Dedication of Army Apprentice memorial 07.09.11
7A new memorial has been dedicated to all those who graduated as an Army Apprentice. The scheme ran from the 1920s until it was closed in 2004. The Old Boys Association of the former Arborfield, Carlisle, Chepstow and Harrogate schools clubbed together to raise the £40,000 needed. It was dedicated at a special ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum today. The memorial incorporates the motto 'Remember with Pride' and 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. 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."