The Portsmouth Naval Base is home to a newly-opened memorial room at the Royal Marines School of Music on the base. This memorial room is dedicated to local marines who were part of the music school and who were killed at war. It has been positively received by residents and those surviving their lost loved ones.
The director of music training at the Royal Marines School of Music is Major Jason Burcham. Major Burcham spoke about the newly-opened memorial room, saying:
“The memorial room is a living commemoration to those musicians and buglers who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is a place for us to remember with pride the achievements of our forebears and current comrades in all aspects of their operational and ceremonial roles and endeavour to live up to their example.”
The memorial room now gives marines and their families a dedicated place to hold ceremonies of remembrance that were previously held at various venues around the base. Concerts and performances are often put on at the base, sometimes with official programmes that have been produced using digital printing.
Southampton and Portsmouth residents were invited to an opening ceremony for the memorial room that featured performances from a group of musicians, drummers and buglers that are currently studying at the Royal Marines School of Music.