, under the auspices of the Livery Skills Council, to Masters, Journeymen and Apprentices of the 10 Livery companies involved. This scheme is a little younger than City & Guilds, having been formed in 2001.
Company members along with students and family were entertained to the highest standard by the finalists in the annual competition to award the Needlemakers' Woodwind Prize. The diverse programme showed the incredible skills of the competitors with clarinet player Jonathan Willett triumphing with his performance over runners up Fiona Sweeney (flute), Marcus Dawe (flute) and Jenny Akroyd (saxophone).
Assistant Martin Miles attended the 3PWRR Livery Day on 11th May in Canterbury on behalf of The Needlemakers. (Brief details of 3PWRR are given below**). Four livery companies were present, the others being The Coopers, The Bricklayers and The Paviors. The day was extremely well organised, we were very well looked after and I learned a lot about the Regiment and, indeed, about Reserves and the Army as a whole.
We met at 11AM and, after introductory talks at HQ (Leros Barracks) and a lunch break, we went to the training area for the afternoon. We were divided into teams to learn about and then undertake various tasks. I joined the Paviors for these exercises.
On returning to the Barracks, we had a talk from the Commanding Officer, drinks and a curry supper before dispersing at about 7.30pm
**3 PWRR is the Army Reserve Battalion of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. The Battalion is based across the Southeast of England with Company location in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. 3 PWRR has a proud record of achievements that include recent operational experience in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of the Regular Army and Cyprus supporting the United Nations mission.
3 PWRR is currently ‘paired’ with 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, based in Woolwich, as part of the restructured Army under Army 2020 concept. As such they are on the cutting edge of Army Reserve units with the very latest kit now available across the Battalion.
The Battalion also boasts a fine Regimental Band and Corps of Drums based at its Headquarters in Canterbury.
The Senior Warden attended the Court of Governors Meeting of Christ’s Hospital. The morning session was Safeguarding Training for Donation Governors, which as our representative he was required to attend – both interesting and informative, most certainly not a waste of time and the Q & A session, which followed, raised a number of interesting points.
Lunch followed and then the daily Band Parade, before the formal Court meeting took place.
A most useful opportunity to meet other Donation Governors, most of whom were “Old Blues” as former alumni are known.
He also had tea with our presentee, (as pupils are known) who is just about to finish her first year. She is enjoying life there, but looking forward to the long school holiday. The Master attended Speech Day on 30th May and also met our presentee.
