This traditional event took place on the afternoon of Saturday 21 July 2007 at the Royal Engineer Headquarter Officers Mess in Brompton Barracks, Chatham. President John has been a member of the Mess since 1960.
Led by Lt Col Larry Inge, one of John’s colleagues, Rotarians and partners toured the public rooms, inspecting the pictures and silver and hearing about the history of the Mess and the Corps. As a special treat the group descended into the cellars to view silver which was not on display upstairs and to visit the undercroft of this remarkable 200 year old building.
The picture shows President John with his favourite piece, the Cleopatra statuette. The figure stands 2 feet tall. The plinth is inscribed “Egypt-1882”. The figure was modelled by H H Armstead RA and made by Stephen Smith & Co of London in 1884. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy that year. It commemorates the campaign in Egypt which ended with the Battle of Tel-el-Kabir on 13 September 1882 and was purchased with subscriptions from the officers of the Royal Engineers.
As President John explained, "all our silver has been bought and paid for. We have no loot, unlike some other regiments!"
The visit concluded with afternoon tea in the Mess gardens.
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Last Updated: 12 August, 2008