Prince Edward joins 43rd Wessex Division at Longleat House

In a moving ceremony held at Longleat House last Thursday the 43rd Wessex Division Arboretum and Memorial Plaque were rededicated and the role of keeping the memory of the Division alive was handed over to HQ Army South West.

On a beautiful sunny day the last two known survivors if the Division were joined by Prince Edward, the Duke Of Edinburgh, (who as Earl of Wessex was Patron of the 43 Wessex Division Trust), the Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Sarah Rose Troughton, the High Sherriff Mr Pradeep Bhardwaj and Lord and Lady Bath in a service conducted by the HQ South West Chaplain, Colin Bell and the Venerable Alan Jeans, Archdeacon of Sarum.

The exhortation was read by 98-year-old Ken Hay of the Dorsetshire Regiment and the Kohima Epitaph by 99-year-old Cecil Newton of 4th/7th Dragoon Guards. The Duke of Edinburgh then went on to plant a tree, ably assisted by 8-year-old John Thynn, Viscount Weymouth.

The tree, grown from an acorn from the ‘Royal Oak’ on the estate which was planted by King George III in 1789.  The Arboretum with 43 trees was planted in 1999 but storms had damaged some of the trees which have now been replanted. When the arboretum was opened there were 100 veterans still alive.

Colonel Charles Ackroyd, Chairman of the 43rd Wessex Heritage Trust, formally handed over the responsibility of the Division to Colonel Gary McDade, Commander Army South West.

Col McDade said: “We will make sure that the memory of 43rd Wessex Division is not forgotten. We will keep the 43rd Division flame alive.”

All staff at HQ Army SW wear the Wessex Wyvern, the Divisions emblem, on their uniforms.

A painting of the Division’s most hard-won battle honour, Hill 112, in Normandy was presented to Col McDade by the widow of Bill Edwards who formed the 43rd Division Association.

The 43rd Wessex Division began the war based in Salisbury, formed from the Territorial Army battalions of the southwest, including the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment.