On Friday 20th June, Guernsey saw the return of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Regimental Dinner after an absence from the island’s annual event calendar of 96 years.

The last dinner of this kind was held in 1930.

The dinner was held as a cultural revival and remembrance event, presenting a good opportunity for the Regimental Silver to be brought out of storage from Guernsey Museums and put on display.

In attendance were both the Charity’s patrons, His Excellency Lt General Sir Richard Cripwell and The Bailiff, Sir Richard McMahon, who joined 90 guests to celebrate the return of what is hoped will become an annual event.

Many of the guests had relatives who served in the RGLI or are ex-services and the coming together of the community was notable with a mix of ages present with younger and more elderly members in attendance.

Martin Proudlove, Trustee RGLI Trust, said: “The Trust has always been ambitious since inception. We started out with an inaugural memorial in 2017 on the 100th anniversary of the battle in Masnieres, with another memorial here locally and the town twinning in 2018 and then student exchanges.

“It was our vision to take the Trust from ‘the Commemorative to the Cultural’, by reviving the regimental memory and increasing awareness, not just leaving dusty old memorials in the archive, but taking it forward into the next generation.

“The Trust is about Remembrance, Cultural Diplomacy, Education & Awareness – building positive relationships and shared values from the memory of the tragedies and impacts of the past.”

The Trust worked in partnership with Guernsey Museums service to display the silverware and such items as Count Bülcher’s helmet, the Regimental Punchbowl and various silver boxes were laid out on a table of honour.

Helen Glencross, Head of Heritage Services, States of Guernsey said: “Guernsey Museums is proud to support the RGLI Trust and its work in raising awareness of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry and strengthening cultural ties with Masnières.

“It was a pleasure to contribute to the event by bringing objects from our museum stores into the public eye, helping to share this important part of our shared history.”

The Trust also raised £3,000 at the Regimental Dinner, such funds are used by the charity towards the student exchange and to support other aims of the Trust.

Islanders who are interested in the work of the Trust can visit the website www.rgli.org and can find out more about the RGLI by visiting the museum at Castle Cornet.