Heather meeting Corporal Paul Bicker from The London Regiment

I had the privilege of attending, with my husband,  the presentation given by the  Army this evening at the Territorial Army facilities on Stonecot Hill.

Led by Brigadier Mathew Lowe MBE,  army officers and staff talked about their work and their links with the community.  We saw film of the army in action in many locations, not least Afghanistan.  And we heard at first hand about the service which these brave people give our country.  As one officer said to Peter and me, ” we have to work hard at the training, so that if your mate loses his leg beside you, you know what to do.”  Words that bring home the sacrifices that these men and women make for our safety.

The purpose of the evening was to emphasise that members of the army come from the community, and are part of the community.  They want the community to understand what they do, and to support them.  The army  also wants  to recruit more people from ethnic minorities and also to increase the numbers joining  the Territorial army  which is set to increase significantly over the next 5 years.