A LIVING MEMORIAL…
The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College has been built to commemorate the lives and sacrifice of all those who died in the South Atlantic in 1982 – to stand as a permanent and ‘living’ memorial to remember them – and the courage of the thousands of Servicemen and women who served with them to protect the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
AN ARCHITECT’S VISION OF PEACE
The Memorial Chapel – which cost a total of £2.3 million and was opened in March 2000 by Her Majesty The Queen – seats 580 within the ground floor area and gallery; its design which came about as a result of a nation-wide competition won by Crispin Wride Architectural Design Studio, is reminiscent of the shape of a ship – almond or ‘mandorla’ shaped – denoting hands ‘cupped’ in prayer. Natural light flows down the pale coloured inside walls from clear glass surrounding the curved roof and diffused through its focal feature at the north end – a memorial window with stained glass depicting the Falkland Islands within Christ’s Cross surrounded by a lively sea in vibrant shades of blue, green, yellow and grey – designed by John Clark, who also created the Lockerbie memorial window.
installation of his three bronze albatrosses beside the Chapel in 2007.
The Chapel Library
The Chapel Library comprises many of the books published about the Falklands War. These are now kept inside cabinets located in the small Chapel off the Memorial Room. They are there for our visitors to enjoy and browse at leisure. If you would like to borrow a book when visiting the Chapel, please inform the Chaplain at neil.jeffers@pangbourne.com, providing your name, contact details, and the title of the book that you have borrowed.
All of the books in the Library have either been bought by the Trustees or have been donated. If you would like to furnish the Library with a Falklands-related book, then please check first with the Chapel Secretary, angelaeap@aol.com, to ensure that the Library does not already contain a copy.
Finally, please ensure that any borrowed books are returned promptly to the Library once they have been read! Whilst doing a recent ‘tidy up’ our faithful Librarian noticed that quite a few tomes including Cedric Delves ‘Across an Angry Sea’ and Julian Thompson’s ‘No Picnic’ are missing. The Chaplain would be most grateful for their return and thanks those who have already returned other volumes.