Page 27 - QARANC Vol 16 No 1 2018

THE GAZETTE QARANC 25
Museum of Military Medicine project update
The end of 2017 saw several positive developments
in the Museum’s plans to relocate to Cardiff Bay. On 8 November the planning committee at Cardiff Council unanimously passed the Museum’s planning application submitted on 4 August. Neil McOmish of Scott Brownrigg architects noted that “the chair and committee members were exceptionally complimentary describing the proposal as ‘excellent and exciting design’ and a great contribution to Cardiff’s architecture and urban fabric. It was the only scheme at today’s committee that received unanimous support at the vote”. This marked the culmination of several months of work to get to the planning stage, and on the back of this an offer was placed with the Welsh Government on the Hemmingway Road site in mid-December, and we are currently waiting to hear if the offer has been accepted or subject to further negotiation.
The second significant development is on the question of potential partnership. In July and August 2017 exploratory meetings were held with representatives from Cardiff and Swansea Universities, NHS Wales and SA One, a Swansea based technology healthcare and wellbeing company, to explore the possibility of a partnership that would bring investment into our project. On 9 November 2017 a formal discussion took place between Museum representatives and these potential partners on the possibility of establishing a consortium to further the plan for a Conflict Medicine and Technology hub in Cardiff with the Museum at its core. The discussion was positive, and we aim to work on a detailed business plan that will set out how this hub is anticipated to work. The partnership will bring both capital investment and ongoing revenue for the project and the potential for greater
sustainability
in the longer term.
As part of the development of the
project, we will also need to consider audience development in South Wales and the West of England, potentially employing an Outreach and Education Officer who will begin to deliver sessions to raise awareness of the Museum and what it can offer by the time it opens its doors in Cardiff in the early 2020s.
Jason Semmens
Director, Museum of Military Medicine
Tel: 01252 868612; Mil: 94229 5212
Website: https://www.museumofmilitarymedicine.org.uk
As we go to press, it has been confirmed that the Libor Grant money has now been released to the Museum. The Welsh Assembly Government has accepted the Museum’s offer on the land. Work is underway to finalise the build- over and access agreements. A further meeting with the two university partners will take place during March and April. Ed.
BFG Legacy Project
The BFG Legacy Project is beginning – and you can be a part of it. By the time the last units in 20 Armoured Brigade leave Sennelager in 2019, British Forces will have been stationed in Germany for nearly 75 years.
To mark this lengthy period of overseas deployment, HQ BFG is producing a high quality glossy coffee table book: British Forces in Germany – The Lived Experience. Over this period of time literally hundreds of thousands of British servicemen and women have spent at least some of their active service in Germany, be that as a part of BAOR, UKSC(G) or BFG. In addition are the tens of thousands of civil servants and support staff who have underpinned the community either as teachers, doctors, dentists and nurses to engineers and project managers. BFG has already approached these people through the internet – www.bfgnet.de – and via Facebook as well as internally through the Army command system.
Now it is the turn of the civilian population to help. We are
looking therefore for stories of British/German relationships formed during this period, and perhaps looking at the more unusual stories and where possible photographs or images of items connected to these happenings. It may have to do with a local German/British Society or Sporting Club; it may be to do with exercises (Manöver) on the Hanoverian Plain, or it may just be a pleasant social meeting; after all a great number of marriages occurred between British troops and German women, with some occurring as early as 1946.
Please send your stories in the first instance to the Legacy Project Officer at the following email address:
bfg-hq-legacyproject-ogpmailbox@mod.uk
We are looking especially for good quality photographs of meetings (famous people) and events that clearly show British/German activities. If it is easier to send items through the post please use the following address:
Legacy and Projects Officer, HQ BFG,
Catterick Kaserne, Detmolder Str 440, 33605 Bielefeld