The Army Apprentice National Memorial

Design Factors to Embrace all Former Army Apprentices

And some there be, which have no memorial….
And are become as though they had never been born…
But these were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten….
Their seed shall remain forever and their glory shall not be blotted out.
Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.
Ecclesiastics ch. 44 v. 9

The most difficult factor to simplify during the initial design discussions was to identify a single icon that, as far as possible, would be an all-embracing paradigm easily recognised by the majority of ex -apprentices.

The icon chosen was the Army Apprentice School badge with the King George the Sixth crown.

The committee chose this particular badge, not only for its visual impact, but to incorporate into the design of the memorial the underlying ethos, which governed, controlled, and directed the activities to turn boys into men, in that the symbols on the badge have a specific meaning.

The prominent and most important symbols are the Cross and the Crown. These stand respectively for Character and Loyalty; character based on the principles of Christianity and loyalty to the School, Army, Nation and the Sovereign.

The Torch stands for Learning and Training of both mind and body on good sound health lines.

The Crossed Swords stand for the military virtues of Discipline, Steadfastness and devotion to Duty.

Finally, but by no means last, is the Gear Wheel, which forms the basis and background of the whole design of the badge, and stands for Technical Knowledge and Skill.

The design of the memorial has been approved and accepted by the trustees of the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, and the committee are now in the final stages of identifying suitable text for the memorial.

Committee members were well aware that many apprentices were trained in various locations, and did not necessarily wear the Army Apprentice School badge as worn by a significant majority of apprentices who trained at the four colleges of Arborfield, Chepstow, Harrogate and Carlisle; an example among others, being the Royal Engineer Apprentices who trained at Fort Darland, Gillingham, Kent during 1939. The committee was now faced with the dilemma of how to reconcile the demands of many different training locations in a meaningful manner.

There have been many animated discussions within the committee regarding both the design and suitable text. The reader should note, out of the 70,000 apprentices, 50,000 passed through the four principal schools/ colleges, thus the four benches on the memorial record that process.
Having agreed the design, the committee realized that to take cognizance of the other locations/ cap badges used over the years, creative solutions were required. Gradually the ideas coalesced into a question and an answer.

What is the memorial for? It is dedicated to “ The Army Apprentice”, 70,000 boys who passed through the apprentice system in the years 1924-2004, boys who became soldier-tradesmen and served with distinction world wide in every conflict since 1924.

With this in mind, the committee have, in the first instance have proposed a text for the memorial stone (monolith) as follows:

Above the badge.

The Army Apprentice

Below the badge

This memorial is dedicated to the 70,000 Army Apprentices who were trained as soldier-tradesmen in the period 1923-2004
serving with distinction world wide in war and peace.

At the base

Remember with pride.

It was at this stage that the committee became aware they did not know exactly how many apprentice-training locations there had been. We believe it is in the order of 15-17. Research has been undertaken in order to provide a definitive answer. When that information is available, it most likely the locations will be recorded using suitable text in an annular ring, either on the base platform or centre circle.

Commemorative Tablets. The ComTab was introduced into the design for two reasons. First it is the main thrust in fund raising, they are on sale to any ex-boy at a cost of £75. Second, each tablet is engraved with name, apprentice school/college, intake, and school/college years, thus recording a donation to the memorial project and record of service of all individuals who wish to contribute.

For example: Alfred Smith. Aldershot, 38A. 1938-1941.


For further information visit: www.armyapprenticememorial.org.uk


Arborfield Old Boys' Association

Gordon Bonner