36 ROYAL ENGINEER TRIBUTE SCULPTURE

The tribute was commissioned to celebrate the valor of those who risk their lives in Afghanistan. The Adjutant Captain Tristan Wooten said that the soldiers were particularly pleased that the statue depicted a serviceman in his search role wearing his 25Kg kit on his back. “It is rugged and it is real and that is the main message,” he said.

 

QUEEN'S GURKHA ENGINEER COMMISSION

In April 2008 Mary Cox was commissioned by Maidstone Borough Council to sculpt a bronze statue of a Gurkha Engineeer to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Queen's Gurkha Engineers. The statue is two thirds life-size of a soldier in number two dress and stands on a granite plinth in the courtyard of Maidstone Museum.

The statue was funded by donations from the public in Maidstone, a testament to the high regard that the local public have for the Queen's Gurkha Engineers that are garrisoned in the town.

"I am immensely honoured to be associated with such a high-profile public work, particularly considering the popularity of the regiment," says Mary.

Two field squadrons of the Queen's Gurkha Engineers are based in Maidstone under the 36 Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers.