|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel - A 'Living Memorial' By Angela Perry In March 2000 Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel which was built to commemorate the lives and sacrifice of the 252 servicemen and 3 Falkland Islanders who died in the Falklands War in 1982. Four years on the Chapel, which is located at Pangbourne College in Berkshire, has become a truly national memorial attracting thousands of visitors each year and providing a place of solace and comfort to the bereaved families and friends and colleagues of those who were killed. The journey to build the Chapel was neither short nor easy. In 1993 several of the Commanding Officers got together with other generous spirited people under the leadership of Admiral Sir John 'Sandy' Woodward to raise the then required £1 million to build the Memorial Chapel. They worked through several major setbacks together with an escalating budget until 1998 when they had achieved 80% and building began at a total cost of £2 million. By November 1999, when the families gathered in the Chapel for the Dedication Service by the Bishop of Reading, the Chapel was virtually finished and the money raised to cover its cost. The appreciation they demonstrated was palpable and unanimous. The Chapel design is appropriately reminiscent of a ship and came about as a result of a nationwide architectural competition. Natural light flows down the walls into the nave and gallery, which together seat 600, from a circuitous glass panel in the oblong roof and through 15 foot tall window slits around its periphery walls. The atmosphere within is both peaceful and inspiring and the eye is drawn to a magnificent centrepiece against a background of neutral colour - the Memorial Window which towers behind the altar and depicts heavy seas around the Falkland Islands with the Cross of Christ at the centre. The cost of this window, designed by John Clark, was generously donated by the Falkland Islanders and their Government and is universally admired. On entry to the Chapel foyer the name of each of the fallen is inscribed on large stone plaques and listed in detail in a beautifully calligraphed Memorial Book. On either side of the foyer, doors give access to matching Memorial and Education Rooms; the former contains a computer featuring the SAMA 82 Garden of Remembrance and a library of books about the events of 1982, and the latter a continuous historic, interactive video loop of the 100 day war. The Chapel website - www.falklands-chapel.org.uk - can be accessed through the Internet for a virtual tour of the building. Other features of the Chapel include 550 matching tapestry kneelers, lovingly made by as many volunteers (some of whom live in the Islands) to a given pattern featuring the Combined Services emblem, 255 of which bear the name of one who was killed; the Memorial Garden, a circular, enclosed structure outside the Chapel in the centre of which a fountain flows over a map of the Islands; and, still in the process of construction, a stone 'memorial cairn' to which visitors from all over the world have brought stones. The cairn will be 'topped out' in 2007 - 25th Anniversary year - and until then visitors are encouraged to continue contributing stones. The Trustees are often asked why they chose to build the Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College and the answer is simple. The College seemed a fitting location for a memorial and many Old Pangbournians served with distinction in the South Atlantic; it has maintained its Services traditions, had no existing chapel and its Governors were prepared to lease the Trust enough land on which to build the Chapel. Above all, the opportunity for the Chapel to be a 'living memorial' used regularly and looked after by the College Chaplain for its visitors, seemed to the Trustees to be a very satisfactory deal. The Chapel Trustees must continue to raise money for the upkeep of the Chapel so that its heritage and good condition is maintained for its visitors. They are particularly grateful to anyone who organises or undertakes a sponsored event and were recently delighted to receive a huge donation of £740 from Islander Trudi Clarke who, with her friend Annie Pitaluga, undertook the demanding challenge of walking the 100 miles from North Arm to Stanley in 29.5 hours, as against an estimated 44 hours. Trudi and her family visited the Chapel this summer to present the cheque to Captain Michael Barrow, Chairman of the Chapel Trustees who expressed his grateful appreciation and promised to feature her picture in the Chapel's Annual Spring Newsletter which has a mailing list of two thousand supporters. People wishing to support the Chapel are also encouraged to become 'Friends' - which means giving a regular monthly, quarterly or annual gift of £25 or more. This scheme is becoming very popular and helps the Trustees to predict a level of regular income. There are also items to buy such as Christmas cards and notelets featuring the Memorial window, and a book entitled 'Just to See His Name' written by Anthony Hudson MA which tells the story of the Chapel from concept to fruition. Details of these items can be found on the website. For further information, to order an item, to have your name added to the mailing list for the Chapel newsletter or to make a donation, please contact Mrs Angela Perry, Secretary to the Trustees, Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel Trust, Wroxton Mill, Shutford Road, Wroxton, Banbury, Oxon OX15 6EZ, UK. Fax: 01295 738296. Cheques should be made payable to FIMCT or Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel Trust.
|
|
Introduction, Brief
History, Timeline, 1982
Articles, 1982
Timeline, 1982 Documents, Articles,
Agreements, UN
Resolutions
|
|
| Copyright & Disclaimer |
Site Designed and Maintained by eb-host.com |