HRH opens new headquarters in Theale
St John Ambulance members from across
Berkshire gathered to witness HRH The Princess Royal officially
open their new headquarters in Theale.
Deadmans Lane
Her Royal Highness arrived in Theale by helipcopter and was then
taken to the St John venue in Deadmans Lane in a
car where she was met by Lady Elizabeth Godsall, Deputy Lord
Lieutenant of Berkshire and Mr Simon Frost, Chairman of Council for
St John Ambulance Berkshire.
The Princess was then shown around one of the charity's
new Challenger ambulances before watching members
of the Theale Badger sett demonstrate their Badger
promise in sign language and the Theale Cadets show off
their first aid skills.
Inside the new building HRH was introduced to the adult members
of Theale division and took time to chat with them
about their various roles within St John Ambulance and their
reasons for volunteering with the organisation. She also met some
of the people involved in the design and
construction of the site along with major
donors who had contributed to the funding of the
project.
Representatives of the Jurgens and Henderson families were in
attendance to see the completed training rooms in the building
which bear the names of the late Michael Jurgens and Sarah
Henderson, both of whom were string supporters of St John
Ambulance.
As soon as the princess entered the room she put everyone at complete ease and seemed very interested in what we had to say.
Mike Cox
Theale member of 27 years
Mike Cox who has been a member of Theale Division for 27 years
enjoyed the experience of meeting royalty. He said: 'Before
Princess Anne arrived, everyone from the division was
really nervous about meeting her as we all knew
that we would get to speak to her in person, but as soon as she
entered the room she put everyone at complete ease
and seemed very interested in what we had to say. She is a
remarkable lady.'
The proceedings were drawn to a close by HRH with the unveiling
of a commemorative plaque which is to be displayed
in the entrance. As a token of thanks, the princess was presented
with a posy of flowers by St John Berkshire's
Cadet of the year, Chloe Parker. As she was escorted to her car, a
guard of honour consisting of cadets and badgers
lined the way to bid her farewell.
St John's original building in Theale was destroyed in
an arson attack in 2001 and since then
the local volunteer members have been meeting in a local church
hall. In addition to providing a base for the members the new venue
will be used for public first aid training courses and will be
available for hire by local residents and businesses.