6 days ago
Prince William makes accommodation pledge as he visits Army Air Corps regiment in Wattisham
The Prince of Wales pledged to raise soldiers' concerns about accommodation during his first visit to a regiment of which he is Colonel-in-Chief.
Prince William visited Wattisham flying station in Suffolk on Wednesday to meet 4 Army Air Corps, which is based at the site, and promised the issue would be landing on a desk.
His Royal Highness became Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps i n May last year, when the King officially handed over the role after 31 years in the role.
Wattisham is the British Army's main base for the Apache AH-64E attack helicopter, and William arrived in a Wildcat Helicopter, a reconnaissance aircraft also in the AAC's fleet.
While there, the Prince served sausage baps and bacon rolls to soldiers and their families at Archer's Breakfast, a weekly social event for the 664 Squadron, quipping: "Nothing worse than the smell of bacon in the room and you can't eat it".
The breakfast is held in a crew room named after Daniel Pope, a soldier who died of cancer in 2016 aged 21.
After asking one soldier if he spent enough time with his family, the Prince joked: "Some of them might not want to see you that much - it's a mixed bag".
During a break in a physical exercise session he was observing, he told a group of servicemen: "I'm going to have a chat about accommodation, make sure they look at that", and added: "If they listen to me, that's another matter".
When another group only smiled in response, William said, "I'll take that away, a lot of smiles going on, that's all you need to say."
Staff Sgt Megan Chasney, who has been stationed at Wattisham for 15 years, said it was "fantastic" to host the new Colonel-in-Chief, who said he would "do his best" to help improve the site's infrastructure.
She added Archer's Breakfast is "hugely important" in keeping the memory of Daniel Pope alive: "It's really important to the soldiers here - some of them served with him on tours of Afghanistan. It's important to make sure he's not forgotten."
The Prince of Wales is a former RAF helicopter search-and-rescue pilot and later spent two years flying with the East Anglian Air Ambulance - and flew himself back home after Wednesday's visit.
His brother, the Duke of Sussex, spent three-and-a-half years in training and operational service with the Apache helicopter force when he was attached to the Army Air Corps,.
He undertook an operational tour of Afghanistan as an Apache pilot between September 2012 and January 2013.
The Army Air Corps was formed in 1957 as the combat aviation arm of the British Army.
It is made up of several regiments known for their blue berets and, as well as bases in Suffolk and Hampshire, it also has locations in Shropshire and Somerset.
