THE MOD Community Covenant Scheme paid a visit to Chepstow Museum after funding a photo project worth £18,000.

The Monmouthshire Museums Service Team at Chepstow Museum was awarded the grant to catalogue the photographic collection they hold relating to the Army Apprentices’ College based at Beachley.

Operating between 1924 and 1994, the college trained thousands of skilled tradesmen for Army service and played an important role in Chepstow’s history.

The collection was gifted to the Museum by the MOD on the closure of the college in 1994. The site at Beachley is now the permanent base of 1 RIFLES.

The project will focus on creating a computer catalogue entry for each photograph in the 4,000 strong collection and scanning the photograph to provide a digital image.

Representatives from the MOD Community Covenant Grant Scheme Board 160 (Wales) Brigade, senior officers from 1 RIFLES, Beachley and chairman and armed forces champion of Monmouthshire County Council, Cllr John Prosser attended the museum yesterday.

Once catalogued, the photographs will be much easier to access for research, education and community use.

During the visit, examples of the photographic collection were on display.

Cllr Prosser said: “As signatories to the Armed Forces Community Covenant we are committed to engaging with the Armed Forces community and offer support in thanks for the what they do defending our country.

“We are very pleased to be supporting this project which records the history of the Beachley site and our on-going association with 1 Rifles.”

The project has been running since January and alongside the many official photographs in the collection, some more personal glimpses of life at the college are emerging, such as the postcard of the college sent in 1938 by Apprentice Tradesman Vic Gray to his parents in St Helier, reminding them that they needed to sign a consent form to allow him home on leave.

During the event, Capt A Kuss, Welfare Officer, of 1 Rifles, said: “We are very happy to support this great project for both the Battalion and the wider community”

Major C Middle 160 (Wales) Brigade of the Community Covenant Grant Scheme Board, added:

“We are very much looking forward to seeing the end project. It already looks very promising and we hope that our work with 1 Rifles and the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers continues.”