Crowthorne and Sandhurst

This year's Bracknell Forest Civic Service is being held in the Royal Memorial Chapel at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on Sunday, 19 October.

The Mayor, Cllr Bob Edger, has invited more than 100 guests to Sandhurst, including Dr Carolyn Boulter, High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire, John Nike OBE, Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Paul Bettison, the Chief Executive Timothy Wheadon and Chief Inspector Simon Bowden Commander of the Bracknell Forest Police Area of Thames Valley Police.

The service will be conducted by the Mayor's chaplain, The Reverend Timothy Cole, who is senior chaplain at Sandhurst and the exit collection will be in aid of the Mayor’s Charity, Childline.

Following the service, the guests have been invited to join Cllr Edger for coffee in the historic Indian Army Memorial Room where artefacts and portraits of the British Indian Army are on display.

Cllr Edger, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Regiment of Wales, now The Royal Welsh, said: "As a retired officer I am delighted that the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Major General David Rutherford-Jones, has given permission for me to hold the Borough Civic Service in the Chapel for what is believed to be the first time.

"The Royal Memorial Chapel is dedicated to those officers and men of the British and Commonwealth forces who have fallen in action over the years. Holding our service in this special place at a time of great military commitment by our serving men and women in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places in the world will be a small but fitting tribute by this Borough to our armed forces, in my opinion.

"I'm sure my guests who have never been to the Chapel before will be impressed by its powerful atmosphere and will be equally impressed by the historical significance of the Indian Army Memorial Room after the service."

Bracknell Forest Council ~ Sandhurst