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3/11/2004 - REPLICA SALUTES A MILITARY LEGEND by Steven Hughes
FLOODS of
memories poured back for ex-soldiers on Monday when a replica building of
Arborfield Garrison’s most famous guardroom was opened at the barracks’
REME museum. Funded by developer Taylor Woodrow,
the replica of the Poperinghe guardroom will be the new main entrance to
the museum, and houses a café, gift shop and a historical centre that
demonstrates the important role the room played over the years. Poperinghe camp, which is named after a town in Belgium,
was one of two opened in Arborfield in 1939 to house units of the
militia. It became a training centre in 1946 and
finally closed in 1977, during which time some 100,000 soldiers had
passed through the barracks.
Though many of the buildings had been demolished, the
guardroom, which is commonly viewed as a symbol of discipline, remained
intact until it was pulled down in 2002 after an unsuccessful attempt to
move it to the REME museum site. In 1999 the
original site was sold for housing to Taylor Woodrow and, as part of a
planning permission agreement, the developer paid for the replica.
Lt Col Bill Cleasby, director of the museum, said it was
important that the camp was not forgotten, and this tribute went some way
to ensuring that. He said: “It’s an important
part of the corps so that old and young can have an understanding of how
the garrison ran. “It’s only through things like
this that we can give time and thought to those who have gone before.
“The Poperinghe guardroom was really the heart of the
training centre and it also promoted discipline — that’s why it’s
important to remember it. “We’ve paid great
attention to detail and none of it would have been possible without the
financial support of Taylor Woodrow.” Malcolm
Pink, managing director of Taylor Woodrow (South), was there on Monday to
open the guardroom.
Mr Pink said: “What we like to do is contribute to the
communities in which we build, and I hope this is seen as a positive
contribution. “When you think REME is a regiment
of technicians and engineers, this building enables them to have a 21st
century entrance to their museum.” A number of
ex-servicemen were invited to the grand opening. One
of them, Major Ron Carter, was guard commander of nearby Hazebroukes
guardroom when it was attacked by the IRA in 1955. The 74-year-old was one of a number of ex-servicemen who was
consulted about the old building. Maj Carter
said: “This is such an excellent memory raiser. It’s fantastic because
the museum needed somewhere for the shop to go and they’ve made it so
beautifully.” Brigadier Arthur Reading, who was
commanding officer at the barracks more than 40 years ago, said: “There
has been a lot of history restored. “I think it
keeps people in touch with the past and recalls some of the sacrifices of
the old generation. “It was from here they were
posted to the Far East and in the days
of National Service the numbers increased. “It’s
a little more embellished than in my day but the outside is identical and
I think they’ve made the most of the facility.” Brian
Boxter, technical historian and ex-deputy curator at REME, was delighted
with the new building, not least because it provides more space to make
the museum bigger and better. He said:
“Externally this is a fairly accurate replica. Inside we really are
making this best use of a new building that we can. “The historical part gives the flavour of what went on here,
with a simulated sentry and prisoner. “The great
advantage is that the replica has been built to modern standards — the
old building wouldn’t have had that. “In
practical terms this is a far better building. It gives us the added
advantage that we can fill up the area in the main museum where the shop
is. “We have large amounts of artefacts that
never see the light of day.” Among those at the
opening was Cllr Malcolm Bryant, chairman of Wokingham District Council,
and town mayor, Cllr Danny Miller.
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