The Army Catering Corps War Memorial Hall
Opening Ceremony 9th June 1956
Colonel Byford went on to say:
“Before the foundation stone is lowered I am going to place under the stone a small box in which I have placed a copy of the Royal Warrant given by the Command of his late Majesty King VI on the 22 March 1941, authorising the formation of the Army Catering Corps, also three badges; an ACC officers' cap badge, an ACC other rank cap badge and the badge of the ACC Regimental Association. I now have the honour of laying the foundation stone of the Army Catering Corps War Memorial”.
The architect, Mr E T Dowling then presented a silver trowel to Colonel Byford as a memento of the occasion. At the conclusion of the service the Honorary Secretary of the Memorial Appeals Committee, Major G Bracewell-Smith expressed the thanks of the Central Committee and those of the Appeals Committee of the ACC Regimental Association, to Colonel Byford, the architect and the builders, Messrs Kemp, Stroud and Co, Aldershot, also the Commandant of the ACC Training Centre.
Some four hundred past and present members of the Corps were present at the ceremony.
The ceremonial opening by General Sir Humfrey Gale of the War Memorial Hall took place on Saturday the 9th of June 1956. The Hall represented the culmination of ten years' effort by a committee of the ACC Regimental Association, led by Major Guy Bracewell-Smith. The building had cost £23,000, a sum which had been gradually accumulated by a steady series of appeals since the war. The Hall, intended for use for social and sporting functions, is a fine red brick building covering an area 108 feet by 62 feet. Incorporated in it is a hall 60 foot by 45 foot, a sun lounge, changing rooms, showers, a small kitchen, and a shrine in which is kept a Book of Remembrance containing the names of 775 men who died while serving in the Corps during the war. Thousands of members and ex-members of the Corps had contributed to the cost of the building, and many various projects were discussed before they reached the final decision to build a hall. The opening ceremony was meticulously organized and the solemnity and simplicity of the proceedings were most impressive. A short opening ceremony outside the hall was heralded by a fanfare of trumpeters of the Royal School of Music, Kneller Hall, after which Lieutenant Colonel I H Joseph, Chairman of the Regimental Association, invited Lieutenant General Sir Humfrey Gale then Colonel Commandant of the Corps to officially open the building.
Ceremonial Opening of the ACC War Memorial Hall
The Colonel Commandant paid tribute to those responsible, then cut the ribbon stretched across the main entrance to the hall and a prayer of blessing was offered by the Assistant Chaplain-General, Southern Command, Southern Command. A second fanfare signalled the conclusion of the opening ceremony and those present then proceeded into the hall for the dedication of the building and the Book of Remembrance. After the dedication Major G Bracewell-Smith said the Memorial Hall had occupied the minds of the central committee for nearly ten years and they had faced many problems since the fund was opened in 1946. It was, he added, one of the first buildings of its kind opened since the war. He went on to refer to the symbolic and spiritual meaning of the occasion and particularly to the fact that the ACC as a young Corps had a great sense of urgency to emulate the achievements and traditions of the older regiments of the Army. After the ceremony and an inspection of the hall, the company were entertained to tea at the ACC Training Centre.
The Australian Army Catering Corps was formed on the 12 March 1943 and on the 27 February 1969 Royal Assent was given by HM The Queen for an alliance between the Australian Corps and the Army Catering Corps.
To commemorate the alliance a ceremony was held in the foyer of the ACC Memorial Hall on the 19 March 1969 when a Cabinet made of Australian Walnut (Kangaroo Wood) to hold the Roll of Honour, the gift of all ranks of the Australian Army Catering Corps was presented by Lieutenant Colonel W Flood, Controller of that Corps. It was fitting that Lieutenant Colonel Flood should have made the presentation as he was one of the few officers to have served in both the Army Catering Corps and the Australian Army Catering Corps. The cabinet was received on behalf of the Army Catering Corps and the ACC by Major Sir Guy Bracewell-Smith, a Trustee of the Association.
On the same occasion, a silver Altar Cross for the Altar of the Shrine of the ACC Memorial Hall was presented by Brigadier and Mrs L E Hayward in appreciation of their years with the Corps. Both gifts were dedicated by the Reverend W Hogarth CF.
Recognition of the Formation of the Australian Army Catering Corps