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HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO
Corps News
Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex GCVO
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Scribe: Rayner Shelmerdine-Hare (Corps Adjutant)
From left to right, Colonel Jason Philips ADC, HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO, Lieutenant General Paul Jaques CB CBE and Captain Rayner Shelmerdine-Hare
On the 30 March 2022 it was announced that Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex GCVO is to be the new Colonel-in-Chief of The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Offering her warmest wishes to the service personnel in the Corps and the wider REME Family, The Countess expressed how honoured she was to accept the invitation to serve as our Colonel-in-Chief.
On the day that this appointment was announced, the Master General REME Lieutenant General Paul Jaques CB CBE, Colonel REME Colonel Jason Phillips ADC and the Corps Adjutant Captain Rayner Shelmerdine-Hare had an audience with HRH The Countess of Wessex. During this meeting, they discussed the life, ethos and work of the Corps as well as opportunities for The Countess to meet our people; including the potential to host her first formal visit to the Corps at MoD Lyneham later this year.
“Meeting The Countess of Wessex alongside the Master General REME and Colonel REME was a great privilege, particularly so as it was to mark her appointment as our new Colonel-in-Chief. The Countess was very welcoming and showed a great interest in the Corps. She discussed her wish to see the Corps continue to honour and build on HRH The Prince Philip’s legacy and her keenness to promote the work of the Corps and Engineering in the Armed Forces and more widely. She is eager to visit the REME Family as soon as possible and especially keen to meet our soldiers.” - Captain Rayner Shelmerdine-Hare
A few days prior to the announcement and during a wider visit to 5 RIFLES, The Countess made time to meet with our soldiers in 5 RIFLES LAD. During this visit she presented WO2 (AQMS) Paul West and Sgt Steven Warder with their Long Service and Good Conduct (LS&GC) medals and talked to the Officer Commanding LAD, Captain Andy Hardman, and all ranks about their roles.
“It was an honour to be presented my LS&GC from HRH The Countess of Wessex our new Colonel-in-Chief, then to speak to
