ACC Memorial Hall Under Threat

[Ian E Scott]

The Petition closed on the 7th April with 562 signatures. 

Many Thanks to all of you who took the time to support the campaign. 

I'll keep you updated as to what's going on in the background from my MP for Leigh (Andy Burnham) & the MP for Aldershot 

[pitbull10]

it was my pleasure to support such a worthy cause, let hope it make a little difference.

Rob   http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=43569998660

[james ongley]

What an exciting couple of month this has been. Firstly, well done and thank you to Ian Scott for starting the petition, although you may not have reached the total of names you were hoping for, your certainly helped build up the membership on this site.
This topic has had all sorts of comments send in, Pro & Contra, it was fun following it.
Jason got a kicking for his views, - Trolls appeared from nowhere and Bob Nicol´s Queen´s Reg. are younger than he is - formed Dec. 66. No 1 Burner got the wrath of a blowback an found an ally in Stillpete
and nobody requested that the Pitbull be muzzled.
Altogether the Agony Aunt page didn´t help win votes for the petition but it got chefs of all ages communicating.
On another subjekt in this site,I dared to mention that some people had forgotten the roots and was given a dressing down. As it was thought I had gone to far. That being the case, - why have the top ex-Boys, not signed the petition. Maybe Ian could bring up the matter at the next Officer & Senior Ranks dinner.

562 signings is a poor show for a Corps of our size and it wouldt´n surprise me if members didn´t check up on the list before deciding to sign or not. For my own inquisity I checked the list at least once a week and was pleased to see that my old squad N/O 64 - Dec. 66 had a presence of ca. 20%.
On this site are 800 members registered - so where were they all?
Hopefully we can have more participation on all subjects on this site in the future and not just one phrase comments, a bit of banter never hurt anyone, given and taken in the right attitude.

Regards to all
Jim O.

[Ian E Scott]

Jim, I'll be at the Hayling Island Bash in May and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be asking the question why so many senior people buried their heads in the sand on this one!

But as you say, my trawl through the ACC pages on Friends Reunited certainly brought many people to this Site and that can't be a bad thing...bringing more chefs in touch with each other, that's got to be a plus

[Ian E Scott]

  RESULT!

I have just taken a look at the ACC Association Site and found an update from the Controller ACC Association as follows:

The Project Team is now reviewing 6 options due to pressure from Director RLC and as a result of Ian Scott’s Petition to 10 Downing Street and a meeting of all parties is to be held in May 2009 to agree a way ahead. In the 3 months it was open the Petition received 562 signatures and attracted the interest of the Minister of State for Defence. A Parliamentary Question followed which led to Gerald Howarth Conservative MP for Aldershot picking up the case in our support. He visited the Hall in March 2009 and was adamant that its original purpose would be preserved for the veterans of the ACC. He subsequently took up the case with local military commanders.

Again, Thank You everyone who supported the cause

[magpie24]

We should have asked them to rebuild St.Omer and reinstate the ACC while we were at it  well done lads and thanks to all who put the effort in.

[Jerry Hunter]

Ian and all involved,

I wrote to my MP regarding the memorial Hall and have just recieved a reply (below)

Hope this helps

Jerry


Dear Jeremy,


Thank you for confirming your details and the email to Grant regarding the re-development plans for St Omer Barracks Aldershot. This is just a quick email, to inform you of where things stand.

 

The reassignment of the ACC War Memorial Hall is obviously a matter you care deeply about.  In order to find the answers relating to this decision process I have already written to the Veterans Minister, Kevan Jones MP, asking him to look into this matter and explain the rationale behind this move. I shall of course forward any response I receive from him.

 

Once again thank you for your email to Grant, and please don’t hesitate to contact me again, regarding this or any other issue.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Alexander H Richards

Parliamentary Researcher for Grant Shapps MP

020 7219 8599

chilverst@parliament.uk

www.shapps.com

[Ian E Scott]

 

Gents,

I have just returned from the ACC All Ranks Weekend at Lakeside Resort, Hayling Island and bring back some disturbing news

The AGM of the Association was held on Sunday, 10th May at Lakeside, this went on for almost 2 hours due to the Chairman, Colonel Phillipe Rossiter bringing the meeting up to speed with the future of the ACC Memorial Hall.  The Chairman has been involved in meetings over the future of the Hall over the past 18 months or so.

Col Phillipe had been informed on Friday the 8th May that the GOC after much deliberation had taken the decision to hand over the Hall for use as a Gurkha Temple!  This decision has not yet been ratified by MOD!

It would appear also that the Gurkha's would be carrying out religious ceremonies in the grounds of the Memorial Hall which will see the slaughtering of animals...from a Christian War Memorial Hall to a slaughterhose by the GOC's consent

In my personal opinion this is a political decision by the GOC in light of the recent bad publicity the Government has received over the status of the Gurkhas in Britain.  The GOC has taken the easy option by not upsetting his political masters, however, it would appear that this whole exercise has not been thought out with any budgetary considerations i.e. The cost to re-locate the Central Library who currently occupy the Hall or the dismantling of our Shrine and finding a home for our memerobilia, some of which is stored in the Hall ...this is a move that will not come cheaply at all.

My view is that this is our fight and it is not over until it is over unless we as a Corp want to throw in the towel!  You can be assured that centrally this is not the case and the Chairman will be taking the matter further with Gerald Howarth, the MP for Aldershot who has already offered us support.

The Central Library has until April 2010 to re-locate, those of you interested in keeping the pressure on can start to "Up The Ante!"  I will be contacting newspaper Editors over the next week to see if they will support us and I will be writing to the GOC 4 Division (Aldershot).  I'll try and be gentle with him! 

I and the ACC Association welcome all the support that we can muster on this one.

[Jerry Hunter]

Hi,
I have just sent an e-mail to my MP asking for an update and to put pressure on to help us in this cause

Jerry Hunter

[pitbull10]

Ian.

I have posted you note above on my facebook page about the hall.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43569998660 There are 368 members so far

Here we go then,Sleaves rolled up, what is next.

Rob

[Ian E Scott]

Address for GOC Aldershot:

Major General RL Kirkland CBE MA
HQ 4 Division
Steeles Road
Aldershot
Hants
GU11 2DP

Give him HELL...politely please!

[stampy608]

It's one of those nights where I think I'll just check the corps website.  I haven't been on it for a few weeks -  maybe its just as well.

I guess I had my suspicions when 'several options were available' was used to describe available options during the last volley of bull****.  I have no idea what other options were discussed or their locations. 

I was always under the impression that the current batch of serving officers, some if not most formerly ACC, were supposed to uphold those things dear to the Corps and defend it to the last drop - at least thats what would have been asked of us on any given parade between 1941 -1993. 

Its the betrayal of trust I feel from these people that is the most sickening rather than the honest intent of the Gurkha's - I'm sure they would appreciate any suitable premises for the temple, I doubt that most of them are even aware of what the intended arrangement means to the ACC. 

I suppose for some it is easy to forget that most of our dead are still in the living memory of their families and most of the surviving members of the Corps today.  Have these families been informed of this? 

It's a smoke and mirrors production from the MOD to pacify politically correct fools.  Ask Joanna Lumley in a TV interview where she is on this one and her answer would hardly diminish her chances of being left off a forthcoming honours list.   Does she even know or care?  Who outside the Corps does?  Judging by the list of names on the petition some would query who inside the Corps does anyway?

I haven't visited the Memorial hall since I left College, but does that make me a co-conspirator in this by not doing so? I doubt it.  If it was local to me I'm sure I would have.

I'm pretty sure in my own mind how this one will pan out and with our upper echelons deserting us in ever increasing numbers it won't be an amicable result.  I just hope that our once great and good can learn to live with their near inactivity in this matter, and maybe appreciate its cost.

[pitbull10]

Well Said Stumpy608.

I today received the following from Mr Browns Government.

Read the Government's response
Thank you for your petition about the future of the Army Catering Corops Memorial Hall in St Omer Barracks, Aldershot.

The Government shares your sentiments about the distinguished service and selfless sacrifice of the Army Catering Corps personnel.  The proposal to convert the Memorial Hall into a Hindu Mandir for the Gurkhas of 10 The Queen’s Own Ghurkha Logistic Regiment was approved after an extensive evaluation period that involved many stakeholders in the Army Chain of Command. However, the recent concerns that have been expressed about this decision have been acknowledged and, as you may be aware, a review of alternative options for the provision of the Mandir has been initiated by the Army.


I admit I am a bad speller and my grammer is a mess but surely the Government should get it right.

[Ian E Scott]

Amazing!!!

I got this response today also:

Read the Government’s response

Thank you for your petition about the future of the Army Catering Corops Memorial Hall in St Omer Barracks, Aldershot.

The Government shares your sentiments about the distinguished service and selfless sacrifice of the Army Catering Corps personnel.  The proposal to convert the Memorial Hall into a Hindu Mandir for the Gurkhas of 10 The Queen’s Own Ghurkha Logistic Regiment was approved after an extensive evaluation period that involved many stakeholders in the Army Chain of Command. However, the recent concerns that have been expressed about this decision have been acknowledged and, as you may be aware, a review of alternative options for the provision of the Mandir has been initiated by the Army.

Must have done it as a job lot!

Great piece above Stumpy.

[Ian E Scott]

This is the "gentle" letter I sent to the GOC for which I still await a reply!

Major General R L Kirkland CBE MA
Headquarters 4th Division
Steeles Road
Aldershot
Hampshire
GU11 2DP                     12 May 2009



Army Catering Corps War Memorial Hall

I write to you with some concern regarding what I believe is your recommendation and support for the ACC War Memorial Hall being converted to a Gurkha Temple.

You are probably not aware that the idea of converting our War Memorial Hall for this purpose is opposed by 562 people who signed my 10 Downing Street On-Line Petition and who are absolutely disgusted that their War Memorial has been cast aside by yourself and the Aldershot planners as, "Of No Importance To Them". 

Let me tell you Sir, it is important to those of us who served in the Army Catering Corps and who lost comrades along the way!  Some we remember as recently as the Falklands War and Northern Ireland.  It is important to us that their sacrifice is remembered.  Do not believe for one minute that because we are now a defunct Corps that we will make no objections to these insensitive recommendations or your mis-guided support of this project. 

This War Memorial Hall was paid for by the subscriptions and donations of Officers and Men of the Army Catering Corps, when they made these little did they think that one day it would not be recognised as a Memorial in a Christian country by a serving General in the British Army.

I would be very interested in seeing the costings for the proposed conversion of the Hall, the move of the Central Library, (who currently occupy the Hall) and the move of the ACC Shrine and artefacts.  I doubt that there would be very little cost difference in building a new temple in a place where the religious slaughter of animals can take place without offending the sanctity of what the War Memorial Hall was built for.

Are we to waste more public money?  The Central Library has not been incumbent for more than 5 years having moved to Aldershot at considerable cost to the public purse   

It is of my opinion that you have made this decision on political grounds in light of the recent poor publicity the Government has received regarding the Gurkhas and not on sound ethical nor business grounds.

Perhaps if this was not a political decision you would share the thinking behind your decision with me, because I have 562 very interested parties waiting for an answer to this.

Yours sincerely,


Ian E SCOTT FIH
Warrant Officer Class One  ACC (Retd)

As you can see I let him off lightly!